For too long, broadband connections in the Borders have not been as quick and reliable as local people need.
That's why I warmly welcome the news that approximately 27,000 Scottish Borders premises will soon benefit from a faster broadband network.
Scottish broadband provider GoFibre announced on Monday that they would be connecting additional properties across the Borders to their full fibre broadband network by the start of next year.
It is great to hear that lightning-fast connection speeds will soon be available for properties across Duns, Eyemouth, Galashiels, Hawick, Jedburgh and Selkirk.
Upgrades like this are essential so that local people and businesses can use the internet to work or talk to family without the frustration of a slow, laggy, disrupted connection.
Once in place, GoFibre said the expanded network will enable local residents and businesses to access up to 10 gigabytes-per-second speeds, significantly enhancing their ability to work from home efficiently, utilise multiple devices without lag, and quickly download entire box sets and large files in mere seconds.
GoFibre, which was founded in Duns in 2017, said the planning and construction of the expanded network is already under way in many areas and the first premises in the next rollout phase will be connected as early as Autumn 2023.
They added that the next phase of expansion supports 50 jobs across internal and supplier teams.
Announcing the expansion, Neil Conaghan, Chief Executive Officer at GoFibre, said: “We are excited to announce the next phase of our network build after significant progress on our home turf in the Scottish Borders, Aberdeenshire, Fife and East Lothian.
“This investment not only benefits the homes and businesses who will be connected to game-changing broadband, it also means we will create and support 50 more jobs in the local areas we will serve.
“It is fantastic to be leading the delivery of broadband to rural and under-served communities in these areas, which is crucial for our rural economies now and into the future.”
