DIGITAL SCOTLAND SHETLAND ROLL-OUT

Transcription

1 DIGITAL SCOTLAND SHETLAND ROLL-OUT Fibre broadband roll-out for Shetland October 2017

2 SHETLAND The roll-out of a mainstream fibre optic broadband network in Shetland is part of a 410m investment by Digital Scotland partners. being led in the Highlands and Islands by HIE and the current contract is set to bring access to more than 86% of premises in the region by the end of the financial year 2017/8. The roll-out has been designed to reach the most premises possible within the contract budget. It has reached more than eight out of ten Shetland homes and businesses, but does not have the funds to reach everyone. It is an important first step for the islands, as without the public investment there would have been no commercial roll-out of fixed fibre services. Progress so far Given how little existing fibre there was in many parts of the region, the first task has been to create a massive core network, reaching into many rural and island areas in the Highlands and Islands where fibre has never been before. In Shetland this has meant building a new network which in this first phase will roll out from North Roe to Sumburgh, and Sandness to Symbister. This work provides the core or capacity necessary to then build the local infrastructure needed to get communities connected to better broadband. More than 60 fibre cabinets have been built and are live reaching more than 9,500 premises so far in Shetland. This equates to 83% of all premises. Customers who have access to the network automatically upgraded. You have to order fibre broadband services from an internet service provider. What does roll-out look like? Fibre services are, in the main, delivered through new green fibre cabinets (fibre to the cabinet or FTTC). In some cases we link new cabinets into existing telecoms cabinets, and in others where people are currently connected direct to the exchange the network is redesigned and re-routed into new cabinets. The exchanges themselves are much less relevant compared to previous broadband. The ability to get a service and the speed received are both dependent on whether a home or business is attached to the local cabinet, and the length of the telephone line from it to your house. As a broad guide those connected to the cabinet and within 1km can expect superfast speeds (24Mbps or better), those within 2km can expect a significant uplift (depending on their current speed), and beyond 2km speeds drop away fairly quickly and you may not see any benefit.

3 How do I know if my home will be connected? The interactive Digital Scotland map allows anyone in Scotland to put in their own telephone number or postcode to see the latest available information. It gives an overview of where services are live and also the latest information on whether work is happening in what are known as The information is updated as the new infrastructure is put in. If you can get a service you can shop around with internet service providers to get the best deal. If you are currently connected to an Exchange Only line, this message will change if you are drawn into a new telecoms cabinet. Unfortunately not everyone in a project exchange area will be able to get the new services. It depends on whether you are linked into the new infrastructure, and your distance from it. Progress in Shetland More than 9,500 premises in Shetland are now part of the new fibre network. The following provides the latest overview of the roll-out. Bigton Cabinet 1 is live providing services for parts of Bigton and Ireland. Bixter Cabinets 1, 2 and 3 are live for Aith, Bixter, Twatt and towards Clousta. As a result of some additional funds we hope to see a bit more coverage in the Tresta area and that is currently being planned.

4 Brae Three cabinets are live for Brae, one at either end of the village and one further towards Hillswick. Cabinet 4 which will be at Muckle Roe is being moved as part of road widening works. Bressay Cabinet 1 is live in Bressay. Services there have been delivered through a Wireless to the Cabinet solution, using a radio mast. For those on the island the increase in speed and subsequent benefits are exactly the same as if they were connected up to cabled fibre cabinets, used in towns and villages across Scotland. premises are connected up to the broadband cabinet using phone lines so there is no need for any special dish equipment in the home or business. Cunningsburgh There are three cabinets live in the exchange area providing services for Aithsetter, Cunningsburgh and Quarff. Gott Cabinets 1 and 2 are live at Veensgarth and at the Nesbister junction. As a result of extra funding two more cabinets are in planning to bring coverage to Strand and Wadbister. Hamnavoe There are three live cabinets. Cabinets 1 and 2 in the Hamnavoe area and 3 near Bridgend. Hillswick Cabinets 2 and 3 are live for Stucca and Urafirth. One further cab is coming in Hillswick late in the year, or early in Lerwick There are currently 16 cabinets stretched across Lerwick providing access to fibre to around 4,000 homes and businesses. North Roe Cabinet 1 is live for North Roe. Two more cabinets are in planning North Roe, one south in Housetter. one on the north side of Ollaberry Cabinet 1 is live for the area.. Sandness Good take-up of the new fibre services and efficient delivery of the project means the current contract is reaching further than initially planned. Sandness is one of the areas which will see some coverage as a result. Further detail on extent of coverage will follow later in the year. Sandwick Cabinets 1, 3, 4 and 5 are live for Sandwick.

5 Scalloway There are four cabinets live for the Scalloway, East Voe and Tondra areas. Skellister Cabinet 1 for Skellister is live. Sullom Voe There are two cabinets live in this exchange serving the Mossbank area. A number of premises initially connected to cabinet 1 have been moved to cabinet 2 to improve speeds. Sumburgh Cabinets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are live for Toab, Virkie, Dunrossness, and South Scousburgh areas. The latest cabinets which have gone live are for Quendale and Dalsetter Wynd. Symbister There are two live cabinets for the Symbister area served by Wireless to the Cabinet. Vidlin One cabinet is live for Vidlin. Voe One cabinet is live for Voe. Walls One cabinet is live for Walls. Weisdale Cabinets 1 and 2 are live for Weisdale and part of Whiteness. One further cabinet is planned for late in 2017/early 2018 in the Kalliness area. We say exactly who will and will not get service from planned cabinets yet, as every line and local network is unique and we tell exactly who will be drawn in and what speeds they will get until we have gone through the full build process. How has it been decided where the local network will go? In this first phase, the aim of the project is to bring fibre based services to as many people as possible within the available budget and technology. The model is not designed around who broadband most - everyone wants it - but on how we get as much coverage across the region to as many as we can in the most efficient way. None of our areas is easy and of the more than 160,000 premises already connected through the project we have reached island and mainland communities of many shapes and sizes. Geography covered is currently from North Roe in Shetland to Southend in Kintyre. At the start of 2013 only 4% of premises in the Highlands and Islands could access fibre broadband. By the end of 2017 the new extended target is to reach more than 86%.

6 What if my home/businesses in the roll-out? There are places in Shetland, as is the case in other parts of the region, that are more difficult to reach. Primarily these are places in the Northern Isles, which need a subsea/backhaul solution to reach them, and some other premises, many in smaller scattered community areas. The Scottish Government has committed to all premises having access to at least 30Mbps download by A review has identified all homes and businesses where the commercial providers or the publicly funded projects will not provide these speeds. This information is helping shape an intervention area for a future project which will take coverage further again. The creation of the new fibre network does make finding a solution in the future more likely. In the meantime any homes or businesses where there are download speeds of less than 2Mbps, and which are not set to be reached by the project in the coming year, can apply for the Better Broadband Scheme. It provides a voucher worth up to 350 for the installation of a satellite or wireless system where available. DSSB project funding The total value of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband project in Scotland is 410m. In our region the investment is 146m. The public contribution is 126.4m with an additional 19.4M coming from BT. The public sector investment of 126.4m is being delivered through the Scottish Government broadband fund, which incorporates funding from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), and also includes up to 12m from own budget. There is no European funding involved in the initial phase of the H&Is roll-out project. More details on Digital Highlands and Islands activity is available at: hidigital@hient.co.uk