More premises in West Kilbride can now upgrade to faster fibre broadband through the £428 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband rollout.

Thanks to the programme more than 900,000 premises across Scotland are able to connect to the new network, which has now reached additional premises in places like Beith, Kilbirnie and West Kilbride.

Across the country around 500 new fibre street cabinets are now live and more than 11,800km of cable has been laid by engineers from Openreach, who are continuing work on the ground into 2019.

Fibre broadband offers fast and reliable broadband connections at speeds of up to 80Mbps1 and there are many suppliers in the marketplace to choose from. Local people need to sign up for the new, faster services with an internet service provider, as upgrades are not automatic.

Delivered through two projects – led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise in its area and the Scottish Government in the rest of Scotland – funding partners include the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), BT Group, local authorities and the EU via the European Regional Development Fund.

Whether you own a business, work from home or want to keep in touch with friends and family, fibre broadband enables multiple users to connect to the internet at high speeds.

Crucially, thanks to additional investment as a result of innovation and new funding generated by stronger than expected take-up, the programme will deliver new DSSB deployment in every local authority area during 2018 and into 2019, complementing ongoing commercial build across Scotland.

Michael Matheson, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity said: “Fast and reliable internet is absolutely vital to communities across Scotland. It helps businesses stay connected with customers and colleagues, and helps families learn, work, play and shop.

“It is fantastic that more premises in North Ayrshire are now able to connect to fibre broadband thanks to Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme. The Scottish Government is not stopping there. Our Reaching 100% programme, backed by an initial £600 million investment, plans to deliver superfast broadband access to every home and business in Scotland by the end of 2021 – the only part of the UK to do so.”

Councillor Alex Gallagher, Cabinet Member for Economy for North Ayrshire Council, said: “I am delighted that more premises across North Ayrshire can access fibre broadband thanks to the programme and more people are now able to get superfast speeds. Being well connected wherever you are in Scotland is now an essential requirement for everyday life allowing people and places to prosper. It is important that all communities can benefit from digital technology and I'm pleased to see that small towns across North Ayrshire have benefitted from this programme.

For more information, visit openreach.co.uk.