Properties in Innerleithen are among those that can now sign up to take advantage of internet speeds of up to one gigabit per second with Borders-based company GoFibre.
Work is also currently ongoing in areas including Walkerburn as part of the first phase of the Project Gigabit programme in Scotland, targeted at rural areas.
Neil Conaghan, CEO of GoFibre, said: “We’re a Borders-born company, so every new community we connect in the region feels personal.
“It’s incredibly exciting to have the first residents in Innerleithen now ready to connect to our lightning-fast, ultra-reliable network. And adding over 1,000 homes and businesses before Christmas means thousands more people will soon have access to the kind of broadband that makes everyday life easier.
“We’re proud of our service and looking forward to bringing the benefits of full fibre connectivity to new locations, whether that’s video calls without freezing, streaming without buffering, or just having peace of mind your connection won’t let you down, full fibre is absolutely vital for local communities and businesses alike.”
Duns-founded GoFibre was chosen to provide full fibre to around 13,000 hard-to-reach premises in the Borders and East Lothian as part of the UK Government’s Project Gigabit.
The Scottish Government is administering and managing the delivery of the contracts associated with the programme in Scotland.
Business minister Richard Lochhead, an MSP for Moray, said: “It’s great to see GoFibre’s build plans for the Borders progressing bringing more gigabit-capable connections to rural communities, giving even more homes and businesses access to faster broadband.
“We are accelerating access to future-proofed full fibre broadband in areas which need it most, providing effective digital connectivity to our rural communities, which are an integral part of the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of Scotland.”