{"id":346114,"date":"2025-08-15T08:54:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T08:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/346114\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T08:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T08:54:17","slug":"rural-scotland-set-for-gigabit-upgrade-with-50m-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/346114\/","title":{"rendered":"Rural Scotland set for gigabit upgrade with \u00a350m investment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rural communities across Scotland are set for a major connectivity upgrade, thanks to a new \u00a350 million investment in internet provider Highland Broadband\u2019s<\/a> fibre network, with plans to reach over 150 small towns and villages in the coming year.<\/p>\n

The Edinburgh-based network provider has secured \u00a340 million from investment management firm AlphaReal<\/a>, along with another \u00a310 million from the Scottish National Investment Bank, as it continues to expand its network and close the digital divide for Scotland\u2019s most isolated areas.<\/p>\n

To date, the company claims to have connected around half of all rural premises throughout the Highlands to its full-fibre<\/a> infrastructure, including across the Black Isle, Great Glen and the Cairngorms.<\/p>\n

\"Scot-Secure<\/a><\/p>\n

Last year, Highland Broadband said that prior to work starting in 2015, less than 1% of premises from Inverness to the north of Scotland, the Black Isle, and on the east coast had access to a gigabit-capable network.<\/p>\n

Ahead of unveiling the fresh investment at the Grantown Hub, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: \u201cThe roll-out of Highland Broadband\u2019s network has made a real difference to people and businesses in rural areas, supporting jobs and boosting economic growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommercial investment in future-proofed broadband infrastructure is a key part of Scotland\u2019s digital strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working with operators like Highland Broadband to expand full fibre coverage, while also targeting public funding where it is needed most to support communities the length and breadth of Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s ability to raise \u00a340 million in private capital is at least in part down to the sustained support of the Scottish National Investment Bank. This latest investment takes the Bank\u2019s total to \u00a360 million, following the initial provision of \u00a320 million in cornerstone funding in 2021, and a further \u00a320 million in 2023.<\/p>\n

That cash has already allowed Highland Broadband to install gigabit-capable networks to areas of East Lothian, Stirlingshire, Fife and the Highlands north of Inverness.<\/p>\n

Recommended reading<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis injection of \u00a350 million of new capital means we have the funding as well as the capability to continue network expansion throughout rural Scotland,\u201d said Gavin Rodgers, CEO of Highland Broadband.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are delighted to secure the backing of AlphaReal as a new funder and also welcome the ongoing support of the Scottish National Investment Bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cRaising this capital ahead of a series of important projects means we can focus on operational delivery rather than sourcing further finance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this summer, the Scottish Government announced that it had surpassed its commitment<\/a> to deliver gigabit-capable broadband connections to 20,000 Scots homes and businesses last year. <\/p>\n

However, the country is still disproportionately affected by digital exclusion, especially in rural areas, with Scottish premises four times<\/a> more likely to have unusable broadband connections than those in England.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rural communities across Scotland are set for a major connectivity upgrade, thanks to a new \u00a350 million investment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5009],"tags":[748,643,122806,3835,85643,4884,122807,3788,77103,712,122808,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-346114","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scotland","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-broadband","10":"tag-broadband-investment","11":"tag-connectivity","12":"tag-digital-exclusion","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-highland-broadband","15":"tag-internet-access","16":"tag-rural-broadband","17":"tag-scotland","18":"tag-scottish-national-investment-bank","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115031943724415034","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}