28 areas of Scotland including ancient capital to get full fibre broadband: Are you on the list?
The medieval capital of Scone and the popular island resort of Tobermory are among 28 more Scottish city suburbs, towns and villages, many in rural areas, set to gain full fibre broadband.
Telecoms infrastructure provider Openreach said today that 120,000 homes and businesses north of the Border would benefit from the latest phase of its multi-billion-pound fibre rollout.
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Hide AdPeople living in Port Glasgow in Inverclyde, Possil in Glasgow, Wester Hailes in Edinburgh, Grantown on Spey in the Highlands, Scone in Perth and Kinross, Tobermory on the Isle of Mull and 22 other communities are next in line for full fibre. Several new locations in Fife and South Lanarkshire will be upgraded, while more parts of Aberdeen and Dundee are also included.


They will join 1.2 million homes and businesses across Scotland which already have access to the network built up by Openreach. The internet connections are offered to customers via service providers such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone.
Across the UK, Openreach has published updated plans to build full fibre broadband to 517 more locations - covering a further 2.71 million homes and businesses. The work is part of the firm’s £15 billion project to upgrade the UK’s broadband infrastructure, making gigabit-capable technology available to 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026, including 6.2 million in harder to reach, more remote and rural areas.
Robert Thorburn, Openreach partnership director for Scotland, said: “Our rollout of full fibre broadband is a huge infrastructure success story. As far as we know, no company is building faster or further in Europe. We won’t be stopping any time soon. We now plan to build even further across Scotland, to more city locations, towns and our most rural communities.
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Hide Ad“Our engineers are working at a rapid pace despite the huge complexities of an engineering project on this scale, stretching from Shetland to Stranraer. It’s also worth noting that upgrades aren’t automatic. Once full fibre is available where you live, you’ll need to place an order to get connected and we’ll do the rest.”


Openreach is the separate network arm of BT Group. More than 4.7 million homes and businesses across the UK have already upgraded to high-speed full fibre and some 50,000 orders are being placed each week, the firm noted. Full fibre broadband is up to ten times faster than the average home broadband connection.
Openreach has also refreshed its online map and postcode checker. It is hoping to give the public a “clearer, regularly updated view” of its plans and progress between now and that end-of-2026 date.
The online map shows the levels of current and future expected full fibre coverage as of now, taking data from all of the group’s build programmes, while the postcode checker continues to offer “the most personalised view of the connectivity available to an individual home or business”.
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Hide AdThe firm holds the position of major incumbent broadband wholesaler in the UK and has faced criticism from rivals for acting like a “typical monopoly” and failing to invest rapidly enough. However, there has been a flurry of activity from alternative network providers in recent years and the market has become unexpectedly fragmented. Virgin Media recently announced that it was opening up its fixed line broadband networks to other internet service providers for the first time, setting up a rival national infrastructure provider to Openreach in the process.
Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said: “We’re on track and on-budget to make this life-changing broadband technology available to 25 million homes and businesses. We plan to build right across the UK, from cities and towns to far-flung farms and island communities.
“Ultimately, we’ll reach as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade if there’s a supportive political and regulatory environment. Over time, we’ve learnt to deliver predictably, consistently and at a rapid pace - despite this being a hugely complex national engineering project. That gives us confidence to be even clearer about our build plans and we want to be as transparent as possible about where and when we're building.
“Today we’re publishing more detail than ever about the places we’re building in now, and the communities we’ll be upgrading next.”
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Hide AdScottish Government employment and investment minister Tom Arthur added: “Digital infrastructure is a key enabler to support economic growth right across Scotland. It’s why the Scottish Government is making record investment in broadband infrastructure this year, and we will continue to work alongside Openreach and other partners to continue improving and extending our digital network to benefit communities and businesses across the country.
“As a signatory of Scotland’s Full Fibre Charter, Openreach is committed to accelerating and prioritising rollout of the technology. This welcome programme of work will bring continued significant investment in our workforce and national infrastructure, enabling more homes and businesses - including in our island and rural communities - to access a full fibre connection.”
The latest 28 areas for upgrade in Scotland:
Aberdeen City: Bieldside, Bucksburn, Dyce
Aberdeenshire: Insch
Argyll and Bute: Tobermory
City of Edinburgh: Pentland, Wester Hailes
Dundee City: Fairmuir, Steeple
Falkirk: Banknock
Fife: Balmullo, Glenrothes Central, Glenrothes South, Newport on Tay, Tayport
Glasgow City: Possil
Highland: Evanton, Fortrose, Grantown on Spey
Inverclyde: Port Glasgow (Newark)
Perth and Kinross: Invergowrie, Scone
Renfrewshire: Lochwinnoch
South Lanarkshire: Blantyre, Bothwell, Hamilton, Larkhall
West Lothian: Livingston Bridge
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