Badenoch Broadband Secures £41.8K to Boost Rural Community ISP

A community built ISP in the Highlands of Scotland – Badenoch Broadband – has secured a new investment of £41,800 from the Scottish Government in order to extend the coverage and speed of their wireless network, which currently covers a number of areas around the village of Laggan (Badenoch).

The network itself was first established in 2012 after locals got tired of waiting for BT’s old copper Exchange Only Lines (EOL) to be given an upgrade (speeds of 0.5Mbps were common). Instead the Community Interest Company (CIC) built its own fixed wireless broadband network, which currently offers “unlimited” usage and speeds of up to 8Mbps for £29.99 per month (£100 install).

Today the network, which has already become profitable, connects not only the majority of households within the community, but also Ardverikie Castle and Estate cottages, Scottish Natural Heritage, Spartan Press, Wolftrax Mountain Bike Centre and The Pottery Coffee Shop to name a few. However it’s in serious need of an upgrade.

The Community Broadband Scotland (CBS) initiative has thus agreed to invest £41,800 into an upgrade, which means that the network will soon be able to both extend its coverage and offer “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) speeds. This is possible because of BT (Openreach) and Digital Scotland’s work to upgrade nearby Kingussie with FTTC, which has also opened up the option of faster backhaul.

Alistair Fleming, Director of Badenoch Broadband, said:

“Laggan has a wide diversity of businesses including the Pottery Coffee shop, Laggan Stores, B&Bs, hotels, self-catering, quad bike tours, several sporting estates and a mountain bike centre. All are very supportive of our project and we’re proud to be able to provide all of these businesses with connectivity in an area where no other options existed.

Those that are here today – Ardverikie Estate, Gaskbeg Farm/Holidays and Wolftrax Mountain Bike Centre are a cross section of the type of business found in the Highlands; they have to cater for the increasing digital demands of tourism and also require fast connectivity for the other aspects of their business such as farming and forestry.

We’re excited about the opportunity to upgrade and improve broadband services that we offer to both businesses and residents in and around Laggan. The funding from CBS has made this possible. Households will be able to keep up with nearby towns and cities and, with education dependent on online resources, children growing up in our community will not be disadvantaged just because they live in a rural setting.”

The increased capacity has also helped the group to secure a contract to deliver broadband for local public services as part of the Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) network. Ofcom’s own CEO, Sharon White, has been along to see the network for herself (pictured – 2nd from the left).