ISP Lothian Broadband Extends Full Fibre Network in Gifford

Fixed Wireless Access ISP Lothian Broadband, which covers remote rural parts of East Lothian and Mid Lothian in Scotland, has announced that their fledgling roll-out of an ultrafast Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network in the East Lothian village of Gifford is being extended to reach many more homes and businesses.

A limited deployment of the new “full fibre” network took place in Gifford Village last year and the next phase is now about to begin, which will aim to pass 200 premises around East Lothian. Admittedly this may not sound like much but it’s a significant project for a smaller ISP, particularly given the rural nature of their deployment.

The project, which claims to have received plenty of support from locals, is expected be carried out in four phases over the next few months and will enable properties in many isolated rural locations to access a 1Gbps capable broadband connection from this autumn 2019 (starting around the end of this month).

So far the High Street area (Phase 1) of Gifford has already been reached, while Phase 2 will focus upon The Wynd, then Phase 3 will follow for residents in the Station Road area and Phase 4 will be very demand led for North Gifford (i.e. a much more challenging part of the build).

Nic McCormick, Managing Director of Lothian Broadband, told ISPreview.co.uk:

“We are delighted to be working with Cubby Construction to bring Pure Fibre connections to Gifford and the surrounding area. Our local community is central to our business and it is a key priority that customers on our doorstep will now be able to access the very best broadband service available.”

The company, which now employs 18 local people, are based in Haddington, which is just up the road from Gifford. Customers of the new service can expect to pay from £50 per month for an unlimited 100Mbps (symmetric speed) service on an 18 month contract, which rises to £60 for 200Mbps. A big chunk of the installation work is expected to be supported by the Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.