Openreach Bring FTTP Broadband to Remote Hebridean Isle of Jura

The first 100 homes and businesses on the remote rural Hebridean isle of Jura in Scotland can now access Openreach’s new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network. The development was partly funded by gigabit broadband vouchers from the UK and Scottish governments, which offer subsidies worth up to £5,000 per property.

The island, which sits directly adjacent to and northeast of Islay, was in fact previously connected via a high-speed subsea fibre optic cable as part of the original Digital Scotland (DSSB) Superfast Broadband project. But until recently residents on Jura could only access a mix of slow ADSL or hybrid fibre FTTC (VDSL2) based broadband connections.

The arrival of full fibre connectivity to individual homes and business in such a remote location is thus a significant upgrade and one that brings gigabit speeds (1000Mbps) to several communities. So far 100 premises have been covered, but more will be able to upgrade before Christmas, as engineers continue work on the ground. Ultimately, around 200 premises will benefit, once the build is completed.

Robert Thorburn, Openreach Partnership Director for Scotland, said:

“Islanders have worked hand in hand with us to make this upgrade a success, so it’s great that around half the population can now upgrade to full fibre broadband. They need to place their order with their chosen service provider and we’ll take care of the rest. Once their ultrafast broadband installation has gone live, voucher holders will be contacted by the UK Government and asked to confirm their service is active.

Ultrafast, ultra-reliable broadband will provide numerous benefits. Transformative connectivity helps make communities sustainable – people can stay local and take full advantage of online opportunities.”

Richard Lochhead, Scottish Government Innovation Minister, said:

“The Scottish Government is investing in connectivity which is transforming how people on Jura work, socialise and visit, while also creating new business opportunities. The R100 Scottish broadband voucher scheme is in place to support the installation of superfast connections, including in this case full fibre broadband, with vouchers available worth up to £5,000 per household. This helps ensure nobody is left behind as we build a stronger economy.”

The UK Government’s Minister for Digital Infrastructure, Sir John Whittingdale, added that he was similarly “delighted to see that the community on the remote Hebridean isle of Jura is also benefitting [from the voucher scheme] and will now be able to access first-class broadband, fit for the future“. Whittingdale noted that the UK is still “on track to bring lightning-fast broadband to every corner of the UK by 2030.”

Separately, the Scottish Government recently revealed that their £600m Reaching 100% (R100) project with Openreach (BT) has so far extended FTTP to an additional 42,000 premises (up from 24,194 in late May 2023) – the goal is to grow this to around 114,000 extra premises by March 2028. Over 3,500 premises have also used the R100 Broadband Voucher Scheme to get the same connectivity installed.

Ofcom recently predicted (here) that Scotland’s full fibre coverage would reach around 78-83% by May 2026, while gigabit-capable broadband (FTTP and Hybrid Fibre Coax / cable) would deliver 83-85% by that same date.