The Clackmannanshire Council in Scotland (UK) has been given a grant worth £200,000 by the Scottish Parliament's Rural Broadband Challenge Fund to help the rural area gain access to faster broadband ISP services. The successful 'ClacksMax' bid focuses on the business 'not-spot' areas of the Forth Valley and will use a pilot WiMAX wireless broadband solution to deliver download speeds of up to 20Mbps (2Mbps minimum).

As a minimum the pilot will cover the communities of Tillicoultry, Alva East, Alloa West, Bandeath, Throsk, South Alloa, Cambusbarron and parts of rural south west Stirling. However the exact reach of the signal won't be known until the equipment is in place. Householders will also benefit.



The pilot was one of only five bids in Scotland to be approved by the Scottish Parliament last Friday. The commissioning and purchase of equipment will start in the New Year, although the service itself is expected to be ready by Spring 2011.