Glasgow has moved a step closer to ultra-fast broadband connectivity with the opening of HighNet’s first Central Belt location.
The £250,000 investment in the new base at Glasgow’s The Beacon will provide a staging point for HighNet’s project with fibre provider CityFibre to turn Glasgow into a ‘gigabit city’.
With HighNet, CityFibre is building a 40km fibre network in the city, with connections expected to go live in early 2017.
Construction will begin later this year. HighNet has recruited eight new employees into the city and adapted the new base to include technical and customer facilities.
The first phase of the project will take up to 12 months to complete, and should reach 7000 businesses and public sector organisations, including hospitals.
According to CityFibre, the new network will provide up to 100 times fast connectivity than existing infrastructure.
Other Scottish cities have also seen investment on this scale in fibre broadband. CityFibre is currently on track to complete installation of Edinburgh’s 150km ultra-fast network by the end of September 2016.
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Working with CommsWorld, it has taken CityFibre’s 150 engineers and workers 12 months to install over 100km of pure fibre infrastructure throughout the Scottish capital.
David J Siegel, Managing Director at HighNet, said that with “the launch of the Glasgow Gigabit City project, it was vital for HighNet to set up a local presence so that we could service our rapidly growing network of staff, partners and customers in the city.
“Glasgow’s Gigabit City status will ensure its businesses and organisations can stay ahead of the curve, and we look forward to playing our part in delivering this ambitious project. Exciting and interesting times lie ahead.”
Richard Muir, Deputy Chief Executive at Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the announcement. He said: “Ultra-fast internet connectivity is an extremely useful commodity for the business community and something which is regularly discussed by our members.
“It’s fantastic to see a company coming into the city and creating jobs in order to enhance the local infrastructure. This type of development further strengthens Glasgow’s extensive credentials as a digital hub where businesses can thrive.”
