BUSINESSES and residents in four Border towns now have access to faster fibre broadband, it has been revealed.

As part of the £428million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband roll-out, locals in Hawick, Jedburgh, St Boswells and Kelso now have access to fibre optic broadband for the first time.

According to latest figures from Digital Scotland, around 80.1 per cent of Borderers can now receive the quicker service across the region.

The goal to get fibre optic in the Borders was a collaboration between the Scottish Government and funding partners including, the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), the BT Group, local authorities and the EU via the European Regional Development Fund. Scottish Borders Council also contributed £8.4m to the programme locally.

Councillor Mark Rowley, Scottish Borders Council's Executive Member for Business and Economic Development said: “Superfast broadband is virtually essential for residents and businesses and I am pleased that this programme, which the Council has contributed significantly to, continues to reach new communities of all sizes here in the Scottish Borders.

“I’d encourage everyone to check the Digital Scotland website to find out if they can now receive superfast broadband, and if they can, to investigate the options with service providers, some of which will be at little extra cost.

“We are very aware however that some residents will not benefit at all from this programme, or still face slow speeds, and we continue to work hard with a range of partners to explore and develop alternative methods of significantly improving digital connectivity for every Borders resident and business.”

For more, visit: www.scotlandsuperfast.com