Openreach bring ultrafast broadband to Falkirk district

Announcing the work, Openreach also revealed plans to add Grangemouth to its full fibre broadband build plans.

The upgrade will let thousands of local people and businesses connect multiple devices at gigabit-capable speeds and help businesses to trade online and compete for decades to come.

The Falkirk build will reach the majority of local homes and businesses in the town. Openreach also plans to extend its full fibre network in other parts of the local authority area, including Stenhousemuir, Shieldhill and Larbert. More than 10,000 households and businesses across the district can already upgrade to the new Openreach network which provides more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity, with fewer faults; more consistent speeds; and enough capacity to easily meet growing data demands.

Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, leader of Falkirk Council, said: “Access to ultrafast broadband is becoming more and more essential for both residents and businesses across the country. Seeing the proposed work happening in a number of areas in the Falkirk district is encouraging and will offer many advantages as the programme is rolled out. We look forward to seeing it completed.”

Local people can visit the Openreach website to check the latest plans for their area and register for updates as the build progresses.

Robert Thorburn, partnership director for Openreach Scotland, said: “We’re all set to bring ultrafast broadband to Falkirk and we want to let local people know what to expect. It’s a major infrastructure upgrade, so there will be more engineering teams, equipment and vans around town, and we’re working closely with Falkirk Council to keep disruption to a minimum.

“Wherever possible, we’ll use our existing network of ducts and poles to avoid roadworks, new street furniture and disturbance. But there may be places where we need to install new poles, underground ducts and fibre cables because it’s the only way to make sure households get included in the upgrade.”

He added: “We’re really excited to be adding Grangemouth to our investment plans and ramping up our build around Falkirk, where our build partner Kier is helping to deliver on the ground.