A £40million project to “future proof” Aberdeen’s connectivity has reached a significant milestone.
CityFibre has now laid 340 miles (550km) of fibre internet cables across the Granite City – enough to connect it to its twinned city of Stavanger in Norway, as the crow flies.
Both cities on either side of the North Sea share similarities including their reliance on the energy and fishing industries.
But as a result of CityFibre’s Gigabit City Investment Programme – Aberdeen will now also join its Nordic neighbours in terms of quality internet.
‘One of the worlds best digitally connected cities’
Currently, just 25% of the UK population are able to access full fibre enabled connectivity, but the service is already live across many parts of Aberdeen.
Allan McEwan, CityFibre’s city manager for Aberdeen, says the achievement is the first step in making Aberdeen “one of the world’s best digitally connected cities”.
Residents in Woodside, Garthdee, Ruthrieston, Mannofield, Kincorth, Broomhill, Kaimhill, Ferryhill, Northfield, Rosehill, Hazlehead, Airyhall, Hilton, and Torry are already able to access the service.
Work is ongoing in Bridge of Don, Rosemount, Cornhill, Kittybrewster, Sheddocksley and Spital areas – with more to follow shortly.
Mr McEwan said: “Aberdeen and Stavanger have a well-established relationship, with the two city’s expertise and workforces collaborating and sharing knowledge across the North Sea.
“The fact that we have now laid enough fibre in Aberdeen to cover the distance between them really hits home how much progress we have made. We’re well on our way to making the city world-class in terms of its digital infrastructure, and the people of Aberdeen will reap the benefits for decades to come.
“As a team, we’re really proud of the speed of deployment and benefits this will bring to Aberdeen, and with our network now live across many parts of the city we are pleased to be enabling residents to connect to the fastest and most reliable broadband services available.
“Ties with the North Sea industry has seen Aberdeen establish itself as a global energy hub, and a key player in the energy transition.
“We are confident that our full fibre network will provide the city with a critical boost on this journey and secure Aberdeen’s legacy as one of the world’s best digitally connected cities.”