A connectivity firm has hosted a politician to showcase the benefits of full fibre broadband to her local constituents.

GoFibre welcomed Mairi Gougeon MSP to a network build in Montrose that is bringing lightning quick internet speeds to 6,500 premises.

A further 9,000 across the Brechin and Laurencekirk areas will go live this autumn.

Gougeon, MSP for Angus North and Mearns and cabinet secretary for rural affairs, land reform and islands, said: “It was a pleasure to meet the GoFibre team in Montrose. Their full-fibre broadband network is transformational for rural communities and it is great to see Montrose benefit from that just now with more to come across the constituency, with Brechin and Laurencekirk to follow soon. With speeds of up to 10Gbps, this really is a game-changer for these areas. 

“Access to the speed and reliability of fibre is so important for our rural communities if we want them to thrive and I look forward to seeing the benefits of Go Fibre’s project as it continues to roll out across Angus and the Mearns.”

Full fibre networks are considered the best type of connectivity, allowing communities to upload and download data with none of the disruption that ageing copper networks bring. However, it is only currently available to around 26% of rural Scotland, according to Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2022 UK Report.

With speeds of up to 10Gbps available, it transforms the ability for residents to work effectively from home, operate multiple devices simultaneously with no lag and makes the in-home gaming experience better than ever. 

Neil Conaghan, chief executive officer at GoFibre, said: “It was a pleasure to host Mairi, who fully appreciates the frustrations many of her constituents have had as a direct result of poor connectivity.

“Thanks to Mairi for the opportunity to discuss the ways in which we get fibre to homes and businesses. By utilising existing infrastructure, it often means we don’t have to dig up any passageways, keeping disruption to a minimum and getting customers connected faster.

“We hope Mairi found the visit useful and we look forward to hearing first-hand the ways in which Montrose is benefitting from improved broadband speeds and reliability.”