A SENIOR BT official has pledged to keep the Staffin community fully informed as the company sets about the “challenging” installation of superfast broadband to the district.
It comes after the community company, North Skye Broadband, announced earlierthis month, it had removed all the Staffin postcodes from its target area after BT confirmed it was aiming to reach the whole district with the service. http://staffin-trust.co.uk/audience-told-of-superfast-broadband-developments-for-staffin
Robert Thorburn, who is the BT manager in charge of the work, told the Staffin Community Trust (SCT) that the contract to deliver superfast involved a major sum of public money and the company were working very hard to deliver it to communities, such as Staffin. He confirmed a “fibre spine” will be laid from Uig to Staffin, via Duntulm, close to the main A855 road. Mr Thorburn said it was a challenging build in certain parts of the district and would have more information later in the year as to the exact location of the fibre cabinets. This is important because in general terms the closer a property is to a cabinet the more likely it is that superfast broadband will be accessible.
Securing superfast internet access is hugely important economically for Staffin as it would help existing businesses day-to-day and encourage people to possibly work home. At present some Skye accommodation providers have even been criticised by guests about the WiFi service in online reviews through no fault of their own.
Superfast speed for Staffin?
Mr Thorburn said he planned to visit Uig in the near future and if he did so he owuld get in touch with the SCT as he was aware the Staffin community is keen to find out more details about the project.