GoFibre joins SCDI to help advance the purposeful business, social value and digital inclusion agenda for Scotland

Scottish independent broadband provider, GoFibre has joined the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) as it continues to focus on economic development and digital connectivity in rural Scotland.

Joining the list of SCDI’s members is a natural fit for GoFibre, a Borders-born enterprise sharing core SCDI values of sustainability practices, social value creation, purposeful business and rural economic development.

GoFibre recently announced a major expansion of its full fibre broadband network build across Scotland, reaching an additional 32 harder-to-reach towns and villages, including Angus and Midlothian for the first time. This will allow GoFibre to expand upon its existing social value commitments, including upskilling, educational initiatives, local job creation, whilst working alongside SCDI to input into Scotland’s economic development and social forums.

Neil Conaghan, Chief Executive at GoFibre, said: “At GoFibre, we are serious about achieving positive change whilst having a strong social purpose and, so it’s vital that we go beyond simply putting the right digital infrastructure in place.

“Collaborating with socially-minded and purposeful organisations alongside SCDI aligns well with our mission to deliver the best type of digital connectivity available to largely underserved areas, meaning Scotland’s communities and businesses can compete more effectively, both domestically and internationally.

“As our ambitious build programme and collaboration develops, we look forward to unlocking significant social value and benefits across the areas we serve and the whole of Scotland.”

Sara Thiam, Chief Executive at SCDI, said: “We couldn’t do the work that we do without the support from our members, so we are very excited to welcome GoFibre on board, who we have already worked alongside as they progress closing the rural digital divide in Scotland.

“Our aim is to make Scotland a world-leading economy and without inclusive access to the right digital infrastructure – full fibre – there is a big part of the jigsaw missing. I’m pleased that GoFibre is continuing to invest in Scotland, connecting additional people and businesses to the power of full fibre, and even more pleased that they share our values around purposeful business and economic development.”

Full fibre broadband 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 41% of Scottish residents.*

GoFibre’s broadband network is helping to tackle the digital divide across Scotland. Once in place, speeds of up to 10Gbps are available, transforming the ability for communities to work and play effectively from home, operate multiple devices simultaneously with no lag and download complete box sets and large files in just seconds.

Households and businesses can register their interest in GoFibre’s full fibre broadband services by visiting  www.gofibre.co.uk/register.

*Record rollout of faster internet connections – Ofcom