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Fibre optic network supplier Emtelle UK, which is a global manufacturer of blown fibre, cabling and ducted solutions, has been chosen to help supply GoFibre’s new £105m (state aid) Project Gigabit contract for North East Scotland (here), which aims to extend their full fibre broadband (FTTP) network to “around” 63,000 premises in hard-to-reach rural areas.
The two companies already have an established relationship from prior builds, and the new deal extends that to include GoFibre’s expanded rollout. In other words, Emtelle will supply duct, sub-duct and fibre infrastructure for the new full-fibre network – supporting speeds of up to 10Gbps. This will cover parts of Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee, the Highlands, Moray and Perth and Kinross.
The contract itself was only signed last month, and the first connections aren’t currently set to be delivered until summer 2026. Emtelle and GoFibre are separately also working together to enhance digital connectivity for 8,000 residents and businesses in Hawick.
Gavin Faulds, Chief Commercial Officer of Emtelle Group, said:
“We are delighted to be strengthening our partnership with GoFibre in order to bring full-fibre connectivity to more than 60,000 premises in the North-East of Scotland. As a major Scottish employer, we firmly believe Scotland needs a first-class digital network across every town and village in order to reduce the digital divide and boost economic growth. That is why we are committed to improving its networks, especially for those in rural regions who are the hardest to reach.
Through this partnership with GoFibre, we will provide our market-leading range of award-winning pre-connectorised blown fibre cable and ducted network solutions that not only create high-speed networks but also future-proof them for decades to come. In the long term, we aim to continue our partnership with GoFibre, and build the infrastructure that further transforms connectivity in both Scotland and the UK.”
GoFibre CEO, Neil Conaghan, said:
“Our strategic partnership with Emtelle is an important enabler for GoFibre to deliver our Project Gigabit contract in the north-east of Scotland. GoFibre and Emtelle are both Borders-born, and for two Scottish businesses to play such a crucial role in delivering gigabit connectivity for the country shows the strength of local supply chain. We’re glad to have Emtelle as our strategic infrastructure partner.”
Customers of the new GoFibre service, once live over the next few years, can expect to pay from £22.50 per month for a 150Mbps (30Mbps upload) package on a 24-month term with an included wireless router, which rises to £33 for their top 1000Mbps (100Mbps upload) plan. The latter also comes with a bonus Wi-Fi extender (this can optionally be taken on other plans at extra cost).