Hundreds more households and businesses in North Ayrshire are now able to connect to highspeed internet thanks to a £428 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband roll-out.

Premises in Irvine, Ardrossan, Beith, Dalry, Kilbirnie, Largs, and West Kilbride are among the latest to be reached by the project, extending existing coverage in these areas.

Residents need to sign up for the new, faster services with an internet service provider, as upgrades are not automatic.

The programme is delivered through two projects – led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise in its area and the Scottish Government in the rest of Scotland.

Other funding partners include the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), BT, local authorities and the EU via the European Regional Development Fund. BT is investing £126 million, and the total project value includes around £18 million which is being reinvested back in to the programme as a result of stronger than expected early take-up.

Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing, said: “More than 90% of Scotland now has fibre broadband available thanks to both the programme and commercial coverage. The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme is progressing further and we are reaching some very small and more remote communities, as well as extending coverage in places like Kilbirnie and West Kilbride.”

You can check the Digital Scotland website at www.scotlandsuperfast.com/ to find out if they can get a fibre-based service.