There are many premises in Angus that do not currently receive Superfast Broadband, most of them being in a rural location. The Rural Broadband project aims to build an ‘Open Access’ wireless network within rural Angus to provide affordable and reliable Superfast Broadband connectivity.

We are working with SmartRural (a farmers’ co-operative) to help develop this network. The network will be deployed through Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technology using links located on local farms. 

The first phase of the project will target an area of over 100 square miles and is scheduled to commence in early 2021.

Benefits of Rural Broadband

• The project covers areas where existing intervention programmes haven’t reached, as well as areas where the Reaching 100% (R100) programme won’t reach until after 2021
• The project will enable new entrants to market
• Infrastructure like 5G and IoT (Internet of Things) will be available for use by others, for example, by local communities
• The broadband service will be affordable and reliable
• ISPs can use Scottish Government schemes like the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) and the R100 programme to reduce installation cost to eligible residents and businesses
• Angus Council will produce a list of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that have signed up to use the Open Access wireless network (this will be available closer to the time the system goes live)

Project status

This project has received funding from the Tay Cities Deal. This funding will provide a shared core infrastructure that multiple ISPs can use to connect to the internet. This reduces the requirement for each ISP to build its own infrastructure. Instead, they can concentrate on connecting the premises to the shared core infrastructure. This project’s initial phase concentrates on the area between Arbroath, Brechin and Montrose as the infrastructure here is a crucial component of the Mercury Programme. As funding becomes available, the project will be rolled out the rest of Angus.

Register your interest in Rural Broadband

Register your interest in Rural Broadband below, and we will email you once the network is live. As this connectivity is rolled out, there will be several events that businesses can attend to find out more and discover how they can obtain a connection.

SmartRural

The Rural Broadband project supports the ambitions of the SmartRural co-operative. The Open Access wireless network will allow farms access to Superfast Broadband and connect their IoT devices to the wider world. This information can then be shared with other groups of people (such as other farmers, universities, and research institutes).

Example IoT devices

Some of the type of IoT devices that can be rolled out include:

• IoT networks like LoRaWan (see diagram below)
• Security systems
• Crop management 
• Livestock monitoring
• Soil monitoring
• Water level monitoring
• Air quality monitoring
• Weather stations
• Irrigation solutions