OPENREACH has outlined plans to make ultra-reliable Full Fibre broadband available to thousands of ‘harder to reach’ homes and businesses in Kelty and Kincardine.

The West Fife villages are among 60 small and rural towns and villages across Scotland to be upgraded by Openreach to try and boost their post-Covid economic recovery.

Work is expected to get under way within the next 12-18 months although, due to the size of the build, some places will see work continue into 2024.

The Fife locations are part of a wider announcement to make the new technology available to a further 3.2 million premises in the UK’s hardest to reach places.

The build is at the forefront of a massive £12 billion investment delivering significant economic, social and environmental benefits for rural and urban communities.

Robert Thorburn, Openreach’s Partnership Director for Scotland, said: “We’ve already upgraded hundreds of thousands of homes and business across Scotland to Full Fibre.

"As well as keeping the existing network running throughout the Covid-19 crisis, our engineers have, safely and with social distancing in place, continued building the new infrastructure to make sure that as lockdown restrictions ease, our network is there to support families, businesses and the economic recovery.

“Many Scottish households and businesses can already switch to the new technology and hundreds of thousands more will follow in the months and years ahead.

"Our Full Fibre build in Lundin Links and Lower Largo is well advanced, and now thousands of harder-to-reach households and businesses in Kelty and Kincardine will also benefit.

“People can check online and ask their broadband providers to find out more about the many benefits."