Gordon Forbes lives in Glasgow with his wife and two young children.

When he moved to a new house, he was initially disappointed to discover that it was not possible to connect to superfast broadband as the premises were on an ‘Exchange only’ line. (As fibre broadband depends on connecting to a green cabinet, premises which connect directly to their local telephone exchange can encounter this issue.)

Gordon says: “The house is about 300 metres from the exchange. Although I understood the technical issues around ‘exchange only’ lines, it did compound the misery. It seemed particularly ironic and frustrating to be so close and yet so far!”

Gordon was therefore delighted when a new green cabinet was erected just outside the exchange and he was able to connect to fibre broadband.

He says: “It has made all the difference to us. We can now rely on internet speeds of 40Mbs download and 10Mbs upload. My wife and I both enjoy streaming ‘catch up’ TV and films through Amazon Prime as well as music through Spotify. Before we had our superfast connection, we often experienced buffering. Now we have no problem at all. Fibre broadband also means we can choose to watch different programmes or do more than one thing online at the same time. Previously, the connection would only allow us to stream one thing at a time. I am relieved I no longer have to watch ‘Emmerdale’ all the time, just because my wife is watching it!”

“Of course, the internet is central to our lives in so many ways. We shop online, my wife surfs the net to download arts and crafts patterns for the children, we use it for research and the children stream cartoons. It was really frustrating when we could not all be online together at the same time, so it is fantastic that we now all have the freedom to follow our own interests and enthusiasms.”

Gordon continues: “The faster upload speeds are also transforming what I am able to do online. For example, I like to use Periscope. This allows me to broadcast video on social media direct from the camera on my mobile phone. With the faster connection speeds, I can now make use of this to share video of the children or the garden with friends and relatives. I have family in Ireland and as they are not able to see our children very often, this helps us all stay connected.”

He adds: “Faster upload speeds also mean it is now feasible to make full use of my Plex Home Media Server. I can now upload all the TV programmes and music I want onto the server and take my selection with me wherever I go. This is especially useful when we go away with the children but even when I am at work, it means I can always have my favourite entertainment to hand.”

Gordon concludes: “I am so pleased that the issue related to our home being on an ‘Exchange only’ line was overcome satisfactorily. Fibre broadband is allowing our family to live our lives to the full and make the most of our leisure time.”