Staying connected not only helps us work from home, but also allows us to participate in hobbies online. A resident of Dumfriesshire can now fully join their online choir thanks to a new superfast broadband connection, which was delivered through the Reaching 100% Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS).

The Scottish Government is committed to enabling access to faster broadband speeds through R100’s SBVS. The voucher scheme is open to all eligible households and businesses, offering a subsidy of up to £5,000 to help cover the capital cost of a new broadband installation.

The resident of Dumfriesshire is now able to access superfast speeds with a satellite connection after engaging a SBVS registered supplier, Bentley Walker.

They said: “Having slower speeds meant that I was always ‘behind’ during Microsoft Teams and Zoom calls. This was noticeable during online choir – from my perspective the conductor was about four beats slower than her singing.

“Before upgrading to superfast broadband, I was experiencing speeds of 8Mbps. I can now work from home and take part in Teams calls.”

“Slower speeds also meant that using spreadsheets was challenging, they could take a while to load successfully. General browsing was also irritating as so many websites are ‘picture heavy’, which meant I was waiting longer for them to load.

“I would recommend SBVS to others as so many things are now done online, such as interacting with local and central government, work colleagues and friends. Online activities are less stressful with higher speeds.”

Various technology solutions are available through the R100 SBVS: fixed wireless, full fibre, fixed mobile or satellite. The final solution will depend on your location and what is available from your chosen supplier.

Find out more about the scheme and how to engage a registered supplier on our R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme.