Ditch Witch helps Shetland fibre optic broadband rollout

Thursday, January 20th 2011
The machine is capable of cutting through road surfaces.
Ditch Witch helps Shetland fibre optic broadband rollout
A "Ditch Witch" is being used to enable the rollout of super-fast broadband in Shetland.

The machine was successfully tested in Gremista yesterday (January 19th 2011), reports the Shetland Times, ahead of fibre optic broadband cables being laid along the A970 road that connects Hoswick and south Lerwick.

This work is due to get underway early next week, with Tulloch Developments - the contractor that has been tasked with carrying out the project - hoping to have laid 13 miles of fibre beneath the highway by the start of April.

Some £55,000 was spent by the company on the Ditch Witch, a piece of equipment that carries a circular saw capable of slicing through road surfaces.

Guy Smith of Shetland Telecom explained the device means the initiative will be around five times cheaper to complete than if other methods were used.

Last September, Scottish finance secretary John Swinney revealed the island's fibre optic broadband project had been awarded £367,500 of European Regional Development Fund cash.

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