FOUR East Lothian villages are set to benefit from state-of-the-art broadband through a £410 million scheme.

Gifford, Gullane, Longniddry and Pencaitland are the latest places in the county to benefit from the latest phase of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

Thanks to the engineering roll out by BT, which is already under way, about 55,000 homes and businesses now have access to fibre broadband through the Digital Scotland initiative.

As a result of the latest phase, residents in the four villages will receive fibre broadband services at speeds of up to 80Mbps during the winter.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The scale of the challenge of delivering fibre broadband across Scotland is greater than any other part of the UK and indeed, much of Europe.

“It’s fantastic news that more communities and businesses around the country will soon begin to see the benefits of high-quality digital connectivity.” Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, added: “The advent of fibre broadband in these latest communities will mean a major boost for local homes and businesses.

“With more adults working from home than ever before and more people shopping or watching TV online, today’s announcement will help Scotland work and play faster.

“We’re really proud of our role at the heart of Scotland, delivering critical infrastructure which helps the nation to compete on a world stage.

“We could only reach the parts of Scotland that lay beyond commercial deployment by working with others, and I find it really heartening that so many of our smaller communities stand to benefit.” Councillor John McMillan, East Lothian Council’s economic development spokesman, said: “We are delighted that these four exchanges will be upgraded to receive superfast broadband in the next few months. This achievement is welcomed and I am sure will bring about benefits to residents and businesses.

“However, we are aware that there are still areas of the county that have no or limited broadband coverage and they are now our main priority.”