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Faster broadband allows school to keep on dancing

Peter Jolly/Northpix Dance teacher Tanya Horne has shoulder length fair hair and is sitting on a chair outside. She has a laptop on her lap and is surrounded by three of her Highland dancers. The girls are wearing different coloured tartans.Peter Jolly/Northpix
Dance school owner Tanya Horne said reliable broadband had ended frustration with music streamed online repeatedly buffering

A dance school says a reliable broadband connection for the small village where it is based means routines are no longer disrupted by music stopping unexpectedly.

Halkirk's speeds are now 3,000 times faster on average following a fibre optic upgrade, which dance teacher Tanya Horne said meant fewer interruptions when streaming tunes.

The community of 950 people has gone from a speed of 2.8 megabits per second (Mbps) - one of the slowest in the UK - to up to 8,000 Mbps, according to the company that installed it.

Ms Horne said: "We'd got used to having bad broadband - the music would just cut out. We don't need to worry about that now."

Communications watchdog Ofcom defines "decent broadband" as a connection providing at least 10 Mbps download speed and 1 Mbps upload speed from a fixed-line connection.

It said the average download speed for rural areas of the UK was 56 Mbps.

Halkirk, near Thurso, had its service upgrade by Highland Broadband.

The company is rolling out faster broadband across parts of Scotland with support from the Scottish government and Building Digital UK, a project that involves the UK and Scottish governments.

Ms Horne said a more reliable connection "opened up the world" to her and her 100 students.

The community is more than two hours' drive from the nearest city, Inverness.

The dance teacher said: "The dancers could benefit from online practice programmes provided by a world champion Highland dancer 250 miles away and CrossFit with a trainer in the United States, to name just a couple.

"They'll now be able to do that as a group, which will be so much more valuable as a learning experience.

"Likewise, I have lectured and given demonstrations for fellow professionals in North America and with good broadband we can continue that sharing of expertise in Highland dancing around the world."

Ms Horne said last year a local fiddler and accordionist providing live music at a special workshop.

She added: "One of our younger girls came up to me afterwards and said how nice it was to dance to continuous music - without the buffering."

Peter Jolly/Northpix Jess Dreaves has long dark hair, a suit jacket and blue top with a name badge. She is sitting in a brown leather chair and holds a laptop. She is in a large function room of the hotel.Peter Jolly/Northpix
Ulbster Arms Hotel general manager Jess Dreaves said broadband was important to customers and staff

The Ulbster Arms Hotel said it had also benefited from the improved speeds.

General manager Jess Dreaves said: "We have 13 rooms within our hotel as well as five lodges, so having the best broadband connection that can deliver for dozens of users is essential."

The operators of the village hall, called the Ross Institute, now plans to diversify into new sectors to generate funds.

Halkirk Village Council trustee Trish Bremner said: "We only just got broadband in the hall last year but, with our new reliable connectivity we see the potential for hosting conferences and weddings."

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