Faster broadband allows Halkirk school to keep on dancing

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."
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."

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

South Wales Guardian

2 days ago

• South Wales Guardian

Scottish Government ending use of WhatsApp after Covid inquiry criticism

The Government had previously agreed to end its use of WhatsApp and other non-official messaging applications by spring this year. Opposition MSPs have said the new policy is a 'clear admission' from the Government that the pandemic deletions were wrong. The policy comes into force on Friday though some teams will continue to phase out the app by the end of the year. As part of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, it emerged ministers and top civil servants deleted WhatsApp messages which had been requested by the inquiry team. The Conservatives attacked former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in particular for deleting messages, though she said they did not relate to Government business. Her successor, Humza Yousaf, ordered a review of mobile messaging which was carried out by Emma Martins – the former Channel Islands data protection commissioner. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the policy will apply to all Scottish Government employees, including contractors, senior civil servants, special advisers and ministers. Ms Forbes said: 'We are setting out a clear approach to ending Government use of mobile messaging apps, and this will support wider work to deliver on our commitment to openness and transparency. 'The use of mobile messaging apps increased during the pandemic as staff worked remotely in unprecedented and difficult circumstances. Having reflected on our working practices, we are now implementing changes to the use of such apps. 'This follows on from actions to implement other recommendations from Ms Martins's externally-led review including updating our hybrid working policy. 'I want to reassure the public that it is a priority of this Government to maintain secure and searchable data, ensuring compliance with all records management rules. 'We will continue to act to ensure our data policies are robust, especially considering technological advances.' Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy said: 'This is as close as we'll get to an apology from the SNP for the shameful, industrial-scale deletion of Covid WhatsApp messages which was orchestrated by John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon. 'This change in policy is all well and good but the horse has already bolted for bereaved families who were denied the answers they deserved over the decisions taken by SNP ministers during the pandemic. 'Secrecy and evasion are hardwired into this SNP Government, so the Scottish people will not be duped into thinking one overdue concession marks a change in culture.'

Glasgow Times

3 days ago

• Glasgow Times

Scottish Government ending use of WhatsApp after criticism

The Government had previously agreed to end its use of WhatsApp and other non-official messaging applications by spring next year. READ NEXT: First Bus receive huge accolade at Scottish Transport Awards 2025 The policy comes into force on Friday though some teams will continue to phase out the app by the end of the year. As part of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, it emerged ministers and top civil servants deleted WhatsApp messages which had been requested by the inquiry team. The Conservatives attacked former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in particular for deleting messages, though she said they did not relate to Government business. Her successor, Humza Yousaf, ordered a review of mobile messaging which was carried out by Emma Martins – the former Channel Islands data protection commissioner. READ NEXT: Abusive social media posts directed at MSPs tripled in past year Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the policy will apply to all Scottish Government employees, including contractors, senior civil servants, special advisers and ministers. Ms Forbes said: 'We are setting out a clear approach to ending Government use of mobile messaging apps, and this will support wider work to deliver on our commitment to openness and transparency. 'The use of mobile messaging apps increased during the pandemic as staff worked remotely in unprecedented and difficult circumstances. Having reflected on our working practices, we are now implementing changes to the use of such apps. 'This follows on from actions to implement other recommendations from Ms Martins's externally-led review including updating our hybrid working policy. 'I want to reassure the public that it is a priority of this Government to maintain secure and searchable data, ensuring compliance with all records management rules. 'We will continue to act to ensure our data policies are robust, especially considering technological advances.' Opposition MSPs have said the new policy is a 'clear admission' from the Government that the pandemic deletions were wrong. Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy said: 'This is as close as we'll get to an apology from the SNP for the shameful, industrial-scale deletion of Covid WhatsApp messages which was orchestrated by John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon. 'This change in policy is all well and good but the horse has already bolted for bereaved families who were denied the answers they deserved over the decisions taken by SNP ministers during the pandemic. 'Secrecy and evasion are hardwired into this SNP Government, so the Scottish people will not be duped into thinking one overdue concession marks a change in culture.'

Leader Live

3 days ago

• Leader Live

Scottish Government ending use of WhatsApp after Covid inquiry criticism

The Government had previously agreed to end its use of WhatsApp and other non-official messaging applications by spring next year. Opposition MSPs have said the new policy is a 'clear admission' from the Government that the pandemic deletions were wrong. The policy comes into force on Friday though some teams will continue to phase out the app by the end of the year. As part of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, it emerged ministers and top civil servants deleted WhatsApp messages which had been requested by the inquiry team. The Conservatives attacked former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in particular for deleting messages, though she said they did not relate to Government business. Her successor, Humza Yousaf, ordered a review of mobile messaging which was carried out by Emma Martins – the former Channel Islands data protection commissioner. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the policy will apply to all Scottish Government employees, including contractors, senior civil servants, special advisers and ministers. Ms Forbes said: 'We are setting out a clear approach to ending Government use of mobile messaging apps, and this will support wider work to deliver on our commitment to openness and transparency. 'The use of mobile messaging apps increased during the pandemic as staff worked remotely in unprecedented and difficult circumstances. Having reflected on our working practices, we are now implementing changes to the use of such apps. 'This follows on from actions to implement other recommendations from Ms Martins's externally-led review including updating our hybrid working policy. 'I want to reassure the public that it is a priority of this Government to maintain secure and searchable data, ensuring compliance with all records management rules. 'We will continue to act to ensure our data policies are robust, especially considering technological advances.'