Monday, 10 March 2003 13:39

Argyll and Bute Council’s 21st Century Government spokesperson Councillor Ian Gillies has welcomed the First Minister’s announcement today (Monday 10 March) on the latest development of the Broadband Pathfinder project. The Minister revealed that seven tenderers have been selected to submit outline proposals for providing Broadband services to the Highlands and Islands.

Councillor Gillies said, “Broadband services are a vital element in the regeneration and future economic prosperity of our island and rural communities both in Argyll and Bute and throughout the Highlands and Islands area. I view this announcement as an important step towards this Council’s goal of achieving a modern telecommunications infrastructure in our Council area.

“The new agreement will eventually provide the Council with a real opportunity to develop new and exciting communication channels within our communities and is another example of how much we can achieve when we work together with the Executive and our partners.”

Two Broadband Pathfinder projects are being used by the Scottish Executive to test its new approach to telecoms procurement for the public sector. The projects are for the Highlands and Islands and for the South of Scotland.

It is anticipated that aggregate procurement will cover the needs of schools, libraries and other local authority services, as well as health services including GPs, pharmacies and dentists.

Council Leader Allan Macaskill previously welcomed the Executive’s Pathfinder projects, saying that lack of available telecommunications infrastructure is a major stumbling block in any plans for 21st century services in Scotland. He said, “Imagine the gridlock scenario if we converted the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh into a country lane. At the moment, the country lane, or low bandwidth connection is all that is available to the Highlands and Islands.”

Argyll and Bute Council are represented on the Broadband Pathfinder Highlands and Islands Programme by Chief Executive James McLellan and the Council’s Head of IT Infrastructure Gerry Wilson.

The Executive intends to announce the successful tenderer in autumn with work starting next year.