The UK Government has signed the largest ever contract under its Project Gigabit
to bring gigabit-capable internet to the Outer Hebrides, Highlands, and hard-to-reach
areas across most of Scotland
The £157 million contract is part of a wider agreement with Openreach to reach places where there is insufficient market appetite or capability to support a local or regional intervention, as has proven to be the case in much of the Western Isles.
Western Isles MP Torcuil Crichton is delighted with the news.
He said: “This is critically important investment which will be great news to the far too many island homes and businesses which still struggle to access decent broadband”.
“This is welcome news - In Harris, 10% of households are unable to get decent broadband,
and the same is true across the rest of the Western Isles: 10% of households cannot
get speeds over 10 megabits per second”.
“This new investment from the UK Government will improve digital connectivity in the islands, benefiting many communities that would otherwise not be reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout plan, driving economic growth and unlocking opportunity for people regardless of where they live”.
Scottish Government Business Minister Richard Lochhead said: This new contract brings even more investment to Scotland and we are committed to working with the UK Government and Openreach to drive efficiencies across both the R100 and Project Gigabit programmes and maximise gigabit coverage.
“Through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme and our ongoing efforts with R100, over one million faster broadband connections have been delivered across Scotland through public investment – developing infrastructure, knowledge and experience that will be essential in ensuring the success of Project Gigabit in Scotland.”
Project Gigabit targets locations too difficult or expensive for providers to reach in their commercial build and would otherwise be left behind with older digital infrastructure.
The programme is complemented by Scottish Government investment in its R100 scheme to deliver an improved broadband network to island, rural and other areas.
Digital boost aims to bring faster broadband speeds to overlooked communities in Western Isles
4 May 2025
