Contracts for Western Isles improved internet connections 25/12/13
Work will start in the summer on laying a series of underwater optic fibre cables
to help deliver fast, fibre broadband to the Western Isles.
Specialist vessels will lay the submarine links during May to October, providing
a fibre internet netwrok backbone.
The massive engineering effort is part of the £146 million investment project launched
with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for the north of Scotland.
BT has awarded three firms a £26.9 million contract for the ambitious subsea cabling
project to the Outer Hebrides and other Scottish islands.
Brendan Dick, director, BT Scotland, said: “Quite simply, it’s the biggest subsea
engineering project BT has undertaken in UK territorial waters and is the first ever
with so many seabed crossings.
“The size of the task presents a massive challenge, not only because of the number
of cables involved but also the fact that the work has to be completed within a single,
six-month weather window.
“The pressure is on but we’re confident that in just over a year’s time, the Highlands
and Islands will be set to benefit from its own network of underwater, fibre optic
cables.”
HIE’s Stuart Robertson, director of Digital Highlands and Islands, said: “From the
outset HIE was determined that this project would reach across our region.
“The subsea cables are an essential part of bringing high speed broadband to our
west coast communities.
“Their installation is essential in order to reach the 84% coverage target for the
region. The fibre network will bring services closer to everyone and will make it
easier to provide better broadband to even our hardest to reach areas.”