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| Atkins supports superfast broadband in Scotland Atkins' support to Scotland's Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) reached a critical milestone as HIE signed a contract with BT to deliver superfast broadband across the region. This £146 million project for the delivery of next generation broadband to one of Europe's most remote areas is the most challenging and complex telecommunication infrastructure project ever undertaken in the UK. Atkins has provided technical, commercial and procurement support to HIE since January 2011. This included leading contract negotiations, and evaluation of the technical and commercial aspects of the project. Atkins also provided modelling and evaluation of the deployment costs of next generation broadband to meet the coverage and bandwidth targets for this challenging rural region. Atkins' project director, Neil Watt, said: "High speed internet access offers great opportunities to improve the quality of life for remote communities and the economy of the region. In addition, it supports innovation and research and access to new applications in education and health. The dramatic geography and disparate population of the Highlands and Islands presented significant technical and cost challenges for the provision of next generation broadband, and we are delighted to have helped HIE finalise a contract with a supplier who can bring this service to these communities." The HIE project included the provision of 400km of new subsea fibre optic cables via 19 submarine cable links to the Inner/Outer Hebrides and Orkney islands, and over 800km of new fibre optic cable backbone and Fibre to the Cabinet/Fibre to the Home (FTTC/FTTH). HIE has received funding from the Scottish Government and Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) to enable a world-class, future-proofed infrastructure. The project will see around 84% of premises in the Highlands and Islands region connected to the next generation broadband infrastructure over the next three years.Atkins has also been appointed to provide technical support to the Scottish Government in their procurement of next generation superfast broadband infrastructure and services for the rest of Scotland. write your comments about the article :: © 2013 Construction News :: home page |