HIE says fibre optic broadband plan is on track

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has said its plan to roll out fibre optic broadband throughout the region is proceeding to schedule.

The organisation launched a tender to find a private sector telecoms firm to deploy the super-fast broadband infrastructure, with the process attracting interest from four companies - BT, Cable and Wireless, Commendium and Fujitsu.

Of these, only BT is still in the running after the other three pulled out, leaving HIE to negotiate with the telecoms giant. Total costs are currently estimated to be between £200 million and £300 million.

Andrea Rutherford, senior development manager for telecommunications at HIE, said: "We are committed to providing best value for the public purse and to achieve this are working closely with the Scottish government, Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), local partners and other super-fast broadband projects."

The Highlands and Islands region was named by BDUK as one of the country's first super-fast broadband pilot sites, along with Cumbria, Herefordshire and North Yorkshire.