Gigabit in Scotland - public review: report - revision 3 - September 2024

A revised report setting out the responses to the public review into eligible premises for public investment via Project Gigabit and actions taken as a result of the responses, including subsequent submissions. The report also describes the next steps for the delivery of Project Gigabit in Scotland.


5. Next Steps

The Scottish Government has used this information to define the eligible Intervention Area for potential future procurements under the Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy Scheme[10] and is in the process of finalising the design of procurement areas as a subset of the intervention area. These have been discussed with the market via a Pre-Procurement Market Engagement exercise. In line with the scheme, potential procurements are likely to include both "Local Contracts" using the existing Dynamic Purchasing System and "Regional Procurements" using the restricted procurement procedure.

A map showing the potential local (Type A) and regional (Type B) procurements can be found in Appendix C. The first procurement (Lot 1) launched in May this year and included 11,394 properties throughout the Scottish Borders and parts of East Lothian, Midlothian and South Lanarkshire.

Further detail of the Lot 1 procurement can be found in Appendix D. This was followed later in May by a regional Lot 5 procurement which included an initial 48,914 properties in the North East. A further 19,518 properties are included as deferred scope and will be considered for inclusion in the latter stages of contract delivery should they not be connected by other means. Further detail is provided in Appendix E.

Three further regional procurements are at an advanced stage, with procurement launch expected later this year. These are Lot 2 covering Dumfries and Galloway South (detail in Appendix F), Lot 4 covering Fife and parts of Stirling and Perth and Kinross (details in Appendix G) and Lot 6 covering the Orkney and Shetland Islands (details in Appendix H).

A summary of the procurements is shown below:

Lot

Name

Type

Initial Scope

Deferred Scope

Indicative Subsidy

1

Borders and East Lothian

A

11,394

n/a

£26,296,482

2

Dumfries and Galloway South

B

20,281

1,714

£33,812,696

4

Fife, Perth and Kinross

B

23,088

5,577

£43,145,991

5

Dundee, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Moray

B

48,914

19,518

£105,716,142

6

Orkney and Shetland Islands

B

10,682

2,955

£41,000,000

The process required for the provision of gigabit broadband infrastructure under the scheme across all of Scotland is expected to take around 5 years with the first contracts awarded in the second half of 2024.

The UK Government plans further interventions beyond those described above as part of Project Gigabit.

Contact

Email: gigabitomr@gov.scot

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