Gigabit in Scotland - public review: analysis report

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^[6] 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.

Once agreement has been reached with UK Government on potential procurements, the Scottish Government plan to publish a Prior Information Notice notifying the market of the intended procurement route(s). The process required for the provision of gigabit broadband infrastructure under the scheme 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.