Case study: Broadband for Scotland

Affordable broadband services for rural areas

Pinsent Masons advised the Scottish Executive on a multi million pound telecommunications project to deliver affordable broadband services to remote and rural areas of Scotland.

It is anticipated that the project, the Scottish Executive's "Broadband for Scotland's Rural and Remote Areas Initiative", will bring economic and social benefits to remote and rural areas and help to achieve economic growth within Scotland.

The Pinsent Masons' team advised on the contract between the Scottish Ministers and BT, under which BT will enable 378 exchanges in Scotland, allowing it to provide both retail and wholesale broadband services in the exchange areas, and enable competition at the retail level. This will facilitate the delivery of broadband services to thousands of households and businesses across Scotland, which would not otherwise have access to such services.

Pinsent Masons worked closely with the procurement team to ensure that the overall objectives of the Scottish Executive and the tight timescales for contract negotiation and signature were met.

Sue Kearns, Head of Telecoms Policy Team at the Scottish Executive, said: "Pinsent Masons’ work on the project was an integral contribution to the success of the procurement both in terms of responsiveness and expert advice”.