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Edinburgh (pte052/26.04.2005/16:15) - The whole of Scotland will have access to affordable broadband by the end of 2005. As the British IT portal The Register http://www.theregister.co.uk reports, a 30 million pound deal was made between the Scottish Executive and BT. Under the agreement, BT, which is putting up almost half of the money, will convert 378 exchanges giving 51,000 households and 5,400 businesses access to broadband. Furthermore, 21 exchanges in the Western Isles will be broadband-enabled via a publicly-funded wireless broadband project.
As The Register reports, without the cash these commercially unviable exchanges would not have supported enough end users to justify the investment. According to Jim Wallace, the Enterprise Minister, the Scottish Executive is "stepping in" to help provide broadband where the commercial market will not deliver.
"We made a commitment in our Partnership Agreement to ensure that every community in Scotland has access to broadband by the end of 2005," he said. "We are now well on the way to delivering this. We have made it clear again and again that economic growth is our top priority. By providing access to broadband technology in Scotland and the huge benefits it brings, we are putting in place an important business and educational tool to facilitate economic growth in every community," he added. In February, Northern Ireland claimed to have achieved 100 per cent broadband coverage after public sector money was thrown at BT to help wire-up commercially unviable exchanges. (newsfox reports: http://www.newsfox.com/pte.mc?pte=050225030)
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