Gigabit Broadband Rollout Contract for Orkney and Shetland to be Awarded Soon

After a long delay it appears as if the Scottish Government may finally get around to awarding a new gigabit broadband roll-out contract for Orkney & Shetland by the end of 2026. The procurement, which forms part of the UK’s £5bn Project Gigabit scheme, aspires to expand full fibre (FTTP) networks to 13,550 premises in hard-to-reach parts of the remote Northern Isles.

The SG first put out a contract notice for all this back in December 2024, which at the time estimated that the contract could be awarded to a supplier in October 2025 (estimate) and would then remain in force for approximately 11 years – comprising a build period of approximately 4 years, followed by an operational period of at least 7 years (i.e. the build phase would be completed by the end of 2030).

However, it’s not uncommon for complex procurements to face delays, particularly those expected to come at a high cost due to the remote and challenging nature of the Northern Isles. Some £40.7m of public investment has been allocated to the deployment, which works out at about £3,000 per premises. But the final coverage and funding figures will depend upon negotiation and what the chosen supplier deems to be viable within the budget.

According to the Shetland News, the Scottish Government have confirmed that the Project Gigabit contract for this region is currently due to be awarded “later” in 2026 – roughly two years after it was put out to tender. But there is currently “no firm date” and so additional delays remain a possibility.

The most plausible supplier for all this is Openreach (BT), since their network remains the primary means of fixed line connectivity for islanders (outside of mobile infrastructure and Starlink). But it’s also possible that a community project could be selected, although this would increase the risks. Both Shetland Telecom and CloudNet might potentially have an interest (here and here).

Whatever the outcome, we strongly suspect it may now take until the end of 2031 to complete such a difficult network expansion. The two island groups currently have a combined population of around 45,000.