FarrPoint, Scotland’s fastest growing technology consultancy, has helped connect remote Scottish communities through the provision of reliable high speed broadband connections in some of the most challenging rural areas in Europe.

FarrPoint worked in partnership with Community Broadband Scotland (CBS) to support the ambitions of GigaPlus Argyll,

a community organisation set up to bring superfast broadband to isolated communities in the southern Hebrides.

FarrPoint was the main advisor to the essential procurement process and provided technical and project expertise to develop and specify the broadband service and assisted in the management of the procurement process, through to contract award. With the help of FarrPoint’s technical and project expertise, Gigaplus Argyll has now successfully appointed a broadband provider who will bring superfast broadband to isolated communities in the southern Hebrides.

The southern Hebrides stretches over seven islands and one remote peninsula within the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The area is home to around 3,300 people, reaching 1,400 potential homes and businesses, covering over 5,000 km². The southern Hebrides is considered to have very high levels of access deprivation because of its remote rural location. Access to superfast broadband is therefore vital for these communities and to improve the competitiveness of existing commercial enterprises and to continue to attract new types of business to the area.

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Andrew Muir, CEO at FarrPoint, said:

“We are delighted to have worked closely with the communities in GigaPlus Argyll and Community Broadband Scotland on this important initiative for the sustainability of remote communities. We helped provide procurement structure and broadband expertise to the project and worked in close partnership with the community, to deliver this key first step. Improved broadband infrastructure and services can release such a lot of potential within these rural communities and we are proud to be able to help with something so worthwhile.”   

Moray Finch representing GigaPlus Argyll said:

“We were really grateful for the assistance that FarrPoint provided to us throughout this project. This level of expertise is invaluable to community groups dealing with what is a very complex field, and we were consistently impressed with FarrPoint’s clear grasp of the issues, the expert guidance they provided to us, and their enthusiastic support throughout. This is such an important project for the communities involved and we are delighted to have reached this important milestone.”

Archie MacDonald of Community Broadband Scotland said:

“This project is groundbreaking in its aim to reach people not only scattered across a community, but across a peninsula and seven different islands. The community, the private sector and public sector have worked together to look at how best to deliver a sustainable next generation solution. This is the first aggregated project of this scale and complexity supported by Community Broadband Scotland and FarrPoint’s procurement management and technical consultancy has been instrumental in getting it to delivery.”