| Date -05 Oct 2005 | Return to previous page |
A £70 million project, funded by the Scottish Executive, to introduce high quality broadband technology into schools, and other Council facilities in the Highlands and Islands moved forward this week.
An advert has been placed in the Official Journal of the European Union seeking contractors to tender for the installations.
Moray Council in partnership with Highland, Argyll and Bute, Orkney, Shetland, and Western Isles Councils aim to award the contract in 2006 to start provision by the middle of the year.
A key priority of the Pathfinder projects is to ensure that the 72 secondary and 379 primary schools in the Partner council areas are connected at a minimum speed of 4 megabytes, 8 times faster than current connections - with much higher speeds likely. For Moray this will cover all 8 Secondary schools and 46 Primary schools. The educational benefits, which will arise from this and other complementary initiatives such as the Scottish Schools Digital Network Intranet schools, lie at the heart of this project.
Moray Council, as a partner in the Pathfinder project, will be looking for opportunities to develop the use of broadband throughout the area. All schools and major facilities will gain from the introduction of the integrated high-speed broadband network being rolled out over the next 2-3 years. The project will provide the basis for a modern communications network throughout the Moray area. With an initial focus on the education environment the high-speed digital links will enhance the learning opportunities available to pupils in Moray.
The ability to offer video conferencing and moving media will greatly enhance the learning capability bringing the classroom into the modern technological age. The opportunity for people of all ages to learn new skills which are not dependent on being in a large town or city will add to the local economic future and well being.
Donald Duncan, Director of Educational Services said, “The provision of high bandwidth to schools and libraries has been a long-term aspiration of the Moray Council. This exciting project will enable the fulfillment of our aspiration. It will provide our schools and libraries with an infrastructure, which will support exciting new approaches to learning and teaching, with access to a range of high quality digital resources and communication technologies. With this provision of high speed bandwidth, we look forward to participating in, and taking full advantage of the Scottish Schools Digital Network (SSDN) as it develops over the next few years”.
A similar pathfinder project is being run in the South of Scotland in a partnership between Scottish Borders Council and Dumfries and Galloway Council.
Contact: Joyce Pirie, Public Relations Co-ordinator on Tel 01343 563046