Highlands and Islands authorities go high-speed

Schools, libraries and council office sites in the Scottish Highlands and Islands are to get high-speed broadband connectivity through the Pathfinder North project, which went live on Wednesday.

Local authorities in Highland, Moray, Argyll and Bute, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands will be hooked up to the IP VPN, which is being supplied by Cable & Wireless.

According to a statement, schools will be able to plug into the UK's national schools' intranet, Glow, and teachers and children will get access to online libraries and videoconferencing resources.

Area residents in the area will also be able to access online systems for interaction with local government, such as e-payments and online applications.

"The Pathfinder North scheme represents a major investment in rural locations, which depend so heavily on good communications," Carolyn Wilson, the chairman of the Highland Council's resources committee, said in the statement.

"The provision of high-speed broadband services is great news both for our teams and the people they support, who have access to our community schools, libraries and offices."