Four Scottish local authorities have won support to extend mobile connectivity in their areas under the Tay Cities Region Deal.
Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perth and Kinross Councils have begun work on a project with the Infralink programme – set up by the Scottish Futures Trust and funded by the Scotland 5G Centre – to encourage investment by mobile network operators.
Infralink said this will support public sector initiatives such as the Shared Rural Network as well as generate more commercial activity.
The organisation has built on the work of Glasgow City Council, which established a telecoms unit last year and has been able to promote new roll outs of fibre and small cell agreements across the city.
Earlier this year Infralink published standard leases and payment guidance for use across Scotland, and to kickstart the Tay Cities initiative it will facilitate regular meetings between the local authorities and industry with the aim of optimising digital infrastructure deployment.
Current disconnect
Paul Coffey, CEO of the Scotland 5G Centre, said: “At the moment, there is a disconnect between network operators and landowners and bringing these two groups together is an important step in creating our next generation of communications networks.
“I’m delighted that these four local authorities are making the commitment to increasing mobile infrastructure and collaborating through the Infralink programme to help drive mobile connectivity and aid the development of 5G in Scotland.”
Image from iStock, Yanawut
