A deal to deliver blanket broadband access across Scotland was announced yesterday as a result of a partnership agreement between the Scottish Executive and BT.

Under the Executive's Broadband for Scotland's Rural and Remote Areas initiative, BT will update a network of exchanges to allow 51,000 homes and 5,400 businesses in the region access to broadband by the end of this year.

BT will enable 378 exchanges in 20 local authorities throughout the Scottish Highlands and Islands for broadband connectivity, whose remote or rural location would have made it prohibitively expensive for commercial broadband operators to provide any service.

Jim Wallace, enterprise minister for the Scottish Executive said, at the announcement: 'By providing access to broadband technology in Scotland and the huge benefits it brings, we are putting in place an important business and educational tool to facilitate economic growth.'

Engineering work is due to begin this week, enabling availability of the first broadband services sometime this summer.

BT was selected as the supplier following an open procurement process begun in July 2004.

The initiative enabling yesterday's deal is funded as part of the Executive's £24 million broadband strategy. It has also received £5-million worth financial support from the European Regional Development Fund programme.