BT Group secured a contract worth up to £350 million over a six-year period to become the sole provider of delivering connectivity to the public sector in Scotland, covering more than 6,000 sites.

The operator won a Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) contract from NHS National Services Scotland and will be tasked with accelerating the digital transformation of the country’s public sector, including in some rural areas.

BT’s award comes after the government ran a competitive tender process for SWAN, launched in 2022, but it is was not revealed who it was up against.

The operator’s remit will include allowing for better communication, data sharing and collaboration across the more than 6,000 sites, which include 94 public sector organisations covering schools, hospitals, GP surgeries, pharmacies, every NHS board and local government offices.

In addition, BT is required to deliver better mobile and fixed connectivity to remote areas, bridging the urban and rural divide.

BT has around 7,000 employees in Scotland: it stated its EE mobile unit was the first to launch 5G in the country and has the highest level of 4G coverage by landmass at 75 per cent, 8 per cent higher than its nearest competitor.

Alan Lees, director for business, BT in Scotland, said the company is committed to delivering transformational public sector services.

“This contract will see us deliver a cost effective and innovative communications framework, which will benefit public sector employees, citizens and services in ways that we have not seen before,” he added.