Affordable broadband services will be expanded to thousands more citizens in Scotland under a £3.3m deal awarded to Avanti Caledonian Broadband by the Scottish government.

Nearly 4,800 households and businesses have registered for a government initiative to identify access difficulties which include people being too far from from ADSL-enabled telephone exchanges.

Citizen co-operation has helped identify and resolve the problems, said Enterprise Minister Jim Mather.

"In the 21st century, as many people as possible should have broadband access," he said.

"It is a vital tool for business, helping drive economic growth, and is now used by ever more households as standard"

"Scotland currently has over 99 per cent broadband availability and we have been monitoring access difficulties. So we've asked those without access to register so that we could build a clear picture of the extent of the problem."

"I'm pleased that every single eligible household and business should now benefit from affordable broadband access over the coming months, giving business a boost and enhancing the lives of householders."

Areas across the country will benefit from the rollout, from the East Highlands to the Scottish Borders, Tayside and Argyll. Some of the larger clusters which will be covered by the contract include parts of North Sanday and Rousay in Orkney, Jura, Angus Glens, Cumbernauld, Ettrick Valley and Skye and Wester Ross.