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Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Colleges in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland don’t pay a Jisc subscription, and the DfE standards don’t apply. Here is what we could confirm about SWAN, PSBA, Medr and the funding bodies — and what we couldn’t.

  • Checked 25 October 2026
  • Applies to: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
  • 2 min read
  • 7 sources
On this page

At a glance

  • FE colleges in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland don’t pay a Jisc subscription — Jisc’s funders cover it.
  • Scotland: the SWAN public sector network contract was awarded to BT in 2023, and SWAN lists Janet among its catalogue services.
  • Wales: PSBA is operated by the Welsh Government and delivered by BT; Medr replaced HEFCW in August 2024.
  • Northern Ireland: the Department for the Economy is a Jisc core funding body; we found no current official description of how NI institutions connect to Janet.

What’s the same everywhere

Janet and Jisc membership work across the UK. Universities everywhere contribute to Jisc through the same sector-agreed model, and FE colleges in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland pay no subscription: “your Jisc membership is funded by our funders, so you do not pay a subscription fee.” See Jisc membership.

The DfE digital and technology standards apply in England only.

Scotland

  • The Scottish Funding Council is listed as a Jisc core funding body in the Janet connection policy.
  • SWAN, the Scottish Wide Area Network: NHS National Services Scotland awarded BT a contract worth up to £350m over six years on 23 October 2023. It covers 6,000+ sites and 94 public sector organisations. SWAN’s own site lists Janet among its catalogue services.
  • APUC is the purchasing consortium for Scottish universities and colleges.

Wales

  • PSBA (Public Sector Broadband Aggregation) is “Operated by Welsh Government and delivered by BT”. Its description of the education sector reads: “Secure connectivity supporting teaching, research and digital learning across schools, colleges and universities.”
  • Medr, the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research, became operational on 1 August 2024, after HEFCW was dissolved on 31 July 2024. Its remit covers higher and further education, apprenticeships, adult learning and sixth forms.
  • HEPCW is the Welsh university purchasing consortium.

Northern Ireland

  • The Department for the Economy is listed as a Jisc core funding body.
  • We found no current official description of how colleges and universities in Northern Ireland connect to Janet. Ask Jisc or your funding body.

Schools

Schools in each nation have their own networks and standards — our sister site Broadband for Schools covers them.

Sources

Checked 25 October 2026. We wrote this guide from these sources, in our own words:

  1. Jisc: How Jisc membership works (jisc.ac.uk)
  2. Jisc: Janet Network connection policy (jisc.ac.uk)
  3. SWAN: NSS awards £350million SWAN contract to BT (swan.scot)
  4. SWAN (swan.scot)
  5. PSBA (Welsh Government) (psba.gov.wales)
  6. Medr: What we do (medr.cymru)
  7. Welsh Government: Medr operational date (written statement) (gov.wales)

Broadband for Education is an independent guide. It is not a broker or a supplier, and it is not owned by, or connected to, Jisc, any network provider, framework or government body. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

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