4G solution is now on the road to Orinsay

Orinsay is located on the shores of Loch Shell.

Calum Kennedy famously sang about the endearing beauty of his home village, but for some of its modern residents it’s more resembled a technological black hole.

But now a solution is finally in sight for the households in Orinsay, South Lochs, after external funding was secured through the Pairc Trust Estate to enable the installation of 4G technology.

While much of country has moved on to 5G – enabling faster internet connection for mobiles and devices and a more resilient phone connection – in Orinsay they are still struggling with connectivity that belongs to a past age.

It is even more galling as located in the neighbouring village of Lemreway is a telecommunications mast, but due to the nature of the topography of the area it was seemingly of little benefit to those in Orinsay.

The lack of connectivity in the village was raised as a key issue with the Pairc Trust, as it was clear that the normal market solution involving the mobile companies would take years to materialise, if at all.

But now the Trust have secured external funding of £5k to allow a dedicated bespoke solution to be advanced through the publicly-funded S4GI “not spots” programme, designed to help those areas that suffer from poor connectivity and are “out of reach” in terms of a commercial arrangement.

Angus McDowall, Chair of the Pairc Trust said: “We are delighted to have been successful in our application to the WHP Telecoms Community Benefit Fund, meaning we can improve access to internet in Orinsay.

"We know it’s an important issue to the residents there and we are delighted to have been able to address it. We are also asking the community in other villages in Pairc – how is your 4G?

"If your answer is ‘it’s not great!’ then please get in touch with us as we explore rolling out this project to the rest of the community, wherever it might be needed.

"The Pairc Trust recognises that connectivity is important in our community, one that is often interlinked with other concerns from the local economy to social isolation, and we are committed to doing what we can to improve it.”

A local IT specialist, working with WHP Telecoms, will erect a combination of external antennas and remote poles in order to route a signal to the various houses who have poor access to the internet.

The company won a £25 million contract to provide telecommunications infrastructure in remote “not spot” locations.

Martyn Cheyne, WHP Telecoms Group Chief Strategic Officer, said: “WHP Telecoms are delighted to be supporting the Pairc Trust in this pilot project as part of our S4GI Community Benefit Fund. Connectivity is a key pillar in strengthening our communities and we are pleased to be able to extend the reach of the S4GI project in this manner, assisting in the mission of ensuring the Outer Hebrides retains and attracts people to develop a sustainable population.”

Digital Connectivity was identified as a key component of the National Islands Plan and the Pairc Trust say their project will contribute to this aim by addressing so-called the “not-spots” where people live in their community but are not served by 4G.