Residents of South Uist are among the first in the Scottish highlands to benefit from the second phase of the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. This comes after years of rural digital neglect, where efforts to improve connectivity have been inefficient and plagued by controversy.
The first phase of the plan aimed to target “Total Not Spots” (TNS), but ultimately worsened rural connectivity and scarring protected wildland. The plan was also criticized for acting as a way of phasing out 2G across the Scottish highlands, despite it being faster than the newly rolled-out 4G networks by the copious number of masts. As a result, the SNP’s former Westminster digital spokesperson, Calum Kerr, called for more “expertise needed in Westminster to improve connectivity” to not further widen the “digital divide”.
Recently, a new shared program has begun with the UK’s 4 major mobile companies, part-funded by the Government, to build new combined masts across the Scottish highlands that will ensure that everyone in the area – whether residents or tourists – has network access.
Virgin Media O2 network erected the mast in South Uist earlier this month, reaching people in Balivanich, Grimsay, Liniclate, and most of Benbecula, to more than 30km of the A865. The plan has expanded over 30,000 square km, roughly twice the size of Northern Ireland, but still aims to continue its expansion across all TNS locations to properly reduce the digital divide between rural and urban areas. The programme aims to ensure people in the UK have good 4G coverage, regardless of their location. While the MSP for Na h-Eileanan an lar, Alasdair Allan, has commended the plan as a “welcome step forward”, he nevertheless acknowledged that there is still “much to be done” in regard to the neglect of rural communities within the UK.
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