Faster broadband for Orkney via water pipes
CloudNet uses existing drinking water infrastructure to provide residents and businesses in Papa Westray with high-speed internet
We’ve reported before on efforts to connect hard-to-reach rural communities to high-speed broadband services. The Orkney Islands of the north coast of Scotland are the latest beneficiary – thanks to a clever bit of repurposing existing kit.
Photo by Rob Burke
Instead of laying new cable – which can expensive and disruptive – contractor CloudNet used the community-owned water authority’s existing infrastructure. A second pipe within the drinking water network is used to house the fibre cable. At the same time, remote sensors added to the existing pipe enable close monitoring of water quality.
The small island of Papa Westray, with a population of 90 residents, was the first to benefit from this novel approach as the water system is owned by the community, which aided the process of gaining necessary permissions.
The new broadband network will now be used for such things as remote monitoring of livestock via CCTV and home healthcare check-ups via video call. It will also support booking systems for accommodation and tourist facilities.
The project was supported by Scottish government funding through the Reaching 100% (R100) voucher scheme, which provides up to £5,000 to help homes and businesses get superfast broadband speeds, where they are not included in coverage plans of either the Reaching 100% contracts or planned commercial investment.
Richard Lochhead MSP, Minister for Business, says: ‘This ingenious approach represents a less disruptive way of delivering faster connectivity to all on Papa Westray. Scotland is famous the world over for its innovation. We are working with rural communities in the most imaginative ways possible to bring faster broadband to some of the hardest to reach parts of the country.
‘This project showcases engineering creativity at its best and makes it easier for residents to do business and access essential services such as health and education. This will also help attract people to live and work on Papa Westray. Under the £600m R100 programme, the Scottish government is helping deliver a fair, green and growing economy for all our regions.’
Ian Cursiter, Supply Engineer at Papa Westray Water Board, adds: ‘Without this high-speed connectivity, I wouldn’t be able to remotely monitor my farm or the water network for the island. The real benefit in monitoring the water network for levels of usage, pressure and so on, is providing a much more efficient water system, which will ultimately be more environmentally friendly and cost effective to islanders. I’ve lived on Papa Westray my whole life and I’m delighted to see connectivity that allows the islanders to access the same facilities as those on the mainland.’
Greg Whitton, Managing Director of CloudNet, says: ‘CloudNet are proud to have delivered this Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme project to the most remote island in Orkney – Papa Westray – the first successful commercial project of its kind in the UK. Due to the island topography, we used the water network to deliver fibre to the premises. This helped minimise excavations and excessive construction costs on the project to meet the programme needs.’
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