Mobile network operator Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has used a combination of boats, helicopters and offroad vehicles to install a mast and deliver 4G to a remote Hebridean island with a population of less than 100.
The community-owned Isle of Eigg, which lies around 10 miles off the Scottish west coast in the Inner Hebrides chain of islands, became the 150th rural site to be built or upgraded by the operator as part of the UK’s Shared Rural Network (SRN).
The SRN is a £1.3bn project shared between the government and the UK’s four mobile network operators, VMO2, Vodafone, EE and Three.
The four operators have invested £532m between them, while the government has contributed £501m.
The initiative, which was launched in 2020, aims to expand 4G connectivity to cover 95% of the UK’s land mass by the end of 2025, getting rid of so-called rural ‘notspots’.
This will involve providing coverage to an extra 280,000 premises, as well as connectivity on the go in an additional 16,000km (9,941 miles) of the UK’s roads.
It will also boost coverage in designated Areas of Natural Beauty from 51% to 79% and in National Parks from 41% to 74%, benefitting millions of visitors each year.
Most areas will have multiple providers by 2025
There will also be provider overlap, with each of the four expected to cover 90% of the geographical landmass.
This will provide choice and competition, even in many previously uncovered and difficult-to-reach rural areas.
The programme is being overseen by a jointly owned company called Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited (DMSL).
Most of the rural sites built or upgraded so far by VMO2 have been located in remote parts of Scotland, including Shetland, Ardross, and Argyll and Bute.
Jeanie York, chief technology officer at VMO2, said that the company had delivered more sites than any other operator, demonstrating the company’s commitment to the SRN.
She said that dozens more sites were set to go live in the coming weeks and, combined with the 150 already set up, this will enable more residents, businesses and visitors in rural areas to benefit from better mobile coverage.
She added that the work was “vital in tackling the urban-rural digital divide that exists in the UK”.
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