Improving connectivity across Scotland’s islands
Broadband Director, Sarah Eynon, shares some reflections on what our broadband programmes are delivering on the ground and what improved connectivity really means for island life.
You may have seen last month that the Scottish Government has published its second National Islands Plan and I was pleased to see that it identifies digital connectivity as a key objective in retaining and attracting people to Scotland’s island communities.
The plan highlights that with more public and private services available online, access to reliable digital connectivity can help reduce the need to travel and increase equity of access for island residents to economic and social opportunities as well as health and public services.
On my recent visit to the Isle of Lewis, I saw first-hand the impact of the Scottish Government’s £600+ million Reaching 100% (R100) programme, which is delivering faster broadband across Scotland. R100 has already made huge progress in bringing connectivity to the islands, thanks to 16 subsea cables laid in 2022.
We have already exceeded 98,000 connections across Scotland with R100 build completed to 15 islands and R100 and Project Gigabit in Scotland build underway to a further 4 islands.
Across the islands over 8,200 connections have been delivered.
In Stornoway, I met with colleagues from our suppliers, Openreach, Councillors from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, together with representatives from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, to give an insight into our broadband build and iron out any concerns or potential issues. I was also able to meet with the passionate residents in Uig Sands and Aird Uig to hear about their frustrations with the poor connectivity in the area and the benefits they will experience from improved broadband coming to them later this year.
This reinforced the fact that faster broadband strengthens communities, as was highlighted in our R100 Interim Evaluation published at the end of 2025.
Real-life impacts
I touched on the wider impact in my last blog and it is great to see the benefits that improved digital connectivity is bringing for Scotland’s islands such as supporting children’s learning by enabling online tutoring for National 5s and participating in virtual lessons.
Improved connectivity has also brought real-life benefits such as taking part in online exercise classes, working from home more often, finding out more about what is going on locally and watching live church services.
Reliable video calls have also made keeping in touch with family overseas much easier.
Better connectivity can improve productivity for island businesses by enabling online bookings for accommodation, allowing cashless payments and access to lower-cost suppliers, supporting digital marketing and social media promotion and removing barriers to running businesses from home.
Maximising coverage
We are working closely with the UK Government to align delivery of our R100 contracts with Project Gigabit, ensuring we maximise coverage across Scotland’s islands and concluding the procurements we have underway.
For me, the most rewarding part of this work is hearing directly from the people whose lives are being improved, whether that’s a small business able to focus on their next stage of growth rather than whether customers can pay for their transaction, a family better able to stay in touch, or a community gaining renewed confidence in its future. I’m looking forward to hearing more stories about how improved connectivity will continue to attract and retain people and families in these fragile communities and empower Scotland’s islands in the years ahead.