It has long been regarded as the cradle of Christianity in Scotland, where the earliest missionaries gathered before spreading the Word of the Lord across the land.
Located a mile off Mull in the Inner Hebrides, the tiny island of Iona has been in history books since St Columba established a monastery there in the sixth century.
Now Iona is on course for a 21st century future, with engineers starting work to give the island an ultrafast broadband tech boost.
The technology – offering some of the fastest, most reliable broadband in Europe - will transform connectivity for the population of around 170 permanent residents, seasonal workers who swell the population in the summer and more than 100,000 pilgrims and tourists who visit Iona each year.
Digital network Openreach is building the new network on behalf of the Scottish Government’s Reaching 100% programme, using engineering innovations to transmit fibre signals over long distances.
READ MORE:
Elon Musk's Starlink to provide internet for ScotRail trains
Scottish engineering firm spin-out to launch security device
Milestone for 'first of its kind' green hydro energy scheme at reservoir
Planners have been working with the National Trust for Scotland, which cares for the island; Historic Environment Scotland; and other specialists on critical archaeological and environmental assessments ahead of the build.
The fibre cables will follow existing 19th and 20th-century roads leading north from the main village of Baile Mòr and through the Iona Conservation Area to provide telecoms links to farms in the northern, southern and western extents of the island.
The build will pass close to three historic monuments - Iona Nunnery, Maclean’s Cross and the iconic Iona Abbey – and through areas where there’s high potential for survival of archaeological remains from the Prehistoric, early Medieval and Medieval periods.
Harrie Burney, property manager for the National Trust for Scotland, said: “Iona is a pretty special place in terms of the history of Scotland. A lot of people know Iona for the Abbey and St Columba but it also has a history that goes a lot further back. It’s also vital that we protect the nature on the island, with the works scheduled to manage this carefully.
“Our aim is to care for, protect, and share this special place for the benefit of everyone. We’re working with the engineers to put archaeological monitoring in place and make sure we’re not going to cause any disturbance, but there’s also an opportunity to uncover new finds along the way.
“Connectivity on Iona is a real issue and something that’s very important to the population here. There's been a real buzz around the connectivity improving, so this project will make a huge difference.”
Scottish Government Business Minister, Richard Lochhead, said: “High quality digital infrastructure is crucial to everyday life, and economic growth – particularly for Scotland’s rural and island communities – which is why we are rapidly accelerating access to full fibre broadband for those who need it most.
“More than 40 islands will benefit from the R100 contracts and it’s great to see activity get under way on Iona where there will be 100% coverage. I’d encourage everyone to take up the service when build is complete.”
Fraser Rowberry, Openreach Chief Engineer for Scotland, said: “As anyone who’s been to Iona knows, it’s a truly special and spiritual place. Its historic and environmental importance make it an ultra-sensitive build location.
“Our top considerations have been protecting precious archaeological sites like the Street of the Dead and the grounds of the Abbey, avoiding the corncrake breeding season; and making sure we don’t disrupt the tourist trade, which is vital for the local economy.
“Iona residents couldn’t have given us a warmer welcome. Young islanders who risk missing some mainland schooling each winter, seasonal workers and businesses are all overjoyed at the prospect of better broadband.”
Openreach engineers are also building an R100 fibre network on neighbouring Mull, which brings very different challenges. While Iona is just 1.5 miles wide by 3 miles long, Mull is the fourth-largest island in Scotland. It has just 3,000 homes and business premises scattered across 338 square miles. Work is also due to start on Tiree in the next few weeks.
Deer outnumber Mull’s human population by roughly two-to-one, with engineers working closely with NatureScot and the RSPB in order to build safely near otter habitats and golden eagle and sea eagle nesting sites.
The fibre path for Mull and Iona travels 90km from Tobermory on Mull through a fibre optic repeater in Pennyghael and on to new signal-boosting equipment in a specially-adapted street cabinet in Fionnphort, then over the sea to Iona.
Civils work is now under way on Iona, with engineers expecting the first islanders to be connected in early 2025.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here