Iona enters digital age with full fibre

As part of the Scottish Government’s Reaching 100% (R100) programme, set up to use “engineering innovations” to transmit fibre signals over long distances, the UK’s leading broadband provider, Openreach, has been engaged to build a full-fibre network on the historic island of Iona.

The Openreach fibre infrastructure is designed to transform connectivity for the island’s 170 residents, seasonal workers who swell the population in the summer, and more than 100,000 pilgrims and tourists who visit each year. 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. 

A mile off the much bigger Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, Iona is the cradle of Christianity in Scotland and has been in history books since St Columba established a monastery there in the sixth century. Iona was one of the most significant Christian sites in Scottish history. St Columba, a key figure in early Scottish Christianity, was granted the island to establish a monastery in AD 563. Iona became an important centre for religion, learning and literacy, with monks producing post-Roman chronicles which are among the oldest in Europe.

The build will pass close to three historic monuments – the iconic Iona Abbey and Iona Nunnery, as well as Maclean’s Cross – and through areas where there’s high potential for survival of archaeological remains from the Prehistoric, early Medieval and Medieval periods.

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. As well as its ancient heritage, the island is a breeding ground for the rare and elusive corncrake.

“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,” said Harrie Burney, property manager for the National Trust for Scotland.

“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.

Civil works are now underway on Iona, with works within the scheduled area around Iona Abbey taking place at a later date once Scheduled Monument Consent is agreed with Historic Environment Scotland. Engineers expect the first islanders to be connected in early 2025.

Commenting on the company’s approach to the buildout, Openreach said its 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 it does not disrupt the tourist trade, which is vital for the local economy.

“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,” said Openreach chief engineer for Scotland Fraser Rowberry.

Openreach engineers are also building an R100 fibre network on the neighbouring island of Mull, which brings very different challenges. While Iona is just 1.5 miles wide by three 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 the island of Tiree in the next few weeks.

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.