Wireless Connectivity

Islanders complain £60,000 web access 'is a waste of money'

Slanders say they are being "railroaded" into accepting a controversial internet connection system they claim is unsuitable and unwanted.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) announced yesterday that publicly-funded broadband access was being made available to residents on Barra.

But islanders claim the money would be better spent upgrading telephone exchanges for BT to provide cheaper and faster internet services.

They are now considering a complaint to the European Parliament and have already sent 1,000 letters of complaint and a 400-name petition to HIE, MPs, the Office of Fair Trading and the Scottish Government.

Northbay on Barra is to be provided with wireless broadband access through an extension of the Connected Communities (ConCom) network, which is already providing 951 households across the Outer Hebrides.

Campaigners say connection speeds are slower than those through the phone line, and they would rather wait for an exchange upgrade.

ConCom is backed by HIE, Western Isles Council and NHS Western Isles and receives funding from the European Union.

Because the islands are remote from main internet connections and their populations dispersed, more traditional methods of providing broadband, such as cable, are considered impractical. Instead, wireless facilities are being used.

The ConCom project, which also includes services to schools and offices, has cost £6.5 million, including about £60,000 for the extension to two sites in Northbay.

HIE said yesterday that it compared the merits of procuring an ADSL upgrade for the local telephone exchange – which would run into six figures – with extending the ConCom wireless network.

Sandy Cumming, HIE's chief executive, said:

"I'm aware that broadband connection has prompted a lot of debate in Northbay and the options have been closely examined for their relative merits and limitations. This decision is supported by the local authority and the Scottish Government."

Alasdair Allan, the Western Isles MSP, welcomed the Northbay extension,

and island councillor Donald Manford said ConCom was the only option at present.

But Neil MacNeil, an island resident, said there is "anger and disbelief" that a petition signed by more than 90 per cent of island households was ignored.

By John Ross

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