Engineers have drafted in a drone to fly cable across a Highland river, as part of their efforts to build a full-fibre broadband network.
The remote location and challenging terrain of Glenmazeran has, in the past, prompted the team from Openreach to attach cables to “fishing lines, golf balls and even hammers”.
And in a Scottish engineering first the team employed the use of a drone to reach one remote property on the other side of the River Findhorn.
Armoured cable has been buried along six miles of single-track road through the glen near the river, where most of the 37 scattered homes included in the first phase of the project are located.
Kevin Drain, Openreach’s chief engineer for the north of Scotland, said: “Although Glenmazeran is only 20 miles from Inverness, the properties are very remote and scattered.
“We’ve had to contend with steep drops and bankings as we buried cable along the single-track road. But the biggest challenge was reaching one remote home, 400 metres away from the main route, where the fibre cable needed to span a 50-metre wide stretch of river.
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“In the past we’ve tried all sorts of ways to do this – like attaching cables to fishing lines, golf balls and even hammers, which frankly proved hit and miss.
“This is the first time we’ve used a drone to drop fibre into place here in Scotland and as a delivery method it’s unbeatable. Drones will now become part of our toolkit to reach places where the terrain means traditional engineering is difficult or impossible.
“We did need to practice our technique,” Kevin added. “It’s a bit different from connecting up a street in Inverness, that’s for sure.”
Engineers completed a week’s training to become certified by the Civil Aviation Authority in order to fly the drone for commercial purposes.
The Scottish Openreach team is one of only five in the UK now approved to fly drones.
Glenmazeran residents are also helping to dig in the final lengths of cable which travel from the new fibre spine to their properties.
Robert Thorburn, partnership director for Openreach in Scotland, added: “Our engineers love nothing more than a challenge and Glenmazeran has provided us with a great opportunity to test our skills.
“We’re constantly working on new techniques and technologies to help us take fibre broadband further and faster, and, importantly, to drive down delivery costs.
“This may be one of the quirkier uses for a drone, but innovations like this means we can now deliver high-speed broadband in situations where traditionally it’s been impossible for any business or partnership to justify the work.”