Coll has become the first Scottish island to get ultra-fast mobile connections.
Thanks to a joint venture and a telecom mast provided by the Scottish Government islanders can now get mobile services for the first time including 2G, 3G and the latest 4G connections.
Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown described the improvement as a “massive breakthrough” which could “help transform the local economy”.
The switch-on – in partnership with Vodafone and community organisations – means local people and businesses can have faster and more reliable mobile connections, ultimately boosting business opportunities.
“The Isle of Coll project is a great example of what can be achieved when a community has the ambition and the commitment to making such a development work,” Mr Brown said.
“A state-of-the-art telecoms mast – funded by the Scottish Government as part of our Demonstrating Digital programme – allows communities and businesses on Coll to access mobile services for the first time.
“It’s very encouraging to see a local community and a service provider – in this case Vodafone – work with the government to develop an innovative solution for an area that is otherwise unlikely to receive mobile coverage.
“This community ownership model provides a template that has the potential to be adopted in other remote areas across the country, improving connectivity to Scotland’s islands and rural towns and villages.”
Lavinia MacLean-Bristol, chairwoman of Development Coll, said: “The ability to communicate has a real impact on families and businesses within small, remote communities such as ours and this project will help to make a big difference.”
Vodafone UK chief technology officer Jorge Fernandes said: “Our partnership with the Scottish Government and the local community is the ideal business model to be able to deliver ultra-fast 4G mobile communications to remote locations, such as the Isle of Coll.
“Thanks to the enormous effort of our engineers, we can now give islanders high-speed mobile data access to services that will enable greater economic development and improved social inclusion.”