Morar left behind on superfast broadband

Sir,

When superfast broadband was proposed for Morar, the original plan was to have it installed by the end of 2016.

Mallaig and Arisaig are further than Morar from the exchange but they had it installed by the end of 2016.

It is now the end of 2017 and we have one cabinet in Morar, opposite the primary school.

The original plan included two cabinets to cover the whole village. Several weeks ago this plan was put on hold and re-examined but we don’t know why. The one cabinet, which was put there a year overdue, serves only part of the community.

Houses within range of this cabinet were already benefiting from speeds of above 12Mb/s, while the upper part of the village had speeds of one to three Mb/s. While the cabinet can provide some people with speeds of up to 80 Mb/s, the rest of the village must still struggle with their old speeds.

The school curriculum requires children to use computers. At the moment a great number of the families live in the Bracara area, where speeds average 0.5 Mb/s. This can hardly be used for any form of work.

While we understand that some remote areas were able to establish local wireless networks (eg, Hebnet on Eigg), the difficulties posed by our topography in the Morar area prevent such solutions.

After examining multiple options and discussing it at the community council, we have concluded that the best solution would be to lead an optical cable all the way to Bracara.

Several years ago all the phone cables were replaced to the end of Bracara, so what we propose is not impossible. Therefore we appeal to Highlands and Islands Enterprise to help our community.

We also wish to ask why there has been a delay in providing the second cabinet. This cabinet had been surveyed and approved but has not materialised.

We trust that Highlands and Islands Enterprise will respond to our concerns. The whole community eagerly await its response. Deirdre Roberts, Secretary,

Morar Community Council.