Whisky, waves and wildlife: EE breaks new ground to connect communities on Islay

More than 100 kilometres west of Glasgow, proudly overlooking the vast Atlantic Ocean, lies Islay – the Inner Hebrides’ most southernly island. World-famous for its whisky distilleries, Islay is home to just over 3,000 people but regularly attracts hundreds of thousands more visitors every year from around the world, who come to immerse themselves in the island’s rich heritage, unique wildlife and scenic walks.

Despite being the fifth-largest Scottish island, with growing tourism and agricultural industries, some parts of Islay have never had any mobile signal from any operator.

Until now.

No more not-spots

As part of EE’s role in the Shared Rural Network, our team led the build and delivery of a new mobile mast designed to address a long-standing mobile not-spot on the west of the island. The new mast now serves the local community by providing fast, reliable mobile connectivity to residents, businesses and visitors across parts of Kilchoman, Machrie, Rockside, Aruadh, Ballinaby, Smaull, Braigo, Sanaigmore, Carnduncan, Grainel, Lyrabus, Gruinart and Craigens.

It also provides new 4G connectivity to 14 kilometres of roads, paths, and tracks – including parts of the B8018 and B8017 – as well as popular tourist attractions such as Loch Gorm, Machir Bay Beach, and the RSPB Loch Gruinart nature reserve.

The new site not only addresses one of Scotland’s most persistent mobile not spots but also:

• Ensures greater resilience and support for emergency services across Islay
• Helps close the divide between rural and urban areas by providing residents with access to critical online services like healthcare and banking
• Improves safety for those travelling or working in remote areas, including seafarers and fishermen passing by and working near the island
• Supports local businesses with improved connectivity

With all UK mobile operators now live on the same site, it also means the community benefit from greater choice over which network to rely on every day and improved resilience for emergency calls – without the need for additional infrastructure.

Better signal, brighter future

Research shows that mobile connectivity from a single EE mast can deliver between £740,000 and £1,054,000 for rural communities in Scotland over the course of its lifetime.

This positive economic impact will serve as an important lifeline for many local businesses on Islay, including the family-run Kilchoman Distillery – the first farm distillery built on the island in more than a century.

Islay Heads, General Manager at the distillery, is excited about how the new mobile connectivity will help the business thrive – opening up new ways to engage customers and generate revenue: “I think people on the mainland take reliable 4G connectivity for granted, but we certainly don’t. From a business perspective, our visitors are now able to post reviews and photos before they leave the site, something guests often forgot to do before, as they had to wait until they had a mobile signal. We can also now run live presentations and tastings from areas outside the distillery which allows more people to see how our traditional farm distilling process works.

“It makes our ability to communicate with suppliers and team members much quicker as well. In modern business, these sorts of efficiencies are important to our overall success as a local enterprise and international brand.”

An Atlantic adventure

Bringing reliable mobile coverage to one of Scotland’s most remote islands is never simple. Behind this important milestone for the community is a story of persistence, collaboration, and the kind of engineering problem‑solving that only comes from working at the very edges of the UK’s geography.

Having been part of the team that has delivered significant mobile improvements for BT and EE customers in almost 2,000 rural communities across the UK in the last five years, it’s a journey that Nora Kileen, Deployment Delivery Manager at BT, knows well.

“Islay is one of Scotland’s most unique places, and it certainly presented us with some unique challenges when it came to making this new mast a reality. We submitted our planning application back in late 2023 and whether it was the raging storms and strong winds in winter, securing the necessary wayleaves for a power supply, or navigating the transport of an entire tower, crane and crew of engineers to Islay via ferry, there have been multiple obstacles to overcome.

“We have always been extremely conscious of respecting the wildlife and ancient ruins dotted across the island too, so spent time carrying out important ecological and archaeological surveys. We even paused the build last summer to allow red-billed choughs – a critically endangered bird species on Islay – the space they needed as part of their nesting season.

“But with the support of our partners at Openreach, Mova and WHP Telecoms, and even more importantly, our ongoing collaboration with the local community and organisations like NatureScot, we’ve been able to make history and finally deliver mobile coverage to this part of Islay for the very first time.”

Connecting customers, communities and the country

Switching on our first total not‑spot site as part of the Shared Rural Network is a significant step forward for residents, emergency services and businesses alike. But our work on Islay is more than a successful engineering project: it’s a symbol of our ongoing commitment to connect even the hardest‑to‑reach communities.

More than 90 percent of the entire UK landmass now has reliable mobile coverage from our terrestrial network. From the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, to Penmachno in the Welsh valleys and Scottish islands like Jura and Shetland, we’re proud to be delivering meaningful improvements for some of the UK’s most remote areas, ensuring that everyone - no matter where they live, work or travel - has access to reliable connectivity.

You can read more about the new connectivity on Islay.

Photos courtesy of Mova