Scotland's Full Fibre Charter: CloudNet case study

Scotland’s Full Fibre Charter consists of a series of pledges to help extend full fibre broadband across Scotland. 

One of our signatories to the Charter is CloudNet IT Solutions (CloudNet) which was established in 2011 and is based in Kirkwall, Orkney. CloudNet delivers broadband infrastructure to very hard to reach and rural communities in the North of Scotland, with a focus on delivering fibre and fixed wireless access (FWA) connections in the Orkney Islands. 

CloudNet signed up to the Charter in April 2022 along with GoFibre, Hyperoptic, Lothian Broadband Group and Virgin Media 02 – joining Axione, CityFibre, Openreach and Gigaloch who joined in 2023. 

Connecting Papa Westray with Fibre in Water Technology 

Papa Westray is an island 24 miles north of Orkney’s main town, Kirkwall, and at 5km long and 1.5km wide is one of Orkney’s smallest and hardest-to-reach inhabited islands. In 2023, CloudNet delivered a network which successfully connected almost all of Papa Westray’s properties to fibre broadband without the need to undertake a costly and potentially disruptive programme of civil engineering works on the island.  

In a Scotland and UK first, CloudNet utilised fibre in water technology (FiW) to rollout their network on Papa Westray. With funding from the Scottish Government’s Reaching 100% Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) CloudNet worked closely with the Papa Westray Water Board to feed their fibre network directly through the island’s water mains, providing connections directly to 84 of the island’s 85 properties. 

Speedy, Low-Impact Deployment 

Whilst not without challenges, the utilisation of existing water infrastructure to rollout fibre has a range of potential advantages - many of which were demonstrated by CloudNet’s FiW deployment on Papa Westray.  

One of the biggest obstacles to faster fibre deployment can be the need to undertake land excavation. By feeding the fibre directly through the existing water network, CloudNet eliminated the need for excavation works, greatly reducing the cost and time needed to deliver the network – with around 6km of fibre deployed in a matter of hours. 

As well as accelerating rollout and keeping costs down, FiW technology also helped minimise disruption to the local community. Papa Westray has just three roads, and with the local residents and Council expressing concerns about these being closed to facilitate civil engineering works, the decision to deploy fibre through the water mains kept the roads open and disruption to a minimum. 

Using FiW technology also meant Papa Westray’s fibre network could be deployed without any risk to the island’s rich archaeological landscape. There are over 200 areas of archaeology on the Orkney Islands, presenting a challenge to anyone undertaking infrastructure deployment in the area. With no need to dig on Papa Westray, CloudNet’s FiW deployment could avoid the risk of encountering, and potentially disturbing, any historically significant archaeology on the island. 

Fibre Island 

In transforming Papa Westray into a fibre island, CloudNet’s collaboration with the local water supplier illustrates how alternative approaches to fibre deployment have the potential to deliver cheaper, faster and more sustainable broadband connections in very hard to reach locations.  

Signatories to Scotland’s Full Fibre Charter are encouraged to trail new technologies in the delivery of their networks in Scotland. Through innovative use of FiW technology, CloudNet is supporting the ambitions of the Charter and Scotland’s Digital Strategy, demonstrating the benefits of faster, less disruptive, and more sustainable approaches to fibre network deployment in Scotland. 

"Allowing our islands water network to be used for distributing the fibre to the homes, is not only a first for Scotland it also has only benefitted the island in many ways. Thanks to CloudNet, who have designed and implemented this new way of working, the use of the water network has benefitted the island community in getting fibre to every property. " - Ian Cursiter - Papa Westray Water Board 

"As a freelance Digital Marketer, moving to a remote Scottish Island would not have been possible without a fast internet connection. Thanks to CloudNet, we were able to relocate our family and become a part of the vibrant community. Having a reliable and fast fibre connection not only allows for remote working but also helps us to support the local economy. " - Katherine Holland – Local resident