The first thing you notice about Orkney is its beauty. The views are spectacular when the clouds and fog are worth beholding and it's no surprise that Orkney draws so many visitors from the Scottish mainland and from cruise ships.
The second thing you can observe is the wind. And then eventually you will notice how few trees are obstructing the view. These two observations are not related
Located near the northernmost point of Scotland, the Orkney Islands are isolated and exposed to the elements. These geographical characteristics make it difficult to create telecommunications infrastructures, while the island's population is only 22,000 and reduces the economic attractiveness of the main providers.
Orcadians are aware of the beauty of their home and attach importance to their lifestyle. But they also do not want to be left behind in the economic and social benefits of digital services.
Bad connectivity
Efforts have been made to improve the situation. Thanks to Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), high speed broadband coverage is 60% but limited to the easiest and most economically viable regions of Orkney.
Areas, including the larger city of Kirkwall, also have 4G coverage. The Comparison Pro was able to get a decent signal in most places using the EE network, but the use of the 1800 MHz spectrum makes it difficult to penetrate the thick walls of Orkney buildings.
There are also significant gaps in services. Local experts estimate that there are only five cell sites per mobile operator for the entire population and that some of the outer islands only have 2G, preventing residents from accessing even basic data services.
Shona Croy, Strategic Advisor for Renewable Energy and Connectivity at the Orkney Council, says Orkneys is experiencing a "market failure" that has a negative impact on utilities, education and industries.
"Orkney has the worst connectivity in the UK and there is no reason for that to happen," she says. "It is a market opportunity (telecommunications companies are missing) and it is not that we have not told them."
Due to the remoteness of Orkney, it is even difficult to solve a technical problem due to the cost and time it takes to find an engineer across the continent. And if the ferry connecting Orkney to the rest of Scotland is down due to weather conditions, it is even more expensive for telecom operators.
The envy of the inhabitants casts an envious glance at the Faroe Islands, a relatively close autonomous territory of Denmark, which has similar geographical characteristics, because they are served by a local Faroese Telecommunications provider. The company has expressed interest in helping Orkney, but UK regulations do not allow it to acquire spectrum licenses for the islands only.
Croy doesn't really care about the technology used to improve the situation as long as it improves. She thinks that connectivity will lead to new applications such as IDT-enabled senior health sensors and that distance education can transform life on the island by lowering the cost of living. expensive and labor intensive services.
This is why the board was so eager to be a part of 5GRuralFirst, one of many government-assisted 5G benchmarks designed to identify and test potential 5G use cases. In Orkney, 5G is used to help industries become more efficient, provide broadcast signals more efficiently, and promote tourism.
(Image credit: future)
5G potential
One of the main objectives of 5GRuralFirst is to demonstrate that the economic principles of incumbent models do not measure the feasibility of building networks in rural areas.
Partners include local wireless internet service provider Cloudnet, which was designed from a project to provide white space-based communication services to ships, Cisco, and researchers from the US 39, University of Strathclyde .
A key advantage for Orkney is that it is connected to a state-of-the-art submarine cable from the Faroe Islands to the Shetland Islands and then to the Faroe Islands. The cable has 10 fibers, each with a capacity of 57 Gbps, and a series of link links are distributed around the islands.
So far, 5G has been activated at 17 sites. The radio models were made by university students, while Cloudnet CEO Greg Whitton uses his knowledge of the island's topography and the local community to facilitate deployment. For example, he may know an ideal hill to put up a mast or friendly farmer who will offer his land in exchange for free broadband.
Project participants said that if BT or another large company knocked on the farmer's door, they would "rub their hands" at the prospect of high rents. However, the local focus means that 5GRuralFirst can connect communities more easily and economically.
The team is another example of a "one size fits all" approach to network deployment. Business models that do not consider Orcades to be economically viable involve the use of kits provided by tier 1 vendors. 5 GRuralFirst uses a tier two vendor software package, which reduces costs and creates a network that can be upgraded once more, with Orcadians receiving compatible phones.
(Image credit: future)
OpenRoaming
"The top four carriers will not bring 5G to Orkney," said Dez O'Connor, Cisco's project manager. "They focus on the big cities and then they go to the most populated cities.
"They will not build competitive infrastructure on all the islands, some with only 50 inhabitants."
5GRuralFirst is open to work with or with four operators. For example, you could agree to create a network for one operator or become a neutral host for all four and conclude roaming agreements.
Most of the project's objectives would require some flexibility on the part of regulators. Currently, 5GRuralFirst is not allowed to offer SIM cards to residents. Instead, it created a frictionless Wi-Fi network called 'OpenRoaming' that allows users to switch from one access point to another with unique identity authentication.
"OpenRoaming solves the security element of Wi-Fi," adds O'Connor. "(To log in), you choose a provider (usually a mobile phone operator) who has an identity for you and who you trust and are connected."
So far, there have been more than 3.8 million attempts to connect to the 5G network from 65,000 devices in the last month. Although Orcadians are limited to their "local" network, tourists visiting the island will seek the best possible roaming network.
In itself, this could be a business opportunity for tour operators and cruise ships. As part of an excursion package, they could sell access to the OpenRoaming network along with other tourist services. 5GRuralFirst has created an Augmented Reality (AR) application called "Orkney Origins" to enhance the tourist experience of the ancient village of Skara Brae.
(Image credit: future)
Industrial boost
Along with tourism, Orkney is home to salmon farms, whiskey distilleries and wind farms, some of the largest in the UK. Local leaders believe that if these areas survived in Orkney without access to better connectivity, they could thrive.
In a wind farm, 5G is used to record wind speed and weather conditions and automatically shuts down the turbines in the event of thunder. This real-time information is much more accurate than weather forecasts.
Councils and locals have invested in wind power projects in Orkney, which means that increased efficiency will not only improve access to power, but will also increase the amount of power available to be sent to the national grid. Any resulting income can be reinvested in local services.
After Norway and Chile, the United Kingdom is the third largest salmon producer in the world. Scottish Sea Farms operates multiple facilities in Orkney and uses technology to increase efficiency and reduce the impact of salmon farming on the environment.
The 5G connects solar powered devices that monitor the level of pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature. The sensors send reports every 10 minutes or so, with packets around 65 kb in size. Scottish Sea Farms has also added devices to the feed hoppers to detect any unusual activity. For example, a staff member may forget to lock the hopper or be robbed.
(Image credit: future)
The way to follow
Everyone involved in 5GRuralFirst is excited about what has been accomplished at Orkney, but the project will finally come to an end. With other pilot projects in Shropshire and Somerset, the findings from these trials will inform the government's 5G strategy and policies.
Residents participated as well, including through a song created by Aboriginal composer Erland Cooper. Remote microphones equipped with 5G technology collected the sounds in each of the industries involved in the test and Cooper created the composition titled "Tapestry" in his studio in London.
To some extent, one of the objectives of the project has already been achieved. Earlier this year, Ofcom said it wanted to give rural businesses and communities the opportunity to build mobile networks using licensed spectrum that was not used locally. It has also been suggested that a more regional approach to regulation could be taken in the future.
For example, EE could give an Orkney community project access to its spectrum in exchange for a roaming agreement. In addition, the additional coverage could contribute to the fulfillment of the coverage obligations of each operator. In theory, barriers to Faroese Telecom's participation could also be removed.
"We have to work with them or do something for them," concludes Whitton.