Poor broadband 'slows down businesses in Skye'
Some businesses on the island of Skye have resorted to using post instead of internet as frustration over slow broadband speeds rises.
A complete network shutdown in the north west of the island before Christmas has resulted in reduced speeds of 0.07 Mbps for downloads, making it almost impossible for some businesses to function.
Russell Sherwood, who runs a photography business in Harlosh, said that the slow broadband speeds had made working from home "untenable". He has now decided to post photographs to customers rather than try to send them online.
Brian Smith, from Glendale in Skye, created a Facebook campaign in response to the slow speeds. He told BBC Alba that some parts of the island had been promised superfast broadband, while others had been completely ignored.
He said: "What we would like to see is the restoration of services the way they were before the last crash.
"I know from speaking to the engineers there is a major, major problem involving a transmission tower to the mainland core fibre network. That has to be changed."
In response to outrage from islanders, BT has announced that it has resolved a fault that affected broadband on parts of Skye and is planning to upgrade an exchange.
While some islanders have reported an improvement in broadband speeds, others have remained sceptical. Valerie Mansley, who depends on the internet for her business, welcomed the news with caution.
“There are some people whose speeds are still slow, but I imagine they’ll pick up as the repair progresses. But the card has been replaced before and didn’t solve the problem, so I think some of us are still not too confident that this will solve the problem," she said.
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(Image: Martin Ayre)
