Press Release
Superfast cable laying for superfast broadband
The route to Shetland's future in the world of cutting edge technology began opening up yesterday (Wednesday). It is 100mm deep, 20mm wide and 19 miles long and is being cut by a machine never used in the UK before.
Work has begun on laying the first section of a telecommunications connection to Faroese Telecom's subsea fibre optic cable which comes ashore at Sandwick in the south mainland of Shetland.
The project will initially connect up Lerwick by cable laying along the main A970 road. This will be followed by a second, subsea connection via Scalloway and the west coast.
Shetland Islands Councillor Alistair Cooper said the project was hugely important for the economic future of the islands.
"Innovative technology is crucial to the future economic health and wellbeing of Shetland," he said, "and it's gratifying that we are the first community to look to the future in this way. I believe the future lies in the provision ofhigh speed data links. I think our community initiative will complement the telecom companies' commercial work, in that we can provide a final high speed link to consumers in places where they would find no commercial justification to do so."
Using the American 'Ditch Witch' machine, the only one in the UK, main contractors Tullochs successfully demonstrated the speed, ease and environmentally sensitive way cable can be laid.
A mini tractor with a powerful circular saw (Ditch Witch) will cut a slot, 100mm deep and 20mm wide in the edge of the carriageway. A roll of fibre optic cable, pre-installed in a miniature duct (Emtelle) is dropped into the slot, which is then filled with quick drying MMA resin filler (StirlingLloyd). Up to 600 metres can be laid in a day. New teeth need to be fitted to the circular cutting blade roughly every 1000 metres, at a cost of £580.
The start of work on the project follows the successful bid for EU grant support and an all clear from the EU State Aid Unit.