Shetland Telecom, a public sector-backed company that was set up by the Shetland Islands Council to develop better telecom services in Shetland (North of Scotland, UK), has officially begun Phase 2 of its ambitious project to bring superfast broadband ISP services to local residents and businesses via a new fibre optic cable link.

The SHEFA2 Interconnect project recently completed Phase 1, which connected Lerwick to the Faroese fibre optic cable that crosses Shetland between Maywick and Sandwick. By contrast Phase 2, which is being constructed by Airport Civil Engineering (ACE), will run the fibre optic cable between Lerwick on Shetland's south east to Scalloway in the south west.


The project is crucial to the islands future because, as SIC recently pointed out (here), existing services from BT and Cable & Wireless (C&W) are said to be "not capable of providing the services" that local communities and businesses need.

The ability for Telco's to connect citizens up via a superfast fibre optic based broadband connection will no doubt make a huge difference over the somewhat woeful Microwave link that exists today.