Connectivity / Erratic internet and mobile services pose a ‘real risk’ to islanders in Whalsay
Chloe Irvine reports from the island where residents have been struggling with poor connectivity and issues with providers
CALLS have been made to take connectivity problems in Whalsay seriously after frequent power cuts and months of mobile and broadband issues have left people “completely cut off”.
Residents in Whalsay have raised concerns amid long-term difficulties with their internet “dipping in and out”, as well as being unable to get any signal on their mobile phones.
Whalsay Community Council has called the service “erratic” and “quite concerning”, saying it could pose a threat to people’s safety.
And it has called for major works to be carried out to Whalsay’s ageing power infrastructure – adding residents deserve better than “temporary fixes and vague reassurances”.
Among those who have experienced both internet and mobile signal issues is Carron Hislop who made the switch over from BT to EE last year.
Hislop had been experiencing “hellish” internet, and said she had around six visits from engineers to try and resolve the problem.
She changed over to EE in September last year, in the hopes this would put an end to her “year of poor internet”.
While her internet now appeared to be “fine”, her landline then stopped working.
“I thought my phone was working but it wasn’t ringing at the other end, or folk would ask ‘where are you’ as they’d answered and no one was there,” she explained.
Hislop then discovered she had been given a Lerwick number and faced a “battle” getting her Whalsay number back.
She even bought an EE adapter after this was suggested to her by an engineer – but this “didn’t help” whatsoever and on multiple occasions she had to get a ladder out to try and test the hub in her kitchen.
“After doing this on many calls, I eventually said ‘no’ because my hub is above the kitchen cupboard and I had to get ladders out and adapters to then plug the phone into the hub. It was getting ridiculous,” she said.
In December 2024, she also discovered she had been charged “double” because she had been billed by both EE and BT – which led to “lots more calls” to resolve the issue.
After refusing to pay, she was on holiday in January when she received a text from a debt collector demanding payment.
“I knew it was genuine as I’d had a letter and it was the same amount,” she said.
“Because I was south I was worried about the debt collector threat so I just paid it.”
This same problem continued for many months, and eventually Hislop was advised to restart her contract and take out a more expensive deal – on a £52 per month contract.
She said her signal has been “pretty bad” and still “cuts out a lot”.
Like Hislop, Sue Fermor said there has always been “slow internet” at her property in Whalsay since moving in 2014.
She had hoped getting fibre would lead to a “better connection”, but that had not been the case.
“It is still under 50 [megabits per second – Mbps] and when we asked why we’re paying so much for our broadband they said we were paying for the faster speed,” she said.
“When we said it never reached even 50 we were told it was [due to] our phone or tablet being too old as there was nothing wrong with the signal.”
As well as Hislop and Fermor, both Davy Porter and Richie Hutchsion said they had reported issues to providers only to be told there was nothing wrong.
Porter phoned Sky four times and was initially told everything was “fine”, before being transported to another department who confirmed there was in fact an issue with the mobile service.
And Hutchison added that GiffGaff, which uses the 02 Network, had also told him there was “no issue” in the middle of a signal outage last month.
Openreach confirmed it was aware some customers in Whalsay have experienced “service issues” and engineers have been carrying out works over the past few months to restore the service to “normal levels”.
The broadband network urged anyone still experiencing problems to report it to their service provider so they can “investigate further”.
Less than two weeks ago there was a power outage in Whalsay which led to many losing their signal altogether, but residents were repeatedly told by providers there was no issue.
And over the weekend, Whalsay had two more power cuts – which led to more reports of connectivity issues.
Whalsay Community Council (WCC) condemned the ongoing mobile and broadband issues residents are enduring on the island.
“Frankly, after months of issues and only vague reassurances, it’s not good enough,” it said.
“The service remains erratic for many, and it’s incredibly inconvenient – especially when you add in the recent mobile and power problems that have left people completely cut off.
“Residents just want reliable connectivity, and at this point, it feels like we’re going in circles with little real progress.”
Despite reassurances from Openreach, the WCC confirmed there are still residents experiencing ongoing Wi-Fi issues.
“The situation is quite concerning,” it said.
“The repeated loss of both internet and mobile signal has left many residents feeling vulnerable – especially given how essential connectivity is for everything these days from everyday communications to emergency situations.
“When the power went out again over the weekend, some residents once more found themselves with no way to contact anyone.
“This is not only a major inconvenience, but it also poses a real risk to safety; particularly for those who may need to get in touch with family, medical services or emergency responders.
“We would urge the relevant providers to take these concerns seriously and prioritise lasting solutions that ensure reliable connectivity for the community, so that no one is left isolated in the future.”
They also believe the recurring power cuts in Whalsay are a “clear sign” that the current infrastructure is “simply not robust enough to cope with the demands placed upon it” nor with the “unique challenges” faced by island communities.
“The fact essential services like internet and mobile coverage are also susceptible to collapse during these outages only amplifies the problem.”
The WCC said the “root cause” of these issues appeared to be “ageing infrastructure, challenging weather conditions and the logistical difficulties of maintaining and repairing systems in remote locations”.
SSE thanked customers in Whalsay for their “patience” during the interruptions to their power supplies on Friday and Saturday.
The energy giant said it wanted to assure them their teams did “everything they could” to identify and repair the fault as safely and quickly as possible.
It also thanked the ferry crew who helped ensure the team were able to get to the fault as “quickly as possible” on Saturday night.
The WCC, however, said that words of appreciation from SSE do “little to address the ongoing uncertainty and inconvenience experienced in the community” and it is “simply not enough” to react to faults as they arise.
“There must be a concerted effort to invest and upgrade the power network, ensuring it is resilient enough to withstand future storms, technical failures, and the increasing reliance on digital connectivity for daily life.
“Until the providers take these issues seriously and prioritise lasting, preventative solutions, it is likely Whalsay will continue to face power cuts and the unacceptable consequences that come with them.
“Residents deserve much more than temporary fixes and vague reassurances.”
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