Homes and businesses on the Orkney island of Papa Westray are now getting their internet through the water network in what is believed to be a UK first.

Cables were laid in existing water mains using the islands community owned water system enabling full fiber broadband to almost all properties.

The innovation allows locals to do things they couldn’t before, such as attend remote medical appointments and play games.

It is now hoped that it will attract people to live and work on the island and that the water networks could be used to deliver broadband to other hard-to-reach areas.

Papa Westray has suffered from poor connectivity in the past, with internet speeds either slow or non-existent.

This has limited what the 90 or so residents there can do.

In total, it took about eight months to install the network, which was carried out by local contractors CloudNet.

The internet connection initially reaches Papa Westray via a radio link from the neighboring island of Westray, before being distributed across the island using water pipes.

The fiber cable is delivered through a second conduit housed in the drinking water network.

The island became the first to use this approach successfully, as the water system is owned by the community, making the work a more efficient and less disruptive alternative to conventional cable laying methods.

Ian Cursiter, a Water Board supply engineer and farmer from Papa Westray, has lived on the island all his life.

For the first time, broadband allows him to access the same facilities as elsewhere.

He is now able to watch calves being born from the comfort of his bedroom, allowing him to catch up on sleep.

“If you bother them when they’re calving, sometimes they’ll just stop and look at you like they want to deal with it, so that’s one of the good things.

“We had an analog system for a year or two, but the cameras didn’t seem to hold up very well. The digital side of things is much better, I find that anyway.”

The camera can move 360 ​​degrees, which means Mr. Crusiter can see what’s going on from all angles.

He was one of the workers who helped install the broadband and said it was “amazing and different”.

The system also means the chance of a calf dying is less likely as Mr Cursiter is able to monitor the situation closely.

He says the cost to install the cameras is “worth it” if it means saving a calf’s life.

Remote sensors placed in the water pipe also provide a high-tech way to monitor the island’s water quality.

CloudNet received funding to carry out the work through the Scottish Government’s Reaching 100% (R100) programme.

CloudNet managing director Greg Whitton said the company was “proud” to have delivered the first successful commercial project of its kind in the UK, on ​​the outermost island of Orkney.

“The benefits of fiber in the water are that you don’t have to excavate and you can run over a kilometer without having to do any land. Just use the water mains to deliver fiber to home properties,” he said.

Mr Whitton said the island had been left behind in terms of internet speed, so he was happy there was now a solution for that.

He said there are challenges to ensure the system can be designed and installed in a way that works for the island.

“I think with the help of the Islanders, it was a great challenge because I learned a lot through the program. But I think its growth and success has been very good.”