It is an island best-known for being connected to the mainland via the famous “Bridge Over the Atlantic”.
Now Seil is even better connected than before after EE built a completely new superfast 4G mobile site on the isle near Oban.
Local residents and businesses in Balvicar, which plays an important role in the local fishing export industry, are among those who are benefiting from the first 4G site on Seil, helping people stay connected wherever they go.
Seil is just one of 30 new sites that are now online across Argyll and Bute, with key transport routes also benefiting from new coverage, including the B844 and B8003.
The 4G coverage expansion is part of EE’s ongoing investment to connect rural areas of the UK and provide coverage for the new Emergency Services Network, which will connect 300,000 UK emergency services personnel.
EE is working closely with the Argyll and Bute Council to improve mobile phone coverage so more residents, businesses and tourists across the area will now be able to access 4G – some for the very first time.
Brendan O’Hara, MP for Argyll and Bute, said: “Improving mobile signal in rural areas is key to helping us compete as a town, and we welcome EE’s investment in improving the digital infrastructure within Balvicar. New masts are helping to provide coverage for our residents and local businesses and will further benefit our tourism industry, with some residents seeing 4G capabilities for the first time. This investment clearly shows the commitment of the Argyll and Bute Council and EE to providing the best possible mobile coverage in the Isle of Seil.”
Simon Frumkin, MD of Emergency Services Network at EE, said: “We’re investing across the UK to improve mobile coverage. We’ve built more than 350 new sites in the past 12 months that are providing EE coverage to areas for the first time, and there are hundreds more to go, across England, Wales and Scotland. This will improve access to the digital economy across the country as well as provide 4G coverage for the Emergency Services Network.”
Across the UK, EE is building and upgrading more than 100 sites to 4G every month as part of its network expansion. Some of these sites add new coverage while some increase signal strength, capacity and reliability in areas with existing coverage.