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Woman who brought broadband to hundreds of Lochaber homes to be made MBE

Jacqueline Wright is on the 2024 King's Birthday Honours list.

Jackie Wright
Jackie Wright has been awarded an OBE. Image: Supplied.

A woman who helped bring broadband to hundreds of rural Lochaber homes is to be made an MBE.

Jacqueline Forrest Wright, 66, is on the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours list for services to the business community of Lochaber.

Jacqueline, known to friends as Jackie, formerly chaired Locheilnet, a community interest company set up to deliver broadband to rural homes not served by other providers.

Loch Eil.
Locheilnet brought high-speed broadband to rural parts of Lochaber. Image: Supplied.

Mrs Wright said: “I am honoured and humbled.

“So many people do good things in this area, and I fully believe that this honour is for all of those people.

“I chaired Locheilnet a community interest company which provided broadband to rural and remote parts of the area.

“As many will know services in this area are patchy and we had a solution with a wireless broadband

“I was the chairperson for 10 years.

“In that time over 500 people signed up, They were never going to get fibre. So we came up with a solution to get them a great service.

“It was very much a community-based company providing a community-led solution.”

‘This MBE is for all the people who have been involved with Locheilnet’

Mrs Wright was a senior officer at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for 20 years, before becoming a self-employed business consultant 16 years ago.

She left HIE in 2008.

She continued: “What is special about Locheilnet is that it was coming up with a solution to allow people to get a good service of broadband in remote and rural areas.

“These days a good provision of internet is important for every area of life, and as necessary as other utilities.”

As well as Locheilnet, Mrs Wright was a director of the West Highland Museum.

In 2015 she became deputy lord lieutenant for Inverness.

She added: “This MBE is for all the people who have been involved with Locheilnet.

“It is a great privilege.”

Last year, Locheilnet was taken over by Comms West a new company established by a previous board member,

Comms West is led by Jim Smith, Claire Cameron and Ali Hodnett, Locheilnet’s former technical manager.

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