UK's highest mobile mast installed at Glencoe Mountain Resort amid Virgin Media O2 rural 4G rollout project

The UK’s highest mobile mast has been installed at Glencoe amid a project to rollout 4G to rural communities.

Located at Glencoe Mountain Resort, the huge Virgin Media O2 mast stands at 1,108 metres above sea level.

Its installation is part of the company’s Shared Rural Network (SRN) rollout, which aims to bring reliable 4G coverage to more than 200 rural communities.

The operator said they faced significant challenges building the remote site due to extreme weather conditions as well an the location being home to endangered species, including golden eagles and ptarmigans.

Glencoe Mountain Resort is now the 227th site to benefit from improved 4G coverage.

The SRN is a £1bn joint initiative between mobile network operators and the UK Government to extend connectivity to 95% of the UK’s landmass by the end of 2025.

The first phase of the programme required each operator to build a number of new and upgraded sites by the end of June to tackle “Partial Not Spots”.

The upgrades provide customers with faster and more reliable mobile data and higher quality voice calls, transforming coverage in areas that previously suffered from patchy or slow services.

Glencoe Mountain Resort became the 227th site to benefit from improved 4G coverage. Supplied

Virgin Media will now turn to the second phase of the programme which includes bringing 4G connectivity to areas with no existing mobile service.

While these sites are controlled by Virgin Media O2, customers of Three and Vodafone will also benefitting from the operator’s rollout of shared sites.

More than 300 former coverage black spots are now accessible thanks to the project.

Jeanie York, chief technology officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “We are absolutely committed to bringing reliable mobile connectivity to more rural communities and have now completed the first phase of our SRN rollout.

“Our 227th site at Glencoe is now the highest mast in the UK and one of the most impressive to date, standing over a kilometre above sea level and providing connectivity to the nearby ski resort.

“This work is vital in tackling the urban-rural digital divide that exists in the UK.”