Highroutes on Highroutes Network Engineering

Community ISP's

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000

It’s been inspiring to see Community Broadband networks spring up across Scotland, and be part of the professionalisation of these small Internet Service Providers (ISP’s). Some of these regional providers are now growing to become serious competitors even in areas with decent fiber to the cabinet (FTTC) or even fiber to the premises (FTTP) connections. While the Openreach fiber network grows, many Community Broadband subscribers opt to stay with their friendly local ISP, who in many cases can now also offer FTTC/FTTP packages.

Technical expertise

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Hardware

Much of my time is spent configuring network devices, and most of the time these are Mikrotik routers and switches.

Mikrotik’s RouterOS has a vast range of applications and configuration options. My own experience so far has centered on:

Level-2/3 hardware offloading.
OSPF and BGP-OSPF interactions in networks with multiple gateway routers running BGP.
VPLS tunnels using BGP-signalled VPLS.
OpenVPN, IP-SEC and Wireguard VPN.
RouterOS scripting

Other building blocks include Ubiquity devices, Siklu radios and Netonix switches.

What I do

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000

I design, build and maintain resilient, low-maintainance, small-scale Internet Service Provider (ISP) networks. This involves;

Building small telecom masts, sometimes on hill tops, sometimes off-grid.
Establishing long-distance radio links.
Designing resilient telecom networks and configuring equipment.
Fiber installations and maintenance. This includes fiber to household premises, on estates and for business clients at a University (UHI) Campus.
Building servers for network monitoring, remote access, data backup, (simple) subscriber administration and documentation.
Subscriber installations and indoor Wifi.

Locations: I am based in South Skye. My work travel radius is about 2 hours at the moment. I would travel further for projects of limited duration, handing over on-site maintenance to people locally while offering ongoing remote support.

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Community Broadband goes mainstream

In collaboration with HUBS, Gaelic College Sabhal Mor Ostaig and Radio Skye, we have taken a dis-used Vodafone telecom mast at the SMO Campus into use for long-distance radio links from Skye to the mainland, and onto Openreach fiber.

Contact

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dr M.A. de Vries

Arainn Ostaig, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Campus

Sleat, Isle of Skye

IV44 8RQ

01471 552345 (hold the line to be forwarded to my mobile)

Where to find my office: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HiqHuisvM1BBfNBy5