The project, upon completion, will deliver superfast broadband to some of the region's most remote communities. According to the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), thousands of homes and businesses will benefit from the scheme.
The subsea cabling forms an essential element of the £410m Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband initiative and when complete it will bring fibre-based broadband to many parts of Scotland for the first time.
Managed by BT, the deep sea work will be carried out by Orange Marine's cable ship Rene Descartes. As work progresses, the subsea project aims to deliver around 400kms of cables to link island communities. Some of the areas involved in the scheme include Largs, Cumbrae, Cowal, Mull, Oban, Ardgour and Corran.
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Welcoming the start of works, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, said: "Today marks another important milestone for the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband partnership. It's fantastic news that this network will open up the benefits of high quality digital connectivity to our island communities, making them more economically viable in the long term.
"This is one of the most ambitious broadband infrastructure projects ever to have been undertaken and will see 95% of premises in Scotland covered by 2017/18. The scale of the challenge of delivering fibre broadband into rural Scotland outstrips any other part of the UK and indeed, much of Europe."
Stuart Robertson, HIE's Director of Digital Highlands and Islands, added: "The current three year project is made up of two parts – the first to create the fibre network which will bring better services closer to all, the second part is to bring broadband to as many homes and businesses as the current technology and budget will allow.
"The creation of this hugely ambitious land and subsea network is vital in reaching communities which could never have hoped to receive fibre broadband as part of commercial roll-out."
Funding for the scheme is coming from the Scottish Government, the HIE, Broadband Delivery UK and BT.
(JP/CD)
