Another month has gone by with again lots of media attention for slow Internet connections in rural areas. This time the news brings us: how Scottish independence might benefit rural broadband services, disgruntled BT customers, B4RN’s hyper speed broadband, and a breakthrough technology that will squeeze 10 gigabits per second down old-fashioned copper wires (or not?). Enjoy!
31 July – BT forges on with fibre roll-out but customer uptake weak
BT is rolling out fibre optic broadband across the UK at a steady pace, but only 15% of fibre-ready premises have signed up for the superfast internet service. BT is at the centre of some controversy over the roll-out of superfast broadband in rural areas. Read more…
23 July – Broadband roll-out ‘poorly managed’, says rural activist
The UK government-led roll-out of broadband to rural areas has been poorly managed and failed to consider a wide enough range of technologies to solve access problems in the maximum possible number of areas, one rural activist has told UKAuthority.com. Read more…
22 July – Rural anti-BT backlash may halt expansion of pioneering West Country broadband project
The UK’s first state-funded broadband project may not be extended after councillors branded BT’s speed promise for rural users ‘a nightmare. ‘Local organiser Geoff Preston said: “The whole thing is a bit of a scam. All BT are doing is connecting up the green box in the street to superfast broadband, but if you live more than a couple of hundred yards away, or have old wires to your house, your speeds won’t improve that much.” Read more…
21 July – Anger over the reality of ‘super-fast’ rural broadband for West homes
Tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is being given to BT to provide rural counties across the West with superfast broadband, but after realising the broadband either would not reach them or would not be that much faster even if it did, more villages are signing their own deals to get high-tech wifi transmitters installed instead. Read more…
18 July – UK Broadband — Not Fit for Purpose (Blog Post by Lindsey Annison)
It would seem that far too many people are happy to skirt around the issues, to deliver platitudes and sound bites to willing journalists who don’t actually feel like investigating the truth or facing the elephant in the country. Particularly in the countryside. I was brought up in Yorkshire where a spade (particularly when used for a fibre dig) is a spade. UK Broadband is quite simply not fit for purpose. There – a trunk, 2 flappy ears and a long memory. See it?! Read more…
17 July – Rural businesses suffering from poor broadband service
A Europasat survey of rural residents last month highlighted the frustration felt by many when trying to use the internet. The survey showed 36 per cent of rural residents felt let down by the Government on their service, with a third having being promised a superfast broadband scheme which they were yet to receive. Read more…
14 July – UK broadband not fit for purpose, says business group
UK broadband is not fit for purpose and a major government rethink is needed, according to a business lobby group. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says that the UK’s broadband target is simply not ambitious enough when compared to other nations. It is calling on the government to commit to delivering a minimum of 10Mbps (megabits per second) for all homes and businesses by 2018/19. Read more…
14 July – Scottish rural broadband will strengthen under independence
A GROUP will be set up to consider how to improve issues such as mobile and broadband coverage, postal services and transport links for rural communities if the country votes for independence in September. “Too often people who live outside urban areas poorly served by the market and the UK Government when it comes to services vital in the 21st century. With independence, we will have the powers to regulate these crucial services and to remove barriers which are holding back rural areas from achieving their full potential”. Read more…
11 July – Villagers dig their own superfast broadband network
Villagers became so fed up with their slow internet connections they dug trenches and laid down superfast broadband cables to each property themselves. Now residents of the hamlet of Dolphinholme, Lancs, benefit from one of the fastest broadband networks in the UK with speeds of up to one gigabit per second (Gbps). Read more…
10 July – Disgruntled BT customer complains of connection woes at her rural home
Disgruntled BT customers have spoken of their annoyance at the poor internet connection at their Edingthorpe home. “They think I am being greedy but I just want a little bit of what I pay for. I don’t think it is a big ask. We shouldn’t have to live like this because we may be a rural community but we do exist.” Read more…
10 July – Broadband breakthrough could bring super-fast internet to every home in UK
Boffins test new technology and manage record speeds never though possible through existing phone lines. A team of broadband experts have managed to achieve lightning speeds of 10 gigabits per second in a groundbreaking test. Sadly, some experts are warning broadband customers not to get too excited by this news. The test performed in Belgium used a cable just 30 metres in length. This would only allow customers near their local telephone exchange recieve these blistering speeds. Read more…
10 July – More homes set to receive superfast broadband
Farmers increasingly rely on the internet, both on-farm and in the field. An additional 1,700 New Forest premises are to receive superfast broadband following a successful £1m bid to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Read more…
8 July – Superfast broadband lease of life for 25 rural communities in Devon & Somerset
Another 25 rural communities have been connected to superfast broadband as part of a £94 million programme. The Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme signed a deal with BT last year to deliver high-speed broadband to 90 per cent of premises in the two counties by the end of 2016. Read more…
7 July – First rural broadband cabinets installed
The installation of the first cabinets for the Isle of Wight’s multi-million pound rural superfast fibre broadband project is now underway. Once completed in Autumn 2015, the overall project will have enabled around 20,000 premises in the largely rural parts of the Island to access high speed broadband – making the Island one of the best connected areas in the UK. Read more…
1 July – Gigaclear speeds up broadband programme
Gigaclear, the UK telecoms group, is accelerating the pace of its rural broadband programme. Gigaclear provides broadband to rural villages, towns and business parks that have struggled to get high-speed broadband. It identifies gaps in the coverage being provided by BT to rural areas, which means it can connect specific villages in the countryside with its own fibre broadband. Read more…
1 July – Satellite broadband pilot scheme to take place in Devon and Somerset
A pilot scheme of high-speed satellite broadband is to take place in Devon and Somerset. Satellite broadband operator SES Broadband Services is to carry out a pilot scheme in Devon and Somerset as part of a government-funded push to bring faster internet speeds to the UK’s most rural communities. Read more…
By using interviews and focus groups this project will focus on how people living and working in rural areas are affected by the unavailability of adequate Internet connections.
