Mar 11, 2014
Those of you who have been following this blog for a while will know all about the efforts which have been made to prise detailed coverage maps from BT. At a recent meeting we were promised that 7 digit post code information would now be made available. Well the result can be viewed on Connecting Cumbria's web site at www.connectingcumbria.org.uk/final-coverage-guide Not surprisingly they've occasioned a great deal of adverse comment.
They don't of course tell us any more than what we already know about where the likely 'not spots' will be in our Parish. I think though that we can be encouraged that the roll-out indicates that the connectivity is better than originally planned as new technologies and ways of working are deployed.
Feb 27, 2014
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Feb 27, 2014
I've received 18 replies so far from local businesses - many thanks!
The information you have provided will be used by Connecting Cumbria to make a preliminary assessment of whether or not individual businesses may eligible & help them draw down superfast broadband money through their ERDF funding. Connecting Cumbria will be in touch with you if they think that your business may be eligible and you can take the process on from there in partnership with them.
It's not too late if you want to fill in the preliminary form and send it to me: I'll make sure Connecting Cumbria receive the information.
Meanwhile the Parish Council is busy collating publically available information on local businesses which will be useful to make sure that Connecting Cumbria has as full a picture as possible regarding ERDF eligibility in the Parish.
Feb 27, 2014
No not just for Cumbria - but expect to see a share. The Department of Media Culture & Sport has announced an extra £250M for broadband earlier this week - see link https://www.gov.uk/government/news/250m-boost-taking-superfast-broadband-further-and-faster--251 .
The associated DCMS press release said "Local projects around the UK will now receive additional funding from a £250m pot, with the hardest to reach locations amongst those who stand to benefit most. This funding is in addition to the £1.2bn already invested by central and local Government and will ensure 95% of UK homes and businesses have access to superfast broadband by 2017.
There's a meeting of hub coordinators in Penrith next week so I expect to be able to post some more news as to how this annnouncement will relate to Cumbria then.
Jan 16, 2014
As you will have seen from the last posting, if we can help the Connecting Cumbria project team to identify eligible businesses in Colton Parish, it will help them draw on a funding stream earlier than is currently projected. Hence the business benefits by probably getting connected earlier (& possibly better) than planned. This in turn will have a beneficial knock on effect for other nearby properties.
If you operate a business in the Parish, please let us know by filling in the form reached through clicking on this link or pasting the address in your browser: http://postleorg.coffeecup.com/forms/14-01-15%20Colton%20Broadband%20questionaire%20re%20business/
Unfortunately for the purposes of this funding stream, farming businesses are not eligible. However if you operate another business alongside farming, we’d love to hear from you.
If you know of a nearby business, please would you encourage them to fill in this form.
The information given will be shared with the Connecting Cumbria project team and will solely be used for the purpose of assessing whether the business may be eligible. If this looks likely, a member of the team will contact you and talk directly with you about what further information if any may be needed.
The more eligible businesses that are identified the quicker we get superfast broadband here!
Jan 13, 2014
From the point of view of deploying new technology to help achieve better coverage, next year – 2015 – is looking to be the year of SFBB for the Parish. However, we have an opportunity to bring the timescale forward a bit by making sure local businesses in the Parish are involved.
This comes about because one of the Connecting Cumbria funding streams is through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and this has to be spent by the end of April 2015. The funding is available to help eligible local businesses get SFBB. Any infrastructure put in for this purpose is also likely benefit the development of SFBB in the Parish as a whole.
The eligibility criteria are complex so our best plan of action is to identify all the businesses in the Parish, how big they are and their broad area of operation and then let the Connecting Cumbria team work out if they can draw down ERDF funding.
This is where we can all help. I’ll publish a simple proforma in the next few days on this blog and circulate the details to those for whom I have e-mails so we can capture this information. Let’s see if we can bring forward the planned SFBB implementation in the Parish.
Jan 13, 2014
The guidance we currently have is that, as previously announced, 70% of the properties in the Parish will end up with SFBB (24 Mb/s or above).
The main areas where coverage is likely to be less than 24Mb/s (but over the guaranteed minimum 2Mb/s) under current arrangements are properties in the Nibthwaite, Ickenthwaite and Rusland areas. It’s not yet possible to say how many of the properties in these areas will get a slower than SFBB connection but one that will still be perfectly acceptable and a vast improvement on the current arrangements. This could all change for the better as new technology is employed and as the arrangements are clarified for the adjacent areas of Blawith and Satterthwaite.
The main clusters of properties outside these areas are likely to end up with a SFBB connection, although for some isolated properties outside these areas, the speed may well drop below 24Mb/s.
Jan 13, 2014
There is still a considerable margin of uncertainty in the planning process which exists for two reasons:
Firstly, there are some interesting technologies in the final stages of testing – that’s where the amplifiers and regenerators come in – and these could make a significant (positive) difference to the sort of connectivity that the more isolated properties in the Parish end up with. BT wants to make sure that the technology is a match for the Cumbrian weather before deploying these bits of kit: we are looking at 2015 before it will be ready.
Secondly the desk based planning is only getting them so far: the exact position and condition of things like ducting, through which fibre can be blown, is often not apparent until a detailed survey has been undertaken or the job underway.
Whilst on the subject of the technology, we learnt that the design of the system in rural areas uses miniature cabinets; so it may be that an existing cabinet near to you will not be used – but you’ll still get superfast broadband (SFBB).
It’s also possible to bring SFBB to an area without necessarily upgrading the local exchange – although we know that Newby Bridge and probably Greenodd exchanges will act as branching points for a ring of fibre which is currently being constructed right round the County.
Jan 13, 2014
We had a useful meeting with representatives from Connecting Cumbria and BT at the end of last week where there was much more clarity on the current state of play in bringing acceptable levels of connectivity into the Parish – and plenty to be relatively optimistic about. The next few posts give details of what we learnt and some action points for us to take in order to help the process along.
Dec 13, 2013
Following on from our meeting last month, we’ve been asked to a further meeting with the team from the Connecting Cumbria project on January 10th. So let’s hope Santa has something good in store for us. Step 5a – which is what the meeting is all about - is defined as:
Connecting Cumbria with BT produce more detailed information on likely coverage and discuss options for delivery, which will allow the community to scope the (Community build) project.
So it looks as if we’ll get down to some detail, which will then allow us all to put our heads together and see what we can come up with to get the maximum connectivity into the Parish.
In the meantime, all the best to everyone for the Christmas period and best wishes for the New Year.