UK government backs DIY rural broadband

Two UK Government departments are providing almost half the funds for a £130,000 initiative to support community rural broadband intiatives. Ruralnet UK and the Phone Coop will run an information and advice service under which pioneering social enterprises providing rural broadband will help other communities get started with wireless and other technologies. Stephen Timms MP, Minister for e-Commerce and Competitiveness, confirmed support at the Ruralnet|2003 conference today.

Earlier in the day participants had heard from Malcolm Corbett, co-founder of the Community Broadband Network, that up to 5 million rural dwellers may have to go the 'do it yourself' route if they want broadband because potential usage in their communities has not reached trigger levels set by commercial providers like BT.
Simon Berry, chief executive of Ruralnet UK, told me after the Minister's announcement that £60,000 was coming from Government departments DTI and DEFRA, with the rest from as yet unnamed private social sector backers.
Simon said: "We are trying to capture the knowledge and experience of existing community broadband networks so that communities that are trying a DIY approach can proceed on a technically and financially sound, risk-assessed basis, and don't have to reinvent the wheel."
The Community Broadband Network will be modelled in part on the DirectSupport programme, led by Ruralnet UK, that provides assistance for community-based UK online centres.
Existing community broadband project leaders will be paid to run an Experts Online service on the Ruralnet extranet, and will be available as consultants to start-up projects. In addition, there will be other resources including a web portal and knowledge base, and central services that projects can use including administration and billing.

This press release was released earlier this week.
Stephen Timms to announce support for rural broadband at ruralnet|2003 on 15th October
'Rural Broadband through Social Enterprise' - first promoted by Stephen Timms MP earlier this year - will get a further boost in his address at the national ruralnet|2003 conference next week, in Wyboston, Cambridge.
The Minister of State for Energy, e-Commerce and Postal Services will announce support from the Rural Broadband Unit and Social Enterprise Unit of the DTI and DEFRA to the Community Broadband Network (CBN), a new initiative to link communities who have taken a DIY approach to local broadband provision.
He will voice his support for these pioneering DIY approaches, which have shown potential to provide broadband in areas the market does not reach. These social enterprises are driven by need rather than profit and are community owned. For their success, it will be vital that they exchange experience with each other so that lessons are learnt, pitfalls avoided and wheels not reinvented. The Community Broadband Network, proposed and managed by ruralnet|uk and The Phone Co-op, will ensure DIY projects help each other to proceed on a sound business basis. Getting the legal structure right is a key component in the success of any social enterprise and the Minister will highlight the launch, at the conference, of Co-operativesUK's incorporation toolkit, including sets of model rules. This is specifically geared towards the needs of communities eager to bring broadband to their area.
The conference is being sponsored by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) which awarded funding to connect 21 communities earlier this year as part of its drive to increase access for rural areas in the region.
ruralnet|uk's annual conferences motivate, inspire and challenge those who work to improve the life of the socially excluded in rural areas. This year is no exception: the thrust of the conference does not depend on technology alone, but puts it in the context of wider development practices and the best new thinking. "This year we bring the 'Sustainable Livelihoods Approach' to the UK, and we hope this will change the way we think about tackling rural poverty in this country," says ruralnet|uk's Chief Executive Simon Berry. Keynote speaker, Dr Ian Goldman from South Africa, is a key proponent of this approach, now adopted by our own Department for International Development (DFID) and the United Nations in the design and monitoring of effective interventions in developing countries.
This theme will be brought alive by relating it to current rural development issues such as rural broadband, social enterprise and sustainability.
The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) will be demonstrating its Community Broadband Toolkit which is being launched on the South East regional portal, SEEOnline. SEEOnline.net is the interactive regional forum for private and public sector organisations and the many groups representing those living and working in the South East. The 'Creating a Broadband Community' website has been devised by SEEDA to help individuals come together within an area to enable a Broadband network through the use of wireless technology.
The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) are the primary sponsors of the conference.
"We are very grateful to the record number of sponsors of ruralnet|2003 who have funded the free places scheme. We are pleased to have been able to offer a place to all those who applied. It is crucial that ruralnet conferences are balanced by the participation of community activists. Without the support of sponsors this would not be possible." Simon Berry said.
Notes to editors 1 The sponsors of ruralnet|2003 are: EEDA (principal sponsor), Co-operativesUK, the Countryside Agency, the Countryside Exchange, Potton, SEEDA
2 The ruralnet|2003 conference programme can be found at www.ruralnet.org.uk/2003
3 ruralnet|uk's website is at www.ruralnetuk.org
4 The phone Co-op's website is at: www.phone.coop
5 Co-operativesUK are the apex body for co-operative enterprises will be exhibiting at ruralnet|2003. For more information on Co-operativesUK see www.cooperatives-uk.coop
6 Video footage of the Minister on rural broadband issues is available from Paul Duckett, SEEDA - PaulDuckett@seeda.co.uk and 07768 372442. This can be produced in Beta format for TV use in time for the event.

For more information contact: Simon Berry s.berry@ruralnet.org.uk

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[David Wilcox]

Thanks to the xPRESS news digest from Ruralnet for this item about one village's campaign to get broadband

Broadband success for Digital Wirksworth
Less than a year after the launching of the Digital Wirksworth campaign group, members are celebrating the arrival of broadband in the town and surrounding villages. At a packed meeting in Wirksworth's Memorial Hall last Thursday (6th November) local people heard how the campaign had secured a £30,000 grant to encourage the set-up of wireless broadband. The meeting learned how members of the campaign had gone on to set up Wirksworth Connect Ltd as a not for profit company to manage the grant which was provided by RABBIT (Rural Access to Broadband Inclusion Trial). Ralph Selby of Wirksworth Connect described to the meeting the tough selection process which had been set up to choose a supplier. The successful bidder was Ripley based Zycomm Electronics who market their service as W3Z. Martin French of W3Z then took the floor and gave a demonstration of broadband including very fast web surfing, speedy downloading of files and a live web cam link with New York. W3Z have been trialing their system with 26 'testers' and plan to launch a public service in Wirksworth and Middleton on 17 November with extension to surrounding villages soon after.
Web: Digital Wirksworth
(Press release not yet available on the web-site)
07 November 2003
© Wirksworth Connect