Jesse calls for a community-led broadband revolution in Herefordshire

Community action and innovation are the best way to provide broadband to the digitally excluded - that was the message from a broadband summit held last week in Hereford.

It’s an unlikely place for a revolution. But galvanised by the newly elected MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, Jesse Norman, the county is battling to get decent broadband connection for everyone.

Jesse brought together some of the biggest and the most innovative players in the broadband market along with the Government minister responsible for broadband delivery, Ed Vaizey MP. They listened to the frustrations of community leaders and local businesses at Friday’s event held at the Three Counties Hotel in the city.

Herefordshire, like other rural counties, is in the broadband desert as far as the big service providers are concerned. Most of the county suffers from either very poor connectivity or none at all, and local people know that broadband is vital to the county’s economic survival and continuing development.

Now, led by the new MP, the county is looking at a potentially revolutionary plan to allow the county’s broadband disenfranchised to get the service they so desperately need and deserve.

The summit panel included Rutland Telecom, allpay and Northumberland entrepreneur James Saunby who are blazing a trail for remote communities and those forgotten in the broadband hinterland. They told the summit how they could reach people and had found solutions.

And it seems the big providers are finally taking notice, BT fielded an impressive corporate turnout led by the head of its Next Generation Access programme, Bill Murphy. He was accompanied by BT’s Partnership Director, a director of public affairs and a regional press officer.
Virgin Media’s senior public affairs manager Matt Rogerson was also in attendance.

Rutland Telecom and allpay have come up with different but innovative solutions to provide broadband in rural areas and the so called “not spots”. Dr David Lewis, managing director of Rutland Telecom, told the summit that the best way to get broadband was to band together and create a demand. He explained that he had formed a company and managed to find a solution for the village of Lyddington in Rutland.
His company had sited a new fibre optic cabinet adjacent to BT’s and connected up the village. Forty people were needed to make the scheme viable and for £30 per month they are now enjoying broadband speeds of more than 10 mbps.

Tony Killeen, the founder of allpay, is piloting a highly innovative wireless broadband scheme across Herefordshire. His firm has teamed up with the Hereford Diocese to mount wireless internet nodes on church buildings in villages across the Diocese while James Saunby of Greysky Ltd., explained how he is leading the charge to bring broadband to the remote Northumberland uplands.

Councillors and community groups now plan to pursue all available avenues to tackle the problem. Hereford Council will be holding talks with major service providers and the Government to come up with the best commercial solution while local groups are planning to band together and do it for themselves following the lead of Rutland Telecom and allpay.

Jesse Norman said: "The summit was a huge success, and I am grateful to all those who took part. It is clear that as a county we are not yet on the map with British Telecom for the next generation broadband we need. That's a key priority.

"But what is also clear is that all the elements we need are there to make broadband happen. The Council needs to review the extent of its existing spend, including through the PCT and the Local Authority, to see if we can use that spending power better.

"The Minister confirmed that we should be eligible for some DEFRA funding aimed at particularly rural areas. And there are rural fixed line and wireless broadband specialists who can work with particular communities to fill the gaps. We just now need to get on with it."

Photo: Jesse and Broadband Minister Ed Vaizey