18th January 2012

WEST DORSET: The future is faster...

Francesca Evans explores the need for superfast broadband across Dorset

High-Speed Olympic Legacy

THE 2012 Olympic Games will bring superfast broadband to Weymouth and Portland, giving thousands access to high-speed internet connections during the international sailing events.

Having originally only earmarked Portland for the Olympic upgrade, BT announced in September that Weymouth was one of 114 communities chosen in the latest phase of its £2.5 billion fibre-optic, superfast broadband roll-out – promising to deliver it in time for the Games.

Almost 20,000 homes and businesses in Weymouth are now expected to benefit from the 40 mega bit per second download speeds, and a further 5,400 on Portland, as well as over 500 athletes and officials during the sailing.

The cable for this superfast broadband in Portland will remain in place after the Olympics. However, the connection will only be kept if businesses prove there is a need.

The Dorset Digital Taskforce, set up by Dorset Chamber of Commerce to lobby and negotiate with internet service providers to improve broadband speeds across the county, has been working on a campaign to keep the connection in Portland after the Olympics.

However, chairman Dr Monica Seeley, is concerned that businesses are not showing enough interest because they don’t know what a difference superfast broadband will make.

She said: “To keep the connection working, Dorset will have to put up a good case. If we don’t have a plan, the cable will just lay there un-used.

“It will not happen without local businesses driving up the demand and, at the moment, that is not happening. I think this is because businesses can’t see what superfast broadband can do for them. What we need to do is start helping our users understand what they could do if they had superfast broadband.”

Essential To Local Business

DORCHESTER has also been lucky enough to be named as one of BT’s 114 towns to get superfast broadband by the end of 2012.

Phil Gordon, project director of Dorchester Business Improvement District, has welcomed the news but emphasised how important fast broadband is for businesses across the whole of the county.

He said: “High speed broadband is essential to nearly all businesses these days, and it is a key consideration of people considering moving to the area – ask any estate agent. If we want to attract more new businesses, and therefore more jobs, to Dorchester then we have to have a good business infrastructure and support networks as well as the other more natural attractions of living in one of the most beautiful areas in the UK.

“It was not that many years ago when we somehow managed to use the internet with slow dial-up modems, but the way technology has raced forward many of the most recent innovations, such as low-cost, high-performance video conferencing, simply will not work reliably enough with slow broadband.

“This is putting Dorset businesses at a disadvantage when they are competing with companies in fast broadband areas as clients need regular face to face meetings either in person or via a video conference.

“More and more shops in town are realising the importance of having a web offering with online ordering to supplement their high street presence and this too increases the importance of having a fast connection.”

Lyme Regis town councilor Lucy Campbell, who manages community learning centre LymeNet, has also spoken of the importance of superfast broadband to businesses.

She said that a higher speed would be “really helpful” to LymeNet as both staff and clients solely rely on using the internet.

“Particularly in rural areas it is really important, as there are more businesses working from home,” she added.

In Bridport, Jon Stow, speaking on behalf of Bridport Chamber of Commerce, added: “I would certainly agree that every business should benefit from at least 2 mega bits per second so this is a good general target to aim for as a minimum speed for downloads.

“Any improvements in the communications structure will ultimately benefit everyone. In my opinion, a reliable connection is more important than a fast connection.”

Working Towards Superfast Connections: The Facts and Figures

SO what about the rest of Dorset? Across the county there is a call for an improved internet connection and in rural areas the need is desperate. Research carried out on behalf of Dorset County Council showed that some premises in West and North Dorset were still only able to get a 1990s-style dial-up connection.

West Dorset proved to be the area worst affected by poor connections, with almost 38 per cent of properties working below the desired speed of at least 2 mega bits per second (Mbps).

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has now invested £530 million into bringing the whole of the UK up to the speed of at least 2Mbps by 2015, with £9.44 million of this being allocated to Dorset. Although this target is below the national average speed of 4.1Mbps, the government has said it strikes a balance between the desire for ever-faster broadband and the costs implied in providing it.

To receive the grant, Dorset must match-fund the £9.44 million, with West Dorset District Council offering £1.3 million toward this and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, on top of their Olympic improvements, putting in over £153,000.

In its Local Broadband Plan – submitted to Broadband Delivery UK as part of the funding application – Dorset County Council has been particularly ambitious, aiming to deliver speeds of 30Mbps across the county by 2020.

The Dorset Digital Taskforce is currently working with the county council to win its share of the funding and achieve its target. Dr Seeley has pointed out, however, that if it does receive the grant, the council will then have to go to a shortlist of internet providers and convince them why they should come to Dorset. To help fight Dorset’s case, local communities are now being asked to express interest and prove there is a need for improved broadband speeds across the county.

In Lyme Regis, the town council has created a survey and is asking all local businesses and individuals who use broadband at home to complete it by February 28th. The survey can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JF7QDJ8 or can be downloaded from the town council’s website www.lymeregis.gov.uk

Other towns are expected to set up similar registration schemes soon.

Supporting the Final Third

ALTHOUGH Dorset County Council’s main aim is to provide speeds of 30Mbps by 2020, it has recognised that delivering this superfast connection to some more rural areas will be “very difficult” to achieve in the short term.

In these communities, the national target of 2Mbps will be followed, with hopes of improving the speed further in the future. This is expected to affect up to five per cent of properties in Dorset.

These rural communities are known as the Final Third – the last 30 per cent of the UK where market failure is predicted for superfast broadband.

The map above shows the areas in Dorset which receive less than 2Mbps (marked in red), against the areas which recieve 2Mbps or more - most of the main towns (marked in green). Areas that recieve less that 2Mbps are known as “slow-spots”. Although slow, most places across Dorset do have some kind of connection – but there still are a few areas that cannot receive any kind of broadband at all.

These areas are described as “not-spots” and can be found online at www.broadband-notspot.org.uk. The website is using information submitted by users to lobby the government and internet companies to provide a universally available broadband service across the UK. If you’re living in a broadband not-spot, report it to www.broadband-notspot.org.uk even if your neighbours have already done so to help raise awareness of the need in your area.

Many organisations have been campaigning for notice to be given to the Final Third, including the Country Land and Business Association’s (CLA) Final Third First campaign, which aims to ensure that the superfast fibre-optic cable goes to every home in the UK. The CLA have also been campaigning to raise the government’s national target for broadband speeds to 5Mbps. To support this petition, visit www.cla.org.uk/Policy_Work/Petitions/

BT says it is now working with local authorities to reach the Final Third at last – to extend the reach of superfast broadband beyond its £2.5 billion commercial scheme that Weymouth and Dorchester has been listed on.

• To support the campaign for faster broadband in your area, contact your town or parish council, or West Dorset District Council, to find out how you can help.

How Can I Check My Broadband Speeds?

Don’t know what speed your broadband is?

Checking it yourself is simple!

For BT Voyager and Speedtouch routers, type the address 192.168.1.1 into your web browser and your upload and download speeds should be listed.

BT Home Hub users should type in 192.168.1.254

Alternatively, speeds can be tested at

www.broadband-notspot.org.uk/broadband-speed-test.html

Why Can't I Connect?

• Your local BT exchange is not enabled yet

• The line length is too long, meaning you’re far away from your nearest BT exchange. Users further than 6km from an exchange may struggle to stay connected

• The line quality could be affected by water, corrosion, etc.

• Poor internal wiring in your telephone lines. This can be improved with a BT I-Plate, also known as a broadband accelerator – available at www.shop.bt.com

WEST DORSET: The future is faster...

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