Dear
Members and Users.
It
has been some time since we met. Members will recall either from the meeting we
held on 13th November 2012 or from my letter of November 16th
that your Directors were going to investigate the cost of replacing and
upgrading our equipment to make it robust for the next five years. We should
remind you that the equipment we are using is at least six years old, we are
already seeing parts that need renewing and the system will not last another
three to five years. Also the contract Herefordshire has signed with BT will
not provide anything to this area until 2015/16 and then only 2Mbps.
We are
making progress. The Directors accepted
a project plan at their last meeting;
Phase
One involves stabilising the system and obtaining an uncontended access to
the internet that will provide speeds of up to 5Mbps – five times faster than
the current service. That means we shall install mains electricity to Mountain
Building (as we did at Cadwell) and
obtain a better wireless signal from Airband so that we may cease using the
three BT lines.
Phase Two is to improve and expand our
network to help us get more customers. This will involve moving the mast at
Belgate to avoid the interference from trees, extending the network to Kinsham
and Byton, and looking to have a site in Lingen Village to boost the signal.
Finally, so that we may all benefit from the improved speed and power of the
new connection it will be necessary to upgrade the customer units on each of
the houses involved.
You will
appreciate that all this costs money. Your directors have discussed this with
the Village Hall Committees of Kinsham and Lingen and they are applying for a
technology grant to assist us. The quid pro quo is that the company will
provide free access to the internet at each Village Hall.
We are
seeking other funds to support the refurbishment and expansion of the network.
We hope to maintain the monthly subscription costs at £25. However, it is probable that we shall need
each customer to pay for the new units on their houses. We will not know the
precise cost until we have responses to our requests for grants. We plan to
hold a meeting in June to discuss the details with you, when we expect to know
a little more.
Further Update soon!
