Rural wi-fi still not able to fill the gaps

The debate about rural broadband coverage and the best way to tackle the shortcomings of the UK copper infrastructure rumbles on.

The idea of using wi-fi networks as a universal ‘catch-all’ solution to the problem is surprisingly still being lauded as the best way forward by some parties. But increasingly there is a growing crowd of those who think this plan is flawed at best – and hopeless at worst.

One of the few companies already using the technology on a commercial basis accepts that the plans by the big players such as BT and Virgin to use fibre optics to boost the speed of downloads will still leave many remote outposts of the country woefully under-served.

The key issue is that getting fibre to rural exchanges is one thing, but if the copper infrastructure between the exchanges and the end user aren’t replaced, the the consumer will never see the benefit.

ISP Medwave runs an 802.11n service delivering 5.8Ghz to parts of rural Kent. They feel that despite government plans to top up the coffers to aid the infrastructure roll-out, it simply won’t be enough to reach the far-flung corners of the countryside.

Some campaigners are pushing for radio technology to supplement the over-lauded fibre optics networks, but even this compromise option doesn’t impress ISP Medwave and others, who feel that greater investment in the fibre and phone lines route is needed.

“You could use other technologies to fill in the gaps, but it’s not a universal solution in the same way that can be said with fibre and phone lines” commented Steve Howard founder of Medwave.

He claims that the big limitation in wi-fi as a solution is the required line of sight between the transmitter and the receiving household. In the more ‘hilly’ parts of the country that simply is a logistical impossibility. Even in relatively flat areas there could still be not-spots that are left out in the cold.
No single solution, but satellite is the catalyst for many options

It’s just another chapter in an ongoing argument that rural broadband users have all heard before. The general consensus seems to be that no single solution is going to deliver total fast broadband coverage, and that what will eventually solve the problem will be a melting pot of delivery methods.

Satellite broadband, as well providing cost effective and immediate fast broadband coverage through products like Tooway, can be used to facilitate connectivity to wi-fi and cellular GSM/3G networks. Using the latest satellite protocols and Ka band communications, satellite can provide an instant and virtually limitless broadband backhaul to hook up other wireless delivery methods where its too expensive to dig and lay fibre.

This is going to be the only realistic way that the government can hit its own target of a universal 2Mbits/sec delivery to all homes and businesses.

BT has already stated publicly that its comfortable with the idea of a pick’n’mix approach to rural broadband delivery. They have proposed a convergence of delivery methods to reach outlying areas that cannot be serviced via fibre optics that includes copper-based BET, LTE, TV white spaces and of the most flexible, satellite.

The first 20 towns and cities have just been announced. Chosen because of their “significant levels of interest,” which means potential operators and audiences see opportunity in the service, and also because it is technically possible the areas chosen are: London, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton, Hove, Bristol, Glasgow, Grimsby, Leeds, Liverpool, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Preston, Southampton, and Swansea.

Twenty-four more areas have also been identified as next in line after this initial round. These areas are: Aberdeen, Ayr, Bangor, Barnstaple, Basingstoke, Bedford, Cambridge, Carlisle, Derry/Londonderry, Dundee, Guildford, Hereford, Inverness, Kidderminster, Limavady, Luton, Maidstone, Malvern, Mold, Salisbury, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent, Stratford upon Avon and York.

Media regulator, Ofcom will be conducting further consultation in the first 20 cities and towns beginning the end of next week. This will help them decide on how licenses will be awarded. According to sources, licenses will be awarded through competitive tendering, with regulators accepting bids from both non-profit and commercial operators.

Legislation enabling the stations is also yet to be passed, but Hunt has already announced that there will be three pieces of legislation put to parliament. First, to make the spectrum available for broadcast, another for the local licensing regime, and the final will ensure EPG prominence for the services.

In the meantime, the government will be setting up the statutory framework. Pay-TV broadcasters like BSkyB and Virgin are also getting on board with the system, having committed to offering apps and yellow button use to interactive services. This will give local TV the “appropriate prominence” on EPGs.

“Local TV will be a fundamental change in broadcasting in this country, meeting a real demand for local news and content. We are now putting in place the measures needed to establish a series of commercially viable local TV stations,” said Hunt.

“I am confident these new stations will provide local communities with programming which is relevant to their daily lives, will support local democracy, boost the Big Society and enhance local communities.”

Though promising, the project isn’t without its critics. Shadow minister for media, Helen Goodman believes that the government is simply “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” Goodman is referring to the fact that £40m is needed for the project, not including £25m in start-up costs and the £15m that will go to acquiring content over three years. The money will be coming from the BBC license fee.

“The BBC has always provided excellent local content, but as a result of the harsh licence fee settlement agreed by the government, many local services are being slashed by 20%. This government is distracting attention away from these cuts by promoting new services with old money,” Goodman said.

“Labour backs community enterprises and wants to see new business flourish. However, there is little point in cutting high quality services which the public enjoy to fund other projects.”

It is believed that the BBC Trust will need to approve the final figures for the cost, however, and though controversial now, in the end, advertising will fund the services.

Tooway satellite broadband is delivered direct to your home via a satellite dish, fast upload and download speeds directly between you and the satellite, no phone lines, no limited speeds, no outage time! These services are available now in Sussex, visit  ToowaySussex.com.

Devon and Somerset has understood problems with rural broadband and have taken action. Why are we still waiting in Sussex?

Tooway is to connect 1,050 homes in Devon & Somerset with Rural Connection

The UK’s largest Tooway satellite broadband distributor, Toowaydirect, has won a bid to connect 1,050 digitally disadvantaged rural homes and businesses in Devon and Somerset. The scheme uses European funding from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), matched with private sector investment to connect users using the latest generation satellite technology.

The project, which is being launched across Devon and Somerset today is called Rural Connection and focuses on connecting premises that are the farthest from their local exchange; in short those that stand little chance of being connected via wired broadband in the foreseeable future. Fast broadband internet connectivity is an essential enabling infrastructure. Without it many business, economic, and educational opportunities can’t be realised.

Devon and Somerset have a number of rural areas that receive little or no broadband connectivity, so called ‘not spots’. Devon and Somerset County Councils have conducted an in depth analysis of connectivity across the counties. This forms the basis of wider investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) connectivity, but in the short term the analysis has led to the targeting of four pilot community clusters.

The four clusters that receive a particularly poor broadband service (less than 2 Mbps) are in areas of North, Mid and East Devon and Wheddon Cross in Exmoor, Somerset. Toowaydirect is launching a Post Code checking service to enable residents and companies in these areas to determine whether they qualify for the free standard installation and hardware.

The grant means that the first 1,050 applicants in specific postcodes in these areas will be provided with the latest generation standard Tooway satellite broadband equipment, and standard installation. The scheme is being run in conjunction with a program of free ICT training and support from Devon based ethical IT Company Cosmic to help first time broadband users and businesses get the best out of their new broadband connection and their PC or MAC.

“The Rural Connection project means that people can get online with fast broadband now with no more waiting. This will give them immediate access to an amazing range of online services and applications which can enrich their lives, but also save them money, and let them access new work and educational prospects.

Why not visit our sister site for more detailed information www.toowaysussex.com

So why is it that unless you live anywhere other than next to a telephone exchange in West Sussex, your alleged super-fast internet service is closer to a three legged donkey? Invention and software applications have outstripped the capacity of the telephone system. Although plans to install updated systems have been announced this doesn’t help you today, this minute, now. Well, as you may have guessed there is a viable option available today that can compete with the best and fastest ADSL service.

Satellites have provided commercial two way connections and internet services for many years; probably the most commonly used on the High Street are lottery terminals. Internet via Satellite for the domestic market has seen many false dawns, mainly due to the hybrid nature of the systems used. Data was downloaded via the satellite but all uplink data went via the telephone network at dial up speeds. With new satellites having been launched specifically for internet services the same capacity previously only availability for large corporations is now within reach of domestic households and small and medium business.

Internet services allow two way communications, measured as download speed for incoming data and upload speed for outgoing data. You can carry out online speed tests; the results will show download and upload speed for your connection. Results can be affected by test method used and time of day and location. I carried out a number of tests with results ranging from 4Mbps to 6.5Mbps download speed and upload speed never greater than 0.4Mbps. Results from similar tests carried out within 5miles of this location returned download speeds ranging from 9Mbps to 0.9Mbps and upload speeds of 0.4Mbps to 0.1Mbps

WildBlue is an American internet via satellite system that has 400,000 subscribers, launched in 2005 and servicing mainland USA. Tooway is a European equivalent serving mainland Europe, Scandinavian Countries and parts of North Africa.

With Tooway there is no need for a telephone line. So, if you have no access to ADSL or if the performance of your current internet access is unsatisfactory, Tooway gives you a simple, fast and reliable access to high speed internet. Satellite internet access guarantees the same high level of performance in every location, regardless of landscape; on the top of a mountain, in the middle of the countryside, in a small isolated village. Tooway can be installed on any building with a southerly aspect and comes with all hardware including a modem allowing connection to a single computer or router, for £199.99 plus installation. Different packages are available, starting with a 6Mbps download speed and upload speeds of 1Mbps at £25.00 per month, up to packages with download speeds of 10Mbps and upload speeds of 4Mbps.

FT Solutions TV Ltd can supply and install all necessary equipment and installation. All you need is a satellite dish and a modem and you can have both fast up load and down load internet speed regardless of the limitations of the telephone network.

I still marvel each year that the quality of coverage seems to continually improve, with HD reception this year on ITV4. When customers struggle to get reception in Bognor or Littlehampton from Rowridge with just open water between home and transmitter, It shows how well they manage to get picture from the Alps and Pyrenees to the whole world.

Last week when we were working in Paris, see Paris blog and YouTube, our hotel looked over the course used, so I started to take a walk along the route. All I can say is hats off to all the riders that finish the Paris course after completing the Tour. I didn’t finish one lap walking and they cover a dozen or so laps racing. They are an impressive bunch of athletes!

The satellites that were needed were Nilesat, Arabsat, Hotbird and Astra 28.2. Nilesat has limited reception in Europe and require a 2.4m dish. This dish was an Andrews offset with 6″ mount. Supporting this dish was a problem.

This meant getting a 6″ Steel tube 15ft long, up 3 floor through the house without damaging anything. Missions accomplished. Once this mast was installed it was just a matter of man-handling the dish into position, fixing and lining up and skewing onto the signals.

There is a short video of the installation on YouTube.

If you need new satellite dish installed, even if its just a small Sky dish, contact us any time and we will be happy to help.

Click on the link below

Installation of new Dish Farm Paris

A quick background check may be useful in shedding light on why we have both services.

Freeview is the terrestrial digital service transmitted from land based transmitters and received via a television aerial mounted, ideally, on the roof. All digital televisions have a Freeview tuner built into them. Once the digital switch over, DSO, has been completed not all television transmitter will provide all digital services. Service will depend on transmitter type, location and the service provider. Only the main BBC, ITV, Ch4 and Ch5 channels have to be provided, the provision of other channels are optional

Freesat is a satellite based service and is received via a satellite dish and appropriate satellite receiver. Very few televisions have a Freesat tuner built in as standard. All channels are available regardless of location

We have both services because in a nut shell not everybody can receive Freeview. So if you can’t get Freeview then you should be able to get Freesat. This then ensures that over 98.5% of the population can have a digital service.

The channel line-up differs between both services. The main services not available as yet on Freesat are 5*, 5USA, Dave, Viva and Yesterday. Although Freesat has three CBS channels, more film channels and general entertainment channels.

Free HD channels are available on both services, although transmitters that have not undergone DSO are unlikely to have the services yet. Few televisions have HD tuners built in; most are HD ready, basically requiring an HD source to provide the information that the television reproduces. Freesat has HD services available now if you have an HD receiver.

Both systems can connect to the internet; services available are mainly BBC iplayer and soon the ITV player, and hopefully others to follow plus a planned video on demand services.

So which is best? Well I think that you should have both services, why? Many reasons, but the two main ones are; a Freesat HD installation can be very cheap at less than £250 with a Humax HD receiver (one of the best around) and all the extra free channels you can get, over 13 extra main line channels without any subscription.

If you’re exasperated with pigeon droppings all-over your patio, car, drive or just plain sick and tired with pigeons using your aerial as their private park bench, help is at hand.

Pigeon Preventers move those tiresome birds along. Be free of the mess, noise and damage that unwanted flying rats cause…. fit Pigeon Preventers now.

Contact us because we can help.