DIY enthusiasts hook up rural broadband

Fed up with waiting for broadband providers to get their act together, villagers in north Northamptonshire have decided to enable themselves.

West Haddon and Winwick Community Broadband Ltd, a not-for-profit group set up by 11 villagers, has built its own broadband network covering the two villages, near Rugby.

It offers internet connections at up to 2Mbs for just £27 per month.

The group's network uses wireless technology with the signal hopping from building to building, using either small roof or loft space antennas and less than one-seventeenth the power of a mobile phone, the group said.

"We are using the Aramiska ARC 2000 product for our backhaul. This gives 2048(k) down contended 8:1 and 512(k) up contended 4:1. It's on a "fair use" policy so in theory everyone has these rates available to them," said villager Trevor Sherman, one of the group's founders.

The £27 per month service will be open for subscription to residents and local businesses. Property owners who host a wireless node will qualify for a discount.

Both villages are part of the 10 per cent of the country, mainly rural communities, which most suppliers do not consider viable for a commercial broadband service.

"After months of campaigning for providers to bring us broadband, we finally decided the best way was to do it ourselves."

The service will be launched on 3 October, giving both villages high-speed, always-on access. "This is entirely for the community and will bring tangible benefits in the future because we have complete control of both the infrastructure and the cost," he added.

"By working together, two small villages have brought down the cost of broadband and made it accessible to home users and businesses to whom it was previously unavailable."