Earlier this year it was announced that Airband had been selected to deliver the superfast broadband programme for Dartmoor and Exmoor. Airband specialises in innovative, over-ground wireless technology to provide high speed broadband solutions for remote rural areas and has already delivered a superfast broadband programme in the Welsh hills. So what does this mean for residents and businesses, and most importantly when will we all have access to faster broadband?
'Connecting Devon and Somerset' (CDS) is responsible for delivering superfast broadband infrastructure to the areas of Devon and Somerset that are not currently covered by commercial investment. It is a local authority led partnership including Somerset, Devon, North Somerset, Torbay, Plymouth, and Bath and North East Somerset. The CDS programme aims to bring superfast broadband to 90% of premises in its area which means that most residents and businesses in Devon and Somerset will have broadband speeds of over 24Mbps by the end of 2016 and all premises within the programme area will have a broadband speed of at least 2Mbps.
Phase 1 of the wider rollout for Devon and Somerset is being delivered by BT using a fibre connection, which means properties within the rollout area will be able to access a superfast service via a telephone land line. This will mostly be carried out using FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet - broadband is delivered from the telephone exchange through fibre optic cables to new green cabinets next to the existing roadside cabinets and then connected to premises with copper cables). In some areas it may be necessary to use FTTP (Fibre to the Premises - fibre optic cables connect a property directly to the telephone exchange). Within West Devon 33 cabinets are already live and a further 27 are expected to go live by April 2016.
It is estimated that phase 1 of the project will deliver superfast broadband access to 60% of premises within Dartmoor. The ‘Connecting Dartmoor and Exmoor’ superfast broadband project delivered by Airband forms part of phase 2 of the programme and will involve a public sector investment of £4.6m. This stage of the project is expected to result in 96% of homes and businesses in the two National Parks having access to superfast broadband by the end of 2017, although most people will probably have the opportunity to benefit from superfast coverage in 2016.
Airband specialises in delivering superfast broadband to remote areas with geographically challenging terrain. Their wireless solution uses state of the art data radio technology with radios capable of up to 100Mbps and works by transmitting a signal from a mast to a small device (smaller than a satellite dish) attached to the end-user's building. A cable then takes the connection into the building allowing connection to the internet in the same way as via fibre or an ADSL connection. Airband has been surveying Dartmoor to find suitable sites for the masts to ensure as many people as possible receive coverage; the masts will mostly be timber poles less than 10m tall and approximately 30 to 40 masts will be required in and around the Dartmoor National Park area. Existing commercial masts will be used and wherever possible new masts will be located with buildings and other structures. Airband currently uses church towers in Worcestershire to broadcast signals and has already been contacting some Dartmoor parishes to understand if a mast could be sympathetically incorporated into any of the local church buildings.
Once the superfast broadband infrastructure is in place, it will then be the responsibility of the end-user to have the wireless receiver device installed on their property and at this stage other broadband providers will be able to quote for individual customers' broadband business. The current BT landline telephone service will not be affected. However consumers will also have the option of using voice over the internet ( VoIP) and saving line rental charges by moving their phone to run over the internet as well as their broadband. Broadband speed and cost will depend on which bundle and which provider you select. Wireless technology can be deployed relatively quickly and with less expense and disruption than fibre optic cables so it is possible that the Dartmoor phase 2 section will complete before the end of phase 1. However as the process is constantly evolving it is difficult to tell yet which properties will fall into the estimated 4% which will not be covered by phase 2 wireless technology; these properties will be considered in the next stage of the programme which it is hoped will be completed by 2020.
If you would like more information about the 'Connecting Dartmoor and Exmoor' programme then visit the Dartmoor National Park website at www.dartmoor.gov.uk/aboutus/connecting-dartmoor. If you would like to know more about Dartmoor National Park's involvement in Connecting Dartmoor and Exmoor, then contact Jo Rumble, Communities Officer on 01626 831024. You can also register on the Airband website to receive regular updates at www.airband.com