Alternatives

If you are close to the cabinet, a usual Fast Broadband FTTC (aka ADSL) connection can give reasonable results of approx 50Mbps.If you are suffering sub 10Mbps speeds, the following alternatives may appeal:

Mobile Broadband

Many Mobile Phone providers offer broadband via their network. Branded variously, the concept is the same. A special router with a SIM card slot is put in place, with external antennae which connect to the 4G (possible 5G in future) phone network and use this to achieve a good broadband connection.

You can choose an off-the-shelf package, or buy your own router and equipment and use a SIM-only contract.Quite a few villagers already use this technology and the Rous Lench Village Hall uses it to good effect.It doesn't require a landline or landline number, saving line rental costs. If you need to retain a landline number, there are VOIP services available which can retain your number without a phone line, such as sipgate and these work without any further lines or connections. .

Pros: Relatively cheap, from £20pcm with no line rentalCons: Shared IP address under CGNAT. Won't affect most people.
Subject to a Fair Usage Policy of 600Gb (up to 1000Gb) per month

Satellite

Starlink is the best-known offering for satellite broadband, though expensive. Occasionally Starlink offer deals for rural locations.

Pros: Speeds of 220Mbps, if you pay more. Reliable.
Cons: Expensive. Initial investment high, service charges start at £75pcm and high energy usage from equipment will add to your electricity bill and greenhouse emissions.
Service is tiered:
25-100 Mbps for £75pcm
40-220 Mbps for £150pcm
Subject to a undisclosed Fair Usage Policy, possibly 1000Gb per month

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Original Details

2021 Update: Project on-hold

(Dec 2020) We have 65 Premises in Rous Lench, Radford & Gooms Hill, all linked to the Inkberrow exchangeThe application window has now closed and premises information is with Openreach for the next stage of the process.This is not about switching Broadband providers. This is about revolutionising the network in Radford and Rous Lench, providing bigger cables to your premises at no cost (via a grant).We are a not-for-profit project seeking to bring "Full fibre FTTP" capability to the village via a Community Fibre Partnership, which means replacing the last mile of copper with fibre-optic cable all the way to your door.The great advantage is the increase in speed and reliability, but this is not just about data figures. It's about getting off copper at the most cost effective point before it's phased out. Openreach plan to retire its copper phone and broadband network by 2027. (Ofcom paper).Your home premises will be eligible for a £1500 grant voucher
Your business premises will be eligible for a £3500 grant voucher

Please note that addresses in Church Lench are on the Harvington exchange, and are out of scope for the current project, which is focused only on the Inkberrow exchange.

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What's involved for the area?

2021 Update: Project on-hold

BT Openreach (OR) would bring new fibre cables to the village cabinet (and / or a new cabinet), and new cables from the cabinet to your premises. Where possible, these new cables will follow the path of any existing cables.
The new infrastructure will take up to 12 months to implement.
Any deal or contract you have with your ISP is separate, this is about replacing the cable, not the service that runs over it.What will it cost me?Nothing for the cables.
After the cables are installed (end 2021), switch to a Full Fibre service from an ISP of your choice for a year of broadband, instead of your current copper broadband. This validates your voucher. You can do this with your current ISP. And that's it.Why now?The voucher scheme is limited and we have an opportunity to take advantage as Rous Lench qualifies for the funding requirements. BT Openreach have confirmed they will fund the £52k to bring the service to the area.
The ageing copper infrastructure has struggled to cope during lockdown, and with advances in internet technologies such as 4K, this will increase demand further over the coming years.
In an unprecedented move, the UK Government are prioritising rural communities for this technology, but once these initiatives have expired, that will change. Remaining on copper indefinitely is not viable and we will all have to upgrade in the future. It's unknown how much priority would be given to rural communities by the private sector outside of a voucher scheme.

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Details of the scheme

2021 Update: Project on-hold

2024 - The scheme below is no longer valid for our area. Details for reference only.Details of the original scheme: https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/Gigabit-capable broadband connections offer the fastest and most reliable speeds available, and the Government is committed to a vision of a digitally connected Britain.
Homes and businesses in rural areas of the UK may be eligible for funding towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband when part of a group scheme.
Rural premises with broadband speeds of less than 100Mbps can use vouchers worth £1,500 per home and up to £3,500 for each small to medium-sized business (SME) to support the cost of installing new fast and reliable connections.To Discuss the project or to ask any questions, please email [email protected]

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