FAST BROADBAND FOR RATTERY

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1 FAST BROADBAND FOR RATTERY The Parish Plan Steering Group is very pleased that residents of the parish will have a choice of fast broadband providers. This has been achieved by a lot of investigation, analysis, research and negotiation, done over several months, by the Broadband Working Group under the leadership of Nigel King, to whom we are all extremely grateful. Now that we know that Airband are committed to providing a service for the parish we can summarise the situation as we see it. In addition to the existing copper wire Open Reach/BT system two other technologies will be available. In most of the parish, therefore, you can choose which system to use for broadband. The Parish Plan Steering Group cannot advise individuals about the merits or otherwise of particular companies and the choice of provider is one for individual customers to make. These notes are meant to advise you of what is available and to summarise the characteristics of each system. The existing Open Reach system, because it is based on copper wire, cannot provide fast broadband speeds. BT has however suggested that it might bring a fibre cable to the cabinet at Almshouse Cross. If that were to happen then households in the immediate vicinity would be able to access fast broadband via the Open Reach network.

2 The other broadband technologies available in Rattery are fixed wireless and 4G. The fixed wireless provider will be AIRBAND. Airband uses fixed wireless microwave technology and provides broadband through line of sight to a transmitter using radio waves and eliminates the need to use phone or cable lines. Please see the explanatory animation: Fixed wireless is the broadband of choice in, many countries including South Africa (where Airband has a sister company), Italy, America, Australia and many others. The technology is robust and is not affected by the weather because the signal only covers very short distances. In Devon, Airband transmitters are never more that 5Km from each other and customers. A number of transmitters will be installed by Airband to give good coverage across the parish and the voucher scheme will cover the costs of the installation of an external antenna and internal router for each property. Depending on how far you are from the transmitter you will need a dish or a box antenna.

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4 Dish antenna Box antenna

5 Transmitters

6 Airband are currently undergoing the final negotiations to site their transmitters and are confident that the infrastructure will be in place for customers have their installation completed well before the March 2017 deadline for the CDS voucher scheme. Airband install the equipment and provide the broadband service so your on-going contract would be with them. Details are on their website (see above). Fixed wireless has high or unlimited data caps enabling the consumer more or less free usage within the contract price.

7 4G technology is offered by four companies listed on the Connecting Devon and Somerset website under their voucher scheme G is a relatively easy way of quickly gaining a faster internet connection. It works by using the well-established 4G mobile phone network to access broadband services. EE provide the best 4G coverage in this area and, as the majority of EE 4G masts are by the main A roads, the infrastructure is already there. The Vodaphone network has recently been upgraded and may provide an alternative to EE. Two companies (the first two listed above) have conducted preliminary surveys which show good coverage over most of the parish but with weak reception in the low-lying part of the village centre. If you are considering this system then companies will conduct an individual survey before you agree to installation.

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9 Under the voucher scheme you choose a company to install the equipment (a suitable outside antenna and an indoors 4G router) to receive a 4G signal but your ongoing contract would be with EE who offer various contract options plus occasional special offers. antenna A typical 4G domestic No 4G network offers an unlimited data option making usage potentially much more expensive than indicated by the advertised monthly figures. With any capped service such as 4G, care needs to be taken to avoid accidental data usage, such as switching iplayer to standard definition rather than HD and avoiding automatic cloud photo backups. You could start on a 30 day flexible contract to establish data usage and then upgrade to a 12 month contract. Some users opt to maintain their phone line broadband service and use this for overnight cloud uploads.

10 VOIP is possible with both fast broadband options. With both of these systems, when considering the costs of switching, you could consider saving money by running your telephone line through your broadband. This is called VOIP technology (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and you can find out more on the following links The installing companies can provide more information and suitable options for each property. The Parish Plan Telecommunications and Broadband Working Party is currently researching VOIP providers and will publish its findings shortly.