Topics in this edition:
- Competition closing date 30th September – amazing response
- Barriers to education, employment and training for young people in rural areas
- Frequently asked questions
- Don’t forget to complete the surveys on our website: http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/
Competition closing date 30th September – amazing response
Our competition to find the telecoms cabinets throughout the sub-region has really fired your imagination! We have had a fantastic response so far – and responses are still coming in. As a reminder:
Warwickshire County Council is running a prize draw for the submission of information about the locations of the green telecoms cabinets that sit by the side of the road. To enter, all you have to do is to submit information about where the cabinets are.
To do this, visit https://4sfb.crowdmap.com/main and submit the information requested – and don’t forget to leave your name, email address and telephone number so that you can be contacted you if you win! Names of winners will be published but contact details will not be made public.
Each verified cabinet will count as one entry for the prize draw – so the more cabinets you can find the more chances you have of winning! The competition closes on 30th September, so get your entries in as soon as possible. In October WCC will conduct a prize draw of verified entries, and the winners will be notified
Don’t forget that you could win Amazon vouchers – and help bring Superfast Broadband to our area at the same time!
- First Prize: £50 Amazon voucher
- Second Prize: £30 Amazon voucher
- Third Prize: £20 Amazon voucher
- Runners up: 5 x £10 vouchers
To find out more and for competition rules –visit the competition web page: http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/cabinet-competition/
Why are WCC doing this?
As part of the project to improve broadband speeds WCC need to understand what telecoms equipment is already out there. Unfortunately the BT data on the positions of these cabinets is not accurate, and as speeds can be affected by relatively short distances of copper cabling, they need to accurately pinpoint the locations of these green cabinets.
To receive the broadband project monthly e-newsletter with all the latest updates please visit http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/contact-us/
Barriers to education, employment and training for young people in rural areas
The Commission for Rural Communities has published a major new report into the barriers to education, employment and training experienced by young people in England’s rural areas. The report finds that whilst there are clear associated challenges for all young people across England, there is also a rural dimension to the issue.
Key points in the report include:
- The speed at which young people have become NEET (not in education, employment or training) has increased more quickly in rural areas than in urban since the start of the recession.
- Young people living in rural areas frequently have to travel long distances to work, training and education, yet the high cost and low availability of public and private transport can have a negative impact on opportunities.
- There are concerns that the additional cost of delivering employment and training services in rural areas is leading providers to focus on more highly populated parts of the country.
The report also calls for the appointment of a Government Minister for young people, which would include acting as a focal point and representative for rural youth affairs within and across central government. This is just one of the many reasons why faster broadband is so urgently needed in our rural areas – once again our young people in some parts of Warwickshire are losing out on opportunities that are available to those who live in larger towns and cities, and which could so easily be delivered with better communications technology.
Top questions this month:
Q1. Do we still need to complete the surveys and how long will they run for?
The short answer is YES – we need to get as many surveys completed as possible! We are currently collecting the data for use in our pre-tender engagement with suppliers. The more we know about what is really happening in each area (as opposed to the “up to” speeds that providers advertise when they are trying to get you to sign a contract) the more informed we will be as a client – and the better deal we can get for everyone out of the procurement process. The survey will run for a while yet as we will also use the data in our pre-contract negotiations with the chosen supplier – and of course throughout the network design phase of the project.
Q2. What’s happening about the procurement?
Good question! We are waiting for the Government to give us a date when we can start our procurement process. Because all projects across the country will be hoping to attract tenders from the same two suppliers (BT and Fujitsu) the Government is trying to “manage the pipeline” so that each project will get well-developed bids rather than a “one-size fits all” approach. There are also State Aid issues still to be resolved –and we are awaiting news on that.
This is all very frustrating, although we are putting the time to good use by collecting lots of information about our area – helped by your survey responses but also fed from information such as the recent census, Local Authorities’ core strategies, housing and business developments and a whole range of other sources. This means that we will have a really good picture of what and where our current communities and business parks are – and what is likely to happen in the future. Armed with this information we will be “intelligent clients” and can make sure that the eventual network design best meets the needs of our communities and businesses into the future.
Q3. Do we have a Champion for our area?
The best way to find out is to take a look at the maps on our website which show where our champions are located and where we have received survey responses from: http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/downloads-resources/maps-showing-champions-locations-and-survey-responses/
Over the summer we are trying to identify which key areas still have no Champions and to encourage Parish Councils, Borough/District and County Councillors to either volunteer or to identify people who would be able to become Champions. If you can help, please get in touch.
CSW Broadband now on social media – come and join the conversation
We are now on the major social media channels and are already creating a buzz. Join in for up-to-date information and an opportunity to influence how the project develops
- Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/CSWSuperfastBroadband
- Twitter – https://twitter.com#!/cswbroadband
- Linkedin – http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CSW-Superfast-Broadband-4403473
Updated copy available for use your in your newsletters or on your own website
We are preparing monthly bulletins for use in electronic or printed form so that you can simply cut and paste them into your own publications. As parishes are starting their campaigns at different times we are making the updates available for download from our website so that they can be used in the logical order, visit: http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/downloads-resources/copy-to-use-on-your-own-website-newsletters-or-flyers/
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