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Topics in this edition:

• Project enters procurement phase
• How you can help us
• Website restructured and edited throughout
• Useful website for parents
• Good broadband a factor for nearly a third when choosing a home
• IoD Poll: Faster broadband means more jobs, more investment and greater productivity
• Top questions this month

Don’t forget to complete the surveys on our website!

Project enters procurement phase

The CSW Broadband project has now entered its procurement phase and the Invitation to Tender was issued on 28th January. A partner should be appointed by mid-May and then design work will start with roll-out beginning at the end of the year and completion scheduled for 2015. The project aims to provide superfast broadband (24Mbps or over) to 90% of properties with a minimum of 2Mbps to all properties. This will start to level the playing field between businesses and residents in the rural areas with those in the urban areas, which already tend to get faster broadband.

How you can help us

We have had a fantastic response to our consultations and to our surveys, and have almost 200 Local Broadband Champions; however there are still gaps in our network and in our understanding of the actual problems that are being experienced on the ground – and of the reasons for those problems (which can be different in each community). If you want to maximise the opportunity to bring faster broadband to your community you should:

• Complete our surveys for residents and businesses – this will help us to establish what speeds are actually being experienced as opposed to the “up to” speeds that broadband providers promote. It will also show us which areas have the highest levels of demand for faster broadband (don’t worry, there is no commitment to buy anything!). The surveys can be found at: http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/get-involved/tell-us-about-your-broadband-issues/

• Locate your nearest telecoms cabinet – despite extensive work that has been carried out over recent months we are still finding examples of cabinets that are not where they are supposed to be! We are not suggesting that they have moved themselves, but rather that the data provided to us by BT is unfortunately not specific enough to be used when planning the new broadband network and we need to know whether the existing boxes can be used or if additional ones will need to be provided (distance from the cabinet is a key factor in determining broadband speeds). You can register the location of your local telecoms cabinet by emailing us at broadband@warwickshire.gov.uk. Please provide as much information as possible, for instance “in Myvillage at the junction of Main Street and South Road”.

• Tell us if there are specific issues that may affect your broadband speeds, for instance if you know that you have aluminium cabling (if this is the case you will probably have had problems with your line and will have been told of this problem by the BT engineers). Send your information to broadband@warwickshire.gov.uk

• Put our information into your local newsletter – we have copy ready for you to cut and paste: http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/downloads-resources/copy-to-use-on-your-own-website-newsletters-or-flyers/

• Become a Broadband Community Champion – we have almost 200 community champions, but still have gaps in our network. To see where our Champions are located see our maps at http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/the-project/latest-maps/ or contact your Parish Council. Remember, the more Champions in an area the better. To find out more visit http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/get-involved/become-a-community-champion/

• Send this email on to all your contacts! We need to reach as many people as possible as quickly as possible. Please send this email to your contacts and encourage them to send it further. It’s probably best to remove the contact details above our logo at the top of the email otherwise it could get to be a very long string before the email itself appears!

Website restructured and edited throughout

Our website was developed over 12 months ago and the project has come a long way since then. The range and type of information available has grown enormously and now that we have a “live” project with the start of the procurement it seemed a good time to do some housekeeping.

We’ve kept most of the original content, albeit in different places, and added new. We’ve also tried to give things a logical format to make it easier to find what you need. We still have our ever-popular maps and these will be updated as the project progresses. Please take a look and let us know what you think. Is there anything that you would particularly like to see, or any resources that we should provide? Drop us a line to broadband@warwickshire.gov.uk

Useful website for parents

Thanks to Alice Johnson who has flagged a very useful site for parents with children who use the Internet. http://www.o2.co.uk/parents gives lots of helpful tips on how to make sure that your children are safe when browsing. Thanks Alice!

Good broadband a factor for nearly a third when choosing a home

• 30% of people say access to a good broadband signal is likely to affect their decision on whether to buy a home in a particular area
• 32% of people in urban areas say it is likely to affect their decision, compared to 25% of people in rural areas
• 20% say they’d pay more for good broadband, with two thirds of those prepared to pay up to 3% more for the same home if it had a good broadband signal

Access to a good broadband signal is an important factor when choosing to buy a home, according to research from Halifax.

Nearly one third (30%) of people surveyed said it is likely to affect their thinking on whether to buy a home in a particular area. And one fifth (20%) say they would be prepared to pay more for the same home if it had good broadband.

IoD Poll: Faster broadband means more jobs, more investment and greater productivity

• Faster internet service would improve productivity of 83% of companies, and encourage 13% to hire new staff
• Only 25% of business leaders satisfied with mobile internet speeds
• Poll reveals wide divide between rural and urban internet service

New polling of business leaders reveals the damage done by patchy broadband and mobile internet service in the UK, and highlights the economic benefits of improving internet connectivity. The poll, of 1,147 members of the Institute of Directors, explores business satisfaction with fixed-line and mobile internet services, and the urban/rural divide in connectivity. For more information visit: http://www.iod.com/Influencing/Press-Office/press-releases/new-iod-poll-faster-broadband

Top questions this month

What can I do now to speed up my broadband?

We have an excellent section on our website at. It covers checking what speeds you are actually getting (as opposed to the “up to” speeds that are promoted by suppliers); protecting your Wi-Fi from viruses or unauthorised users: using filters to cut down on interference and much more. For more information visit http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/about-broadband/how-to-improve-your-broadband-speed/

How do I know if I am in the commercial broadband roll-out Plans?

We have maps on our website that show where the commercial broadband providers have told us they will be offering services by 2015. We believe that some of the areas that they claim to be covering are incorrect, and conversely that they should be covering areas that are currently not included in their plans. Take a look at the maps and tell us if you think your property has been wrongly classified http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/the-project/latest-maps/

I am on a new housing development, why don’t I have superfast broadband?

This could be for a number of reasons:

1. The telecoms providers do not know how many houses have been built. It can be as simple as that – we have had success on Coton Park in Rugby and at Warwick Gates in persuading BT that they should upgrade areas where new homes have been built.
2. The roads have not been adopted. Sometimes OpenReach want to install services but the developers are unwilling to give them permission to put in the necessary infrastructure.
3. You may be too far from the existing networks to make it economically viable.

In any of these cases please contact us and we will try to help.

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

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