Delivering the Commitment to 90% 25Mbps Broadband Coverage by 2015

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Comment by Jeff Mowatt on September 8, 2011 at 18:27

@John, I noted your comment on the Village SOS discussion today about communications, so to put your mind at rest, here's what I submitted.with a Wimax Mesh network included.

As you may also see, I included a description and link to our business model which re-invests into the community.

Our project I was told was one of the most enterprising but fell short on local stakeholder support. A year later , it did not escape my notice that the SE Mark which can be seen as a derivative of our model acquired significant funding without any stakeholder requirement.

 

Is this kind of "village cricket" a level playing field, I wonder?.   

 

Comment by chris conder on June 2, 2011 at 11:30

#digitalbritain #bduk RT @LouLouK: This is worth a read. BT's mission to influence localgov CEX thinking http://bit.ly/jVaU2z - this is exactly what happened in Lancashire...

Comment by Jeff Mowatt on June 2, 2011 at 10:06

Good to see you here Guy and Ken

Over the past few years as social enterprise has gathered pace, I've become increasingly aware of what it appears to omit in terms of living wages, human rights and above the means to capitalise this sector.

If you read our paper from 2004 today, holding in mind that at the time BT were stalling over exchange migration, these points can be seen very clearly. Here's an extract:

"This objective is in and of itself a critical social outcome. Moreover, long-term revenue streams from achieving this social benefit
will add hundreds of secondary social benefits through CDFIs by redirecting profits which will otherwise inevitably go to commercial profit schemes. Instead, those same surpluses will
themselves be used for other social needs. These profits or surpluses are going to be created in any case, so, there is no reason why they cannot be steered from the beginning to social benefit.
Thus, broadband deployment especially to rural areas is the first revenue stream for three reasons:
• the revenue stream is inevitable and long-term
• the business activity will itself accelerate a necessary social objective,
information inclusion
• meeting this immediate social objective creates funding for multiple social needs, such as increasing loan capital for community development banks"

http://www.box.net/shared/y3tpik8eg6

We were shut out then and so it is again today

Comment by Guy Jarvis on June 2, 2011 at 9:40

On the dumb fat pipes subject (aka put the intelligence in the hands of the community and keep the core network focussed on the simple task of moving data) I commend David Isenberg seminar work "The Rise of the Stupid Network" which has been a total inspiration to NextGenUs as to how the terms of trade for telecoms can be reshaped in the community interest.

http://isen.com/stupid.html


As Jeff, Chris and others have noted, the thrust of broadband development as regards government intervention seems to be shifting away from Big Society and future community interests towards Big Business and vested commercial interests.

There is a way to deal with this nonsense based on the recognition of a simple fact - it is all of us as future customers of the 4th utility who, by virtue of being expected to pick up the tab to pay for service for the next century, collectively have the power to stand up to the latter-day Mr Bumbles and demand a better deal.

That and a healthy dose of JFDI of course so that government follows community, which is what Big Society must be to be credible anyway.

Comment by Ken Eastwood on June 2, 2011 at 9:18

I spoke with Guy Jarvis last week and I'm keen to explore further. Parish meeting on Monday to discuss. We're at http://www.fibrevalley.net and https://www.facebook.com/FibreValley

 

Hope you like our comparison with bringing the railway up the Worth Valley in the nineteenth century. Really works here! Whilst our local economy benefits from our Bronte connections and visitor attractions including the steam railway, we don't want to be left out of the information age and confined to a future based only upon relics of our industrial past. 

 

I'm also giving thought to a business model in Haworth re. deployment of WiFi/WiMAX as an enhancement to the tourism 'offer'.

 

Interesting times.

 

Ken.

 

 

 

Comment by Jeff Mowatt on June 2, 2011 at 6:45

Testing , to see if a Facebook button can be placed here....

Comment by chris conder on June 1, 2011 at 21:50

excellent news Jeff, if anyone can help you its nextgenus, they are mega. They have helped me with stuff here too. Glad you found them. Lots of info about their fibre network on the blogspot here: http://ashbybookplus.blogspot.com/ with audio and video on the tabs.

chris

Comment by Jeff Mowatt on June 1, 2011 at 19:56

OK Chris, thanks. I just got off the phone with Guy Jarvis who repeated your JFDI message. He's of a vert similar mind by the sound of it and has actually done it. He'll be joining us here I hope.

I set up the Dub Fat Pipes group on Facebook to start things off .FWIW

Comment by chris conder on June 1, 2011 at 12:58

Reading your blog, all I can say is I agree with you. I didn't write the blog on the link I sent you earlier, so I can't claim credit, I just agree with it totally. We do need Dumb Fat Pipes, and that is what we have campaigned for with Rory Stewart on the broadbandcumbria.com blog. It does look like cumbria county council have listened, but the jury is still out as to what will happen there. Lancs has literally handed it to BT on a plate with their tender, and no doubt cumbria may follow. We shall see. What we want is affordable dumb pipes to build our own networks off. Those networks will quickly grow and pick up all the dis-satisfied customers in more urban areas. Then those who went on cabinets will swiftly follow when they see for themselves that our service is better. That is why the incumbent is dead set on making sure we don't get funding to get a quick start. No matter. We will start without funding. It may take longer, but we won't have incompetent fwits making us tick boxes as well as build networks. Like I said earlier, a dragon would help, but we can JFDI ourselves. And our communities will benefit, and the money it generates in a few years time will stay with us, and not be paid to fatcats or shareholders.

Comment by Jeff Mowatt on June 1, 2011 at 10:39

That DCMS doc is a headache, but the immediate impression is one of handing it out to corporate providers. I haven't gone into the detail as you have. I like you conclusion - we need Dumb Fat Pipes.

 

DCMS bumped me out as a social enterprise software supplier 5 years ago when the major contractor started being unreasonable. 

Here's what I tried to get across to the local media, that they missed the opportunity for £2 million annual investment for the community    

So how can we move this forward? A campaign for Dumb Fat Pipes?

We're both blogging trying to raise awareness. It seems we need to shift up a gear and get some publicity. .

 

How about starting with a Dumb Fat Pipes page on Facebook? 

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