Keswick Post Office in Cumbria Crippled Due to Lack of Broadband

Residents of Keswick, a small market town in remote rural Cumbria (England), have been left without access to vital services (e.g. pension and cash withdrawals) for two weeks after the areas local Post Office closed for a refit and the temporary mobile facility that was setup outside found itself unable to function due to a poor “broadband signal“.

The description in News and Star suggests that the problem is related to Mobile Broadband connectivity, which seems odd because you’d expected that an organisation like the Post Office could still utilise the fixed line connection inside the existing building by using a secure WiFi link. As a result we’re not sure if the article is highlighting the importance of access to good connectivity or the ineptitude of a particular organisation to adapt, perhaps both.

Roger Purkiss, Boss of Keswick’s Post Office, said:

“They (the Post Office) brought a van on Wednesday to do tests to get a signal which it needs to operate but they said it wasn’t strong enough and they decided it wasn’t possible.

They tried it in three locations: outside the post office, behind Bryson’s and in Booths car park but they didn’t get a proper signal for their vehicle. When they go around villages, they have something like a line installed which they can plug into. They needed an aerial signal here.

We have done our best. The Post Office will be really good when it is finished.”

The Post Office is due to re-open on 18th July 2014 and until then locals who need to get cash or pensions will have to travel several kilometres to facilities in Threlkeld or Borrowdale. It’s worth pointing out that local wireless ISP Solway Communications has been looking to expand into the area for some time now (here), although their coverage map still doesn’t reach Keswick.