Connect8 Moots Wireless Broadband Solution for Rural South Oxfordshire

The Connect8 campaign, which represents the residents of eight rural villages in southern Oxfordshire where BT have refused to upgrade (Howe Hill, Britwell Hill, Cookley Green, Greenfield, Park Corner, Pishill with Stonor, Russells Water and Swyncombe), looks set to adopt a fixed wireless broadband network to fix the problems.

As a quick recap, the locals originally clubbed together after the state-aid supported Better Broadband for Oxfordshire project indicated that many of the villages would be unlikely to benefit for several more years, if ever (here). At present most can only receive a sub-1Mbps connection and others struggle to get any kind of stable broadband.

The campaign’s original plan was thus to persuade BT to conduct an upgrade, although apparently the operator wanted “many tens of thousands of pounds” in order to bring faster broadband to the area and so that idea has now been shelved.

But all is not lost because a somewhat dated looking fixed wireless broadband ISP called Countryside Broadband just so happens to be operating some 6 miles away and work is now being undertaken to see if this could be extended and possibly improved.

Peter Richardson of Connect 8 said:

“The service isn’t ‘superfast’ yet (it could be in the future) but it seems to offer what local people are telling us at Connect8 they want – a simple reliable service, good enough to play a part in the modern connected world. Every customer would have their own IP address.

Connect8 has been to meet Countryside Broadband and talked to their customers – we have seen the service working and it’s very good, customers seems happy with it. We are also confident that Countryside Broadband can deliver to much of the Connect8 area. So we are exploring bringing their service to our part of the Chilterns.”

At present the best that Countryside Broadband can offer, which it apparently supplies to 170 customers, is a steady 10Mbps connection for £30 a month. The service being envisaged for the Connect8 areas is likely to be much the same (possibly £5 cheaper rental, with a £45+ installation charge). Obviously this is a long way from being “superfast” (24Mbps+), but when you’re use to sub-1Mbps then it’s still ten times faster.

The campaign has now started gathering interest from locals and after this, provided there’s enough support, then a “concrete” plan to establish a “not for profit vehicle with connect8 to contract with Countryside Broadband” should follow.