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Articles for Category Tag - B4RN

Rural FTTP Community Broadband ISP B4RN Appoints New CEO

15th January, 2021 (10 Comments)

The community focused broadband ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North) has today announced that Michael Lee is being appointed to become their new CEO. Michael replaces the provider’s former founder and CEO, Barry Forde, in the role (he retired at the end of last year) and thus has some fairly big boots to fill.

Barry Forde – CEO of Pioneering Rural FTTP ISP B4RN to Retire

9th November, 2020 (17 Comments)

The founder and CEO of UK rural “full fibre” broadband ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), Barry Forde MBE, has this morning announced that he intends to retire by the end of this year. The provider’s Board is currently overseeing the ongoing process of appointing a successor.

B4RN’s CEO Becomes First Customer of 10Gbps Home Broadband

27th October, 2020 (48 Comments)

The CEO of rural UK full fibre ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), Barry Forde, has become the first person to sign-up to the provider’s new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) plan. The first live speed test of this produced a download speed of 8341Mbps and uploads of 6644Mbps, with latency of just 1ms.

B4RN Aim FTTH Broadband at 40,000 Rural UK Premises by 2022

4th July, 2020 (52 Comments)

UK ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), which is deploying a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network to rural premises in several counties across England, has furnished us with a progress update and revealed that they aim to reach 40,000 properties passed by 31st March 2022 and possibly c.70,000 by 2025/26.

Rural UK FTTH ISP B4RN Launches 10Gbps Home Broadband

29th April, 2020 (29 Comments)

B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), which is currently working with volunteers to help fund and build a new gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network across rural parts of England, has confirmed that they’re now making a 10Gbps broadband package available to “everyone who wants it.” But you’ll need deep pockets.

Rural UK Full Fibre ISP B4RN Partners ZyXEL for School Routers

28th April, 2020 (6 Comments)

Rural focused UK ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), which is working with volunteers to help fund and build a new 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network in remote areas, has partnered ZYXEL to offer their AX7501 router for free to 21 schools in Lancashire, South Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales.

First Homes Live on B4RN’s 1Gbps FTTH Network in Cheshire UK

19th December, 2019 (11 Comments)

The B4RN Cheshire project, which is a region specific off-shoot of rural focused full fibre UK ISP B4RN, has confirmed that their “first customers [have started] to go live just in time for Christmas.” As usual the network build has been both partly funded and supported by local volunteers.

B4RN Celebrate After Raising £3m for Rural Gigabit FTTH Rollout

8th July, 2019 (8 Comments)

Rural focused UK ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North) has successfully hit their £3 million crowdfunding target via Triodos Bank (here), which will help to support the on-going rollout of a community built and funded 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband network across remote parts of several counties.

B4RN Supporters and BT Director Scoop Queen’s Birthday Honours

11th June, 2019 (7 Comments)

The annual Queen’s Birthday Honours (2019) was recently published and we’re pleased to report that a number of figures within the United Kingdom’s broadband and telecoms sector scooped up an Order of the British Empire, including among them supporters of B4RN’s rural FTTH broadband network and a BT Director.

B4RN and Lancashire Council Resolve Broadband Wayleave Dispute

28th May, 2019 (15 Comments)

A long-running dispute over wayleave agreements between the Lancashire County Council and “full fibre” UK ISP B4RN has finally been resolved, which means that the operator will be able to connect up several rural schools to 1Gbps FTTH broadband and extend their network to nearby premises at the same time.

B4RN Cheshire Set to Begin Primary 1Gbps FTTH Broadband Rollout

24th May, 2019 (10 Comments)

After a long wait we’re pleased to report that the B4RN Cheshire project, which as the name suggests is a region specific off-shoot of rural focused full fibre UK ISP B4RN, is finally about to start digging work for Route 1 (i.e. connecting Capenhurst to Shotwick).

B4RN to Hit 6000 Rural FTTH Broadband Customers and Raises £2m

21st May, 2019 (7 Comments)

Plucky rural UK ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), which is deploying a community built and funded 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband network to remote premises in several counties across England, expects to achieve 6,000 live connections by the end of June and has raised £2m via crowdfunding.

Chancellor Rebuffs MP’s Attempt to Reinstate B4RN’s EIS Tax Relief

8th March, 2019 (28 Comments)

The former leader of the UK Liberal Democrat party and MP for South Lakes, Tim Farron, has accused the Chancellor (Philip Hammond) of “fobbing off local communities” by effectively imposing a “tax rise” on rural broadband ISP B4RN with its decision to withdraw their EIS tax relief.

UPDATE2 B4RN Start £3m Crowdfunding Drive After Loss of EIS Tax Relief

20th February, 2019 (0 Comments)

The community built and funded rural UK ISP B4RN, which has been rolling out a 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband network to remote parts of Cheshire, Cumbria, Essex, Lancashire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Yorkshire, looks to be preparing a crowdfunding drive in the hope of raising £3m to help it expand.

B4RN Win Support from MP Tim Farron Over Loss of EIS Tax Relief

31st January, 2019 (5 Comments)

The Liberal Democrat MP for South Lakes, Tim Farron, has given his support to rural ISP B4RN over the recent loss of their tax relief following changes to the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), which he warned could “undermine the good work of broadband pioneers” in such remote UK communities.

Rural UK Full Fibre Broadband ISP B4RN Expand to Create 20 Jobs

30th January, 2019 (2 Comments)

Lancashire-based rural ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North) has announced that they intend to almost double their staff count by hiring a further 20 people. The additional hires will help to grow their community built and funded 1Gbps FTTH network to reach more homes in the English countryside.

No More Gov EIS Tax Relief for Community Benefit Broadband ISPs UPDATE

26th January, 2019 (45 Comments)

A new ruling by HMRC, which appears to say that UK broadband ISPs acting as a Community Benefit Societies (CBS) to build their own local networks can no longer make use of tax breaks under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), could have serious repercussions for “full fibre” projects in rural areas.