{"id":13102,"date":"2016-12-10T01:02:46","date_gmt":"2016-12-10T01:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=13102"},"modified":"2016-12-12T11:49:27","modified_gmt":"2016-12-12T11:49:27","slug":"b4rn-connect-2450-rural-north-england-premises-1gbps-broadband","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/12\/b4rn-connect-2450-rural-north-england-premises-1gbps-broadband.html","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE B4RN Connect 2450 Rural North England Premises to 1Gbps Broadband"},"content":{"rendered":"

The B4RN<\/a> (Broadband for the Rural North) project, which has been busy rolling out a 1000Mbps community built and funded fibre optic (FTTP<\/a>\/H) broadband network to rural homes in parts of Lancashire, Cumbria and Yorkshire, has now activated its 2,450th connection and they continue to expand. JFDI.<\/p>\n

The latest total marks a significant growth from the already respectable figure of 1,600 that we recorded in February 2016 (here<\/a>), which isn’t a surprise when you consider that local people help to build the physical network and this also encourages a strong take-up (averaging around 65% in related communities, but rising to 100% in some areas).<\/p>\n

Customers pay just \u00a330 per month<\/strong> for a 1000Mbps (symmetrical) unlimited service and there\u2019s also a one-off connection fee of \u00a3150, which is absurdly cheap when you consider that it’s a Fibre-to-the-Home<\/strong> (FTTH<\/a>\/P) style network. Of course none of this would be possible without all those excellent volunteers.<\/p>\n

\"b4rn_coverage_map_dec_2016\"
\nB4RNs Coverage Map (Approximate Area of Work)<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n

The good news is that B4RN<\/a>’s roll-out hasn’t stopped and many more communities have since lined up to join the effort, often by raising enough investment locally and then gathering together a group of willing volunteers to help conduct the civil works. All under the guidance of B4RN<\/a> and without any state aid support.<\/p>\n

This week alone the network has found its way through various hedge rows and over boggy fields to reach the village of Clapham<\/strong> in Yorkshire, but plenty more look set to follow. In fact B4RN now hope to have 3,000 active connections<\/strong> by the end of April 2017. Happy Christmas to all those reached by B4RN\u2019s network.<\/p>\n

Communities Live on B4RN<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n