Posted: 02nd Dec, 2011 By: MarkJ
The
Broadband 4 Rural North (
B4RN) project, which seeks to connect thousands of homes and businesses in north
Lancashire UK with an affordable and "
hyper-fast"
1Gbps (1000Mbps) capable symmetric fibre optic ( FTTH ) broadband internet service, has officially
gained enough interest to proceed with its deployment (the target of 662 registrations was passed within just 3 months).
The network will
initially connect 8 parishes in rural Lancashire (Melling, Arkholme, Quernmore, Abbeystead, Wray, Tatham, Roeburndale, Wennington and Caton with Littledale) to a "
community designed, built, owned and operated gigabit" broadband service (
further details). The service itself will cost
£25 +vat per month (+£150 one-off installation), which is quite impressive for a 1Gbps link.
Normally such a solution would be
hugely expensive to deploy but B4RN plans to lower the costs, both in the building of the broadband network and to the end user, by
using local contractors and the community to aid in its development.
B4RN's Professor Forde said:
"Farmers and local people have the skillset we need for this project. They know the land and people, and have been offering to work for shares, which means the digging for the core network can start early in 2012. We expect this to be completed in approximately 3 months, weather permitting, and then we will begin to connect the first users."
B4RN claims to be a
community benefit company that is owned by its shareholders. Income made will be re-invested in the service and spent within the communities the company serves. The shares will be made available under the
Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) that offers 30% tax relief, with a minimum investment of £100 and maximum of £20,000.
The service will initially be providing the broadband connection and VoIP telephony, with further services to follow as the network rolls out over the coming years. Full details about the rollout, share offer and launch are expected to be revealed in an
announcement on 15th December 2011.