New website is now open

Fibre GarDen has launched it’s new website to coincide with the publication of the Share Prospectus tomorrow. The idea is to bring everything into one place (blog and website) to make it easier to manage and for users to access information and see what happening in Fibre Garden.

Many thanks must be given to Elliot Hartley of Garsdale Design who has engineered this for us as well as the new @fibergarden twitter account.

The new site can be found at www.digitaldales.com all future blog posts will be published there.

Exciting Week!

Many exciting things are happening at Fibre Garden this week!

We will be launching a combined new website and blog on Thursday so that everything is in one place under a new domain. Further details to follow.

We are also publishing the Share Prospectus for Fibre Garden on Thursday! This will be available on the website, blog, it will be emailed to everyone in Garsdale and Dentdale for whom we have an email address, and it will also be posted to every address.

This is your opportunity to support your community project and secure the provision of fibre optic broadband throughout the two Dales.

Anarchy in the BDUK?

Anarchy in the BDUK? BT to build over wireless network in Worcester - as reported in recombu

Worcestershire County Council are planning to let BT build in an area already supplied with broadband by wireless ISP Airband.

A community project funded with £700,000 of Worcestershire taxpayers’ money has seen Airband given the go-ahead to provide up to 50Mbps wireless broadband to those thought to be in the last 10 per cent of the county.

Share Prospectus Ready

We have now received back the final copy of the share prospectus from the lawyers,  which is to be reviewed and hopefully approved by the Board of Digital Dales (UK) Limited at it's Board Meeting on 1 September. 

It has been a long time coming but it is the most important document we have produced so far. Following the Board meeting it will be circulated to every dwelling in Garsdale and Dentdale and will be available on the website and through this blog.

Superfast broadband - and the lack of it

Further evidence has emerged confirming the slow pace of progress when it comes to improving rural broadband speeds, according to the Rural Services Network.

Superfast broadband - and the lack of it - is the focus of this newsletter from the Rural Vulnerability Service - brought to you by the Rural Services Network in association with Calor.

Broadband and the Economy

The Rural Services Network has published this article stating that 'better broadband would boost the economy'. It would appear that Four out of five (80%) of all adults agreed that rolling out high-speed broadband across the whole of the UK would have a positive impact on the economy. 

We certainly think that this will be the case for both Garsdale and Dentdale and surveys will be undertaken to help measure this.

Registration Received

We have now received the registration documents for Digital Dales (UK) Limited which is the new company and cooperative that will be used for the delivery of the project. The registration means that we can now finalise the share offer and publish for all to take part!

Following our visit to London to present to the SIB Group (Social Investment Business) as part of our application for support funding for the project, we are delighted to advise that this has been successful! There will be the usual due diligence checks and other conditions to satisfy but recognition of Fibre GarDen as a worthy community project by The SIB Group is of immense importance and we very much look forward to working with them and their representatives.

The funding, part grant and part loan, equates to approximately £200 per property in the two Dales and brings the total funding raised so far to £435,000 for the network build. In addition to this we have previously raised some £28,000 to cover startup costs.

Now it is over to you as members of the Garsdale and Dentdale communities. As soon as the new company registration certificate arrives for the Co-operative, we will be able to launch the share offer which will be your opportunity to invest in your community project to secure super fast broadband, via fibre optic cable, to your property.

Where is BDUK rolling out broadband?

So just where is superfast broadband being rolled out across the UK? This article in Computer Weekly appears to offer a useful summary.

Penalty for rural living

Tim Farron MP outlines his concerns about the penalties rural communities have to pay in The Westmoreland Gazette.

Funding Presentation

Members of the Fibre Garden team travel to London tomorrow to make a presentation the Venture Capital Fund as the final part of our application for a grant and support funding. This key source of funding is the final part of our overall funding strategy that will help to secure the project.

Wish us well and watch the blog for feedback on our presentation!

Do we still need the telephone?

This is an interesting article by Lucy Kellaway of the BBC: Just as the use of social media divides opinion, so the arrival of telephones in the office was once seen as a radical intrusion.

Initial HMRC approval

We have received confirmation, through our Accountants, that HMRC have no queries on our EIS application at this stage.  This is another important step to getting the share offer released.

How Maria Miller can save British broadband

Br0kenTeleph0n3

"If tomorrow’s meeting to get a grip on the provision of next generation broadband access (NGA) in the “Final 10%” is not to produce a damp squib, the government needs to commit itself to true competition in telecoms market.

Culture minister Maria Miller called the meeting between her, communications minister Ed Vaizey, and representatives from BT, BDUK and six would-be alternative network operators (altnets) who are looking for money from the Rural Community Broadband Fund (RCBF) in the wake of the highly criticalNational Audit Office report into value for money from the rural broadband process overseen by BDUK."

Read more...

The need for speed

This press release from EUROPA states that 45% of European internet users are willing to upgrade or change supplier for a higher speed.

You may think you have sufficient speed today but this time next year you will be looking around for something quicker!

Grant Confirmed

Our recent application to Yorkshire Dales National Park Sustainable Development Fund has been successful!

This is our second successful application which clearly demonstrates the value placed on our project by YDNP and the proven need for fast and reliable broadband connections in Garsdale and Dentdale. This particular grant is to be used as a contribution to initial overheads when the project is up and running, among other things it will help secure new employment opportunities.

We now have just over 50% of the required funding in place. On the 30th of this month we will be making a presentation to another potential funder for a further 17% of the required funding. The rest is then down to the communities through the imminent share offer. 

Meeting the suppliers

Starting tonight, Fibre Garden will be meeting a number of shortlisted potential suppliers who have submitted tenders for the network build. There are three essential elements to this process, ensuring that companies have the technical wherewithal and ability; we undertake due diligence, and that they understand the objectives of the communities as a social enterprise.

Interesting times!

auditors slam missed broadband target

The Rural Services Network picks up on the National Audit Office report on the broadband roll out and BT contracts.

National Audit Office

This makes interesting reading for those who follow the National Audit Office and BT

Government Rural Broadband Target Postponed

Looks like there is going to be a delay in achieving the Government's Rural Broadband Target which has now been put back to 2017. Good job that community broadband projects, like fibre Garden, are moving forward!