SUPERFAST BROADBAND IS COMING TO CUMBRIA

Transcription

1 SUPERFAST BROADBAND IS COMING TO CUMBRIA

2 WHAT S CONNECTING CUMBRIA ALL ABOUT? THE VISION FOR CUMBRIA That everyone in Cumbria every resident, business, organisation and visitor to the county has access to superfast broadband. There will be connectivity so that every house and business in Cumbria has a choice of Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the cost to the consumer is no higher than for a similar level of service anywhere in the country. Our ambition is that, by the end of 2015, at least 93% of properties in the county have access to superfast broadband. We re building a pioneering, multimillion pound network to transform Cumbria s broadband speeds. The majority of premises in Cumbria will be getting access to some of the best broadband speeds in the country. This will boost the competitiveness of local firms, support new ways of flexible working, and create opportunities for local residents. Access to superfast broadband is widely recognised as vital to rural communities and local businesses if they are to flourish and thrive. Superfast broadband will have an increasingly significant impact on the economic and social development of Cumbria. 2

3 THE PROJECT WILL HELP LOCAL BUSINESSES TO BE COMPETITIVE AND ENSURE THEY REMAIN IN THE COUNTY. IT CAN ALSO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN ATTRACTING EVEN MORE FIRMS TO THE COUNTY, THEREBY HELPING TO CREATE JOBS FOR LOCAL PEOPLE. CLLR DAVID SOUTHWARD CUMBRIA COUNTY COUNCIL CABINET MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT A GLANCE The majority of homes and businesses in the county will have access to broadband speeds of at least 24Mbps by the end of Connecting Cumbria will also look to work with communities to see if superfast broadband can be extended further through innovative collaborative projects. The programme is funded by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), BT and Cumbria s local authorities. Connecting Cumbria is responsible for putting the infrastructure in place. To get superfast broadband, you need to order it through your current supplier or choose a package from another provider. Following roll-out of the ERDF & BDUK funded programme 93% of Cumbria will have access to superfast broadband with the remaining 7% having access to speeds of not less than 2Mbps. The project, whilst led by Cumbria County Council, has a very strong partnership approach. The Connecting Cumbria Partnership Board brings together a range of key stakeholders from business, public sector and community to inform and challenge the delivery of superfast broadband to Cumbria. Across the county there is also a network of Hub Co-ordinators and Broadband Champions who work with their local parish councils and communities to help develop awareness of broadband and promote the project in local communities. They have provided a vital support to the programme as it has been developed and continue to provide links into local communities. 3

4 WHY IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT SUPERFAST FIBRE BROADBAND? The current communications network has been built on copper and it will continue to play an important role for some time to come. Distance doesn t affect the quality of voice services (telephone calls) delivered over copper, but it does affect the quality and speed of data transmission. The longer the distance from the exchange to the cabinet and from the cabinet to the premises, the weaker the data signal becomes. And in an increasingly data-driven world, this is becoming a problem. Unfortunately, it s just not feasible to replace the entire copper network with fibre. So there are two main approaches: 1 Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC). A part-fibre, part-copper solution, capable of delivering broadband speeds of up to 80Mbps download and up to 20Mbps upload. With FTTC, we overlay fibre on the copper infrastructure running from an exchange to cabinets in the street. Copper will still be the final link (i.e. from the cabinet to your home or business). 2 Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). A pure fibre solution, capable of delivering speeds of up to 300Mbps download and 30Mbps upload. If that s not fast enough for you, there s a 1Gbps version already being tested. As the name implies, FTTP uses fibre all the way from the exchange to individual premises, usually delivered using underground cables. The vast majority of the Connecting Cumbria delivery is FTTC. As copper is the final link, the length of the copper line in some rural locations means they may not get 24Mbps and will be part of the remaining 7% solution (see page 9 What about the remaining 7%? ). BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT: THE POWER OF FIBRE Fibre optic cables are revolutionising the communications industry. Fibre carries massive amounts of information as pulses of light over long distances without any reduction in quality. As a result, fibre is set to be the future of telecommunications. That s because fibre is: faster With download speeds of up to 300Mbps and upload speeds of up to 30Mbps, fibre is blisteringly fast. thinner So more fibres can be bundled together in the same space as a copper cable. purer Fibre won t lose the signal the way copper does because light signals don t interfere with other fibres in the same cable, so you get clearer conversations and TV signals. lighter An optical cable weighs less than a comparable copper cable and takes up less space. 4

5 DOWNLOAD IS ONE THING, BUT UPLOAD IS THE REAL GAME-CHANGER There s a lot of talk about download speeds, and they are important. But what really makes fibre so special is its upload speed. Higher download speeds let you tap into what s available online. But faster upload speeds bring multi-tasking to life. For example, you could be uploading videos or photos at home while surfing the net or video calling on your tablet. At work, better upload speeds enable you to upload large files easily, and take advantage of online backup and internet telephony services. Fibre s bigger bandwidth means faster uploads, and no potential bottlenecks. So everyone in the home or office can do what they want online all at the same time. COMPARED TO COPPER, FIBRE IS: INHERENTLY MORE RELIABLE LONGER LASTING ABLE TO CARRY MORE DATA OVER LONG DISTANCES RESISTANT TO ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE IMMUNE TO CORROSION SECURE AND IMMUNE TO CROSSTALK EASIER TO HANDLE AND INSTALL. 5

6 SUPERFAST BROADBAND AT HOME: GIVE YOURSELF MORE ROOM TO LIVE! If you use your PC or laptop at home to surf the web and check s, you d best strap yourself in. You re in for a heck of a ride. Superfast broadband opens up a whole new world! Whatever you re into, superfast broadband will make it quicker and easier. But let s be clear: it isn t just about doing one thing online much faster. It s about everyone in the home being able to do their own thing online all at the same time. Working from home Whether you work from home full-time, part-time or just now and again, you ll be able to do everything you would, as if you were in the office. Video on demand Stream HD or 3D movies to your TV, watch catch-up services like BBC iplayer, access YouTube video channels, online photo albums, live events and personalised radio stations. Social networking Sites such as Facebook are getting bigger, and it s not just the amount of people, it s the content more videos, more pictures, more links to other sites. User generated content (UGC) is the next big online thing. But current upload speeds have been holding people back from taking part. Until now... Home media hub. Anywhere Access everything you need telephone, TV, internet radio, videos, photos and files whether you re in the home, at a friend s or off on holiday. Faster upload speeds mean you can get what you want from home, anytime you want it. Video calling Using the internet for cheap telephone calls was once cutting edge. Now, 40 per cent of calls through Skype are video calls. Fibre opens up the world of HD video calling rope in friends and family around the world and get together for a chat. Online multiplayer gaming Indulge in a spot of online zombie hunting with millions of other players from all over the world and with faster upload speeds, budding games developers can host their own levels and share them with others. Virtual storage Store photos, documents, music and videos online in the cloud rather than on the computer at home. Fast upstream speeds mean backing up files is done in the blink of an eye rather than feeling like a poke in it. 6

7 A recent survey by ISPreview.co.uk found that: 80 % OF PEOPLE THOUGHT BROADBAND WAS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO HOME LIFE 80 % WOULD BE PUT OFF BUYING A NEW HOME IF IT DIDN T HAVE A GOOD BROADBAND CONNECTION 57 % WOULD PAY MORE FOR A PROPERTY WITH SUPERFAST BROADBAND (MORE THAN 25MBPS) 7

8 DELIVERING BETTER HEALTH, EDUCATION AND LOCAL SERVICES Superfast broadband is not just bringing benefits to homes and businesses it has the potential to support and empower the whole community, transforming the way we provide services such as healthcare, education and local government. Health The wider bandwidth of fibre supports initiatives like telehealth, which provides instant access to remote medical specialists via video conferencing from home. The video conferencing may even be integrated with internet-enabled diagnostic devices (blood pressure cuffs, respiration measurement, etc.), electronic medical records systems, online prescription services and online appointment scheduling. In a rural community like ours, telehealth helps keep older adults living independently for longer, and saves long trips to see the GP for routine checkups. Education Schools will also have a wider range of suppliers available to them and be able to use their expanded internet access to provide more interactive lessons and access online media to help create a more stimulating classroom environment. Local services Superfast broadband can provide a foundation to transform the way council services are delivered. It will help make processes more efficient, open up systems to enable local people to help themselves and make it easier for everyone to have a say in how the community moves forward. 8

9 THIS IS A MASSIVE ENGINEERING FEAT! A lot of our work will be below ground and hopefully lead to minimal disruption but we mustn t underestimate the scale of the task. The aim of the Connecting Cumbria programme is to achieve the best possible long-term broadband coverage for the county within the resources available. With over 450 green roadside cabinets to upgrade and local weather and travel conditions in one the UK s largest rural counties to contend with, it s a major planning and delivery project. WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER 7%? Cumbria County Council, through the Connecting Cumbria project has a vision to bring access to high quality broadband to 100% of homes and businesses. This vision forms the basis of the local broadband strategy. Aided by significant funding from Central Government (BDUK) and Europe (ERDF) along with investment from BT and local authorities, the Connecting Cumbria programme builds on BT and other providers commercial investment to extend the availability of fibre broadband to 93% of homes and businesses in the county. But this still leaves 7%. Community centred To avoid any sort of future digital divide, it is intended that the last 7% will be reached through a combination of community broadband schemes that will be developed in partnership with local communities to investigate ways of improving coverage and by encouraging the deployment of new technologies to tackle the unique engineering challenges that Cumbria poses. The Connecting Cumbria Project is committed to working with local communities to investigate ways of expanding coverage. Local activists will play a vital part in this process and engagement with communities will be targeted in line with the roll-out plan. 9

10 WHAT SUPERFAST BROADBAND MEANS FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES A lot of superfast broadband talk revolves around fun things movies on demand, downloading music, video calls but the fact is, it s probably going to have an even bigger impact on the way we work and changing the way we work whether in an office or at home will change the way we live. Whether you own dedicated premises, run a full-time business from home, or just work from home now and again, superfast broadband will help you punch above your weight. Fibre will help you do everything you do today, but faster and even more effectively. Online file sharing, HD video conferencing and flexible working will help you save money and work more efficiently. More importantly, it opens up new opportunities as well... Online file sharing Get instant access to shared online workspaces and take collaborative working to a whole new level. Media-heavy files You won t have to wait ages to download massive, media-heavy files and there ll be no more annoying lags or pauses. Hosted applications Take advantage of a growing raft of hosted applications from customer information and transaction processing, to human resources and inventory management available in the cloud. Data storage and backup Combine hosted applications with online data storage and backup and you ll dramatically reduce the cost of computer hardware. HD and 3D video conferencing Talk through and agree ideas face-to-face via full HD video calls with colleagues, customers and suppliers anywhere in the world. It s even possible to do it in 3D! Ditch the black box? You may not even need the PC anymore, as operating systems and applications go online to be accessed as and when needed. Home-based working is good for business growth Whether it s full-time, part-time or just now and again, the opportunity to work from home can be very advantageous. Individuals can set up and build a business from a spare room, and small businesses can increase their workforce without having to rent additional space. File sharing and video conferencing can provide a more flexible, efficient and cost-effective way of working, and will also cut down on the need to travel to meetings. Particularly handy when the snow starts to pile up outside! With superfast broadband you or your staff can work from home just as effectively as you would in the office. But remember, with HD video conferencing, you ll need to change out of your pyjamas first... 10

11 Opening up a whole world of business opportunities No matter how isolated your location might be, superfast broadband puts the world at your fingertips. For example, Eleutian Technology, Headquartered in rural Ten Sleep, Wyoming has partnered with CDI Holdings of South Korea, a market leader in English education, to teach conversational English to South Korean students via high-speed video conferencing. The company is open for business 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is the largest new job creator in the region. SUPPORT FOR BUSINESS Alongside the superfast broadband roll-out there is also a business support programme aimed at ensuring that Cumbrian businesses make the most of the opportunities that superfast broadband can offer. There is a European funded project for eligible SMEs that is provided by Commendium, details of which can be found on the Connecting Cumbria website and also at Alongside this, further support is also available through the Rural Growth Hubs, details of which can be found at SO WHEN CAN I GET SUPERFAST BROADBAND? We re busy planning the detail of the build across Cumbria. The program will take 2½ years to complete so not everyone will see an improvement in the service they can access immediately. Information about the progress of the project will be available through the Connecting Cumbria website and will be updated regularly. You can check the status of exchanges near your property using the postcode checker on our website. And if you can t get it now, please register your interest at and we ll keep you posted. ALSO LET US KNOW VIA THE CONTACT US LINK ON OUR WEBSITE IF YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL ABOUT HOW SUPERFAST BROADBAND HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE TO YOUR COMMUNITY OR BUSINESS 11

12 EUROPEAN UNION Investing in Your Future European Regional Development Fund