News

Connecting Shropshire made a presentation of broadband options to Diddlebury Parish Council at its' meeting on 28 July. 

A summary of what Connecting Shropshire can offer is included in the document below.

Some of the interim commercial options available to residents are listed on their website: http://connectingshropshire.co.uk/alternative-broadband-solutions/

Details of the new ‘Low Orbiting Satellite’ technology will be added to this web page shortly. Starlink are the current leader in this development. As with all commercial solutions it is up to individuals to undertake their own research and due diligence. The BBC recently include a story on the development which may be helpful. The other new satellite company is Oneweb. They are part owned by the UK government and have recently started discussions with BT about collaboration opportunities. They expect to have some initial commercial broadband services live across parts of the United Kingdom from November 2021.

Another option, is the Universal Service Obligation (USO). Whilst this is a ‘safety net’ for those residents who have slow broadband (under 10 megabits per second), it does not support many residents because the solutions proposed are above and beyond 4G broadband and are costly to implement and well above the threshold of £3400 allowed for in the Government legislation. We have found in most cases households are better served by collaborating and using the Gigabit Voucher Scheme which has higher values.

If anyone has any queries on these matters, including coverage issues in Westhope please contact Connecting Shropshire for more information / advice.

Web: www.connectingshropshire.co.uk

Email: connecting.shropshire@shropshire.gov.uk

Phone: 01743 252203

Chris Taylor

Connecting Shropshire