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Broadband News! |
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Hi,
In case you haven't visited the community broadband website recently, here's a brief summary of the latest updates. This email is a summary of the full newsletter available at http://www.carnet.uk.net/faqs/newsletter-2003-01.php WEBSITE The community website %DOMAIN% now has improved, larger maps, FAQs and a live source of Broadband and Local News. We have implemented a Secure Shop https://secure.invisible.uk.net which also allows you to see the status of your account. We have just launched the Beta trial of our POP Email service, so check the on-line newsletter for more info. The Premium service price was reduced before Christmas, to £45/month for quarterly paying users. COMMUNITIES The on-line newsletter has more info about each of the communities which currently have their own websites.
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Sorry it has been so long since you heard from us; we've been busy on
on many aspects of the broadband project. Here's a contents'
list of what you'll find in this e-newsletter.
1 What the users think
2 Price drops and now includes all you need
3 Wireless access point locations
4 Feedback please!
1 What the users think
----------------------
Here's some feedback from users in Bottisham, who have kindly given us
permission to quote their comments:
From Mike Knight "As one of the first to have Broadband in Beechwood Avenue, I can honestly say that it has 'revolutionised my life'. Instead of having to spend over an hour researching a topic I am able to do it in less than a few minutes, saving me a lot of valuable time. The other great advantage is being able to free up my home phone line while on the net and being able to converse while looking at a 'live' web page. My BT phone bill will be considerably less and will almost cancel out the monthly subscription. It is great to have the freedom of being on line all the time and not having to dial up every few minutes when expecting an important email to come, it just 'pings' now when it arrives." From Jamie Urquhart "Having wireless broadband at home is great - like being in the office - but better. After a minor installation problem, which 'Support' quickly solved for me, my system has been connected permanently. I now have better service and expect to save money on my 'phone bills.
"One of
the first things we have done is to preview the Harry Potter and Die
Another Day film clips - something we would never have attempted with
the dial-up connection. I also listen to Internet radio when
working. The next step is to get my son's PC 'video-conferencing'
through the firewall.
"The only caveat us that although we have a broadband connection there are still some slow web sites out there that can limit things a little. We are very lucky to have people like Laurie and John in Bottisham who have persevered to make this happen." From Bob Newman
"On line
now after a few minor probs with scaffold around our house at present.
Gerry from Invisible networks was most helpful and am really satisfied
with speed etc."
From John Austin
"I'm
very pleased with the CARNET service: it's very significantly faster
than my previous 56k service and has allowed me to be much more
efficient in my work. Service response from CARNET has
been very good as well "
2 Price drops and now includes all you need
-------------------------------------------
Invisible Networks Ltd have cut the initial set-up charges to a much
lower level and they now include about £100 worth of equipment, which
is all you need to plug into your computer to receive the service
(antenna, WiFi card and cable to plug into your computer).
Set up Monthly
15-month prepaid
£ inc VAT subscription
subscription*
£ inc VAT £ inc VAT
Standard Service 199
29.99
23.99
Premium Service 299
45.00
36.00
*i.e. you get 15 months for the normal price of 12.
3 Wireless access point (AP) locations
--------------------------------------
CARNET is currently providing service in most of Bottisham via six
wireless APs. It will continue to spread, particularly along
Bell and Lode Roads when there's a little more interest in these
locations.
The six APs we have operating are in the following roads and the
figures in brackets are house numbers:-
High Street: (123, 183 and the Community Centre)
Rowan Close: (1)
Beechwood Avenue (58)
Rowley Gardens (8)
The first AP in Lode should be operational at the post office soon
after 21 November when the line from Bottisham is due to be delivered.
The first AP in Swaffham Bulbeck is likely to be at the Downing Park
Innovation Centre and will be ordered as soon as they get permission
to put the antenna on a listed building.
4 Feedback please
-
John and Laurie (CARNET)
John Harris:
- 811487 (work) and 812676 (home)
Laurie van Someren:
- 811679
NEWSLETTER 1 - 08-Mar-02 Topics covered: 1 Why CARNET? 2 Better Broadband for Britain 3 Public meeting of 22 January at Bottisham Village College 4 FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) 5 Funding 6 Special interest groups 6.1 Wireless survey SIG 6.2 Social changes SIG 6.3 LETS (Local Exchange Trading System) SIG 7 *****STOP PRESS******HOT NEWS******
1 Why CARNET? -------------- This is the first newsletter of CARNET, Cambridge Ring North East, formerly Better Broadband for Bottisham. CARNET is pronounced "carnay" so as not to sound like something to do with cars! The name has been changed because: - we plan to extend the scheme to other villages round Cambridge that haven't got other broadband provision - our current patch covers six villages, not just Bottisham - it leaves BBB to stand for Better Broadband for Britain (see item 2 below). The website's URL now reflects the new name and is http://carnet.bbb.uk.net
2 Better Broadband for Britain ------------------------------ We are now using BBB for Better Broadband for Britain, a good campaigning name for our Association of Broadband Rural Communities, see http://www.bbb.uk.net/ This site contains discussion forums covering various topics, including CARNET's planned network.
3 Public meeting of 22 January at Bottisham Village College ----------------------------------------------------------- Thank you to all those that were able to come and to those that sent supportive messages and apologies. The meeting was well attended and we were delighted and impressed by the turnout, the obvious interest of the audience, the large proportion showing they were likely to adopt this alternative means of connection, and the number and quality of questions asked. There's a report on the meeting on the website at http://carnet.bbb.uk.net/minutes_22-jan.htm
4 FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) -------------------------------- We have also put on the website a list of FAQs and answers, which you may find useful. See http://carnet.bbb.uk.net/faqs.htm
5 Funding --------- We are in discussion with several local authority and funding groups and hope that they will approve our proposal for funding shortly. Meanwhile, planning activity is proceeding. (***New since we wrote this - see STOP PRESS in item 7 below.***)
6 Special interest groups ------------------------- It's apparent there are a lot of people in the area with relevant skills and interests and we'd like to tap into these by setting up special interest groups or SIGs. The four people in the CARNET project team are already working hard at it; so if you have expertise, experience or specialist knowledge relevant to one of the SIGs mentioned below, and are willing to contribute to it, please let us know. The first three we'd like to set up are: 6.1 Wireless survey SIG ----------------------- Exploring and surveying the area to prepare for the WiFi links. Investigating where suitable sites for access points, seeking permission to use key locations that the SIG finds appropriate, such as BVC, Bottisham Community Centre and the churches in the villages. 6.2 Social changes SIG ---------------------- Seeking suitable professional social scientist to work on a social changes survey (eg, at the Open University) and then maybe guiding and/or working with them. 6.3 LETS (Local Exchange Trading System) SIG -------------------------------------------- Exploring the use of a LETS to be run on the community network, including naming the LETS, publicity, rules, management etc. LETS is a modern form of barter, using a notional currency to keep track of transactions of goods or services between members of the scheme. CARNET offers an opportunity to automate the otherwise-tedious bookkeeping involved in swapping your strawberries for someone else's piano lessons, or your training in Excel for their baby-sitting. The LETS will be administered using an on-line database on the community network, so much of the day-to-day admin will not require paperwork.
7 STOP PRESS ------------ The CARNET Team will be meeting the funding agencies, including East of England Development agency on Thursday next week to discuss the funding for the project. How you can help: 1 If you haven't already done so, please register your interest on the BBB site, so that we can let people know how many of the community actively support us. You can do this at: http://www.bbb.uk.net/forum/bb_register.php 2 Let other people know about this site and ask them to register their interest as well. 3 Add any messages of support, comments, thoughts or ideas to the CARNET Forum so that we again have as much support as possible. You can do this at: http://www.bbb.uk.net/forum/viewforum.php?forum=2&6 4 You can email the team at carnet@bbb.uk.net if you have any other thoughts or messages that aren't appropriate for the Forum. If we don't secure significant funding to get this project started and to develop the model and the first network, it is unlikely that the project can go ahead, so it is vital that we are successful. John Harris
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Dear Bottisham area Internet user
(If you've already registered with the Better Broadband for Britain website http://www.bbb.uk.net/forum/bb_register.php you can ignore this message.) You are on our contact list of addresses of people potentially interested in broadband in the Bottisham area. We've now changed the way we manage this list. In particular: 1. The list is now a mailing list managed via the Better Broadband for Britain website at http://www.bbb.uk.net 2. To remain on our contact list you will need to register at the URL given below. 3. The mailing list is split, with a general mailing list and a separate specific one for each of the community projects. You can choose which of the mailing lists you want to subscribe to. Registering also gives you access to the forum we have added to the website, where we can discuss issues, eg, ideas for how we can use our network in the Bottisham area. This registration is now the single place for registering an interest in our project and for managing all the new mailing lists. You can register at http://www.bbb.uk.net/forum/bb_register.php Please feel free to contribute to the forums by adding a topic and commenting on broadband issues. If your interest is in the specific 'Bottisham area project', this is now called the 'Cambridge Ring NorthEast', and has its own website at http://carnet.bbb.uk.net ***DON'T MISS THE NEWLETTER*** Please register soon, especially if you are interested in broadband for Bottisham, Quy, Lode, Longmeadow, Swaffham Bulbeck or Little Wilbraham, as we are about to send a newsletter to people registered on the CARNET mailing list. If you do not register with the website, you will remain on a general information mailing list for a period, though it is likely that at some point in the future, only registered users will be able to receive the mailing list announcements. Regards, John Harris John E Harris of CAMBIT The User Interface 1 Rowan Close "Making products easier to use" Bottisham Cambridge Work tel +44 1 223 811 487 CB5 9BN Home tel +44 1 223 81 26 76 England |
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Community broadband project meeting ----------------------------------- All villagers from Bottisham, Quy, Lode, Longmeadow, Swaffham Bulbeck and Little Wilbraham are invited to a meeting at Bottisham Village College at 8.00 pm on Tuesday, 22 January to find out more about the Community Broadband Project. To find out what it's all about see the January or winter edition of your village magazine or see http://www.invisible.uk.net/bbb.htm where you will find: - the article that appeared in January editions of the village mags - an executive summary of the proposal - the PowerPoint presentation about the scheme given to the East of England Telematics Development Trust (EETDT) meeting on 30-Nov-01 in Cambridge - links to the EETDT website (and to bottisham.org.uk!) If you'd like to be informed when new information appears on broadband project website, please email majordomo@invisible.uk.net with "subscribe bbb-info" in the message body. More information from John Harris or Laurie van Someren |
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To Bottisham Internet users
From John Harris and Laurie van Someren 01233 812676 01223 811679 Date 29 November 2001 Subject A broadband network for Bottisham and Internet access This message is to update those with whom we have been in contact about getting faster Internet connections for Bottisham. We have plans to provide Bottisham with a fast network within the village and an external broadband link to the Internet. The network within the village has many potential uses besides those using the external Internet link. Background ---------- In 1998 Cambridge Cable dropped Bottisham from the list of communities it planned to connect to its network. Since then Laurie van Someren and John Harris have been monitoring demand in the village for faster Internet links, as well as technical and commercial developments that might provide faster access. John and Laurie organized two meetings of Bottisham Internet users in December 1998 and December 1999. Early in 2001 John conducted a preliminary survey of known Internet users in the village at the suggestion of Manet Telecom, which John and Laurie had approached about help with providing broadband Internet access for Bottisham. (Thank you to those of you that replied to the survey.) Manet was enthusiastic about getting public funds to use Bottisham as a model of a 'bottom-up' approach to broadband Internet access, (ie, initiated by people in the community concerned rather than by a large corporation or government). Current plans ------------- With the downturn is the telecoms market Manet did not pursue the project, but Laurie has made contact with telecommunications experts Invisible Networks, who are keen to pick up where Manet left off. The aim is to put in place a village network and connect this network to the Internet with a broadband link. Recent technical developments have reduced the costs of the hardware needed to achieve this. Public funds will be sought to build the system, to run and maintain it for three years, and to provide all that would be necessary for Bottisham to act as a model for other communities to imitate, with 'how to do it' documents, presentations and support from the people involved here. The high-speed network within the village would have many possible uses in addition to giving broadband access to the Internet. Exploring at least some of these would be part of the publicly funded project. We should like to talk to other organizations, groups and individuals within the village to find out what ideas they can come up with about using the village network. It will be able to link two or more people, communicating sound, video pictures and any other sort of data or information they care to send to each other. We have some ideas about possible uses, including: * A video and audio link could be set up between the doctors' surgery and Queen's Court, which could provide a way for Queen's Court nursing staff to obtain medical support when needed, without anyone having to travel. Indeed this could be generalized into a way of supporting sick or infirm people, for example, with a reassuring link they could switch on to a relative or other carer living in the village. * Village-wide, multi-user computer games would be possible, including ones requiring high bandwidth * If a fast server with a very large disc capacity were attached to the village network, anyone with a computer on the network would be able to back it up on to the server, thereby achieving easy backup off site, which makes the backup more effective than one kept in the same building as the original. Led by the experts of Invisible Networks we are still investigating the technical solutions and where the hub for the village network should be located. For those interested in the technical detail, we expect to use SDSL or EPS (BT copper wires with clever boxes at each end) to connect the hub to a few access points. The access points would connect to individual network users by the wireless Ethernet standard officially known as 802.11b, but increasing called WiFi. Possible arrangements for the Internet link are being investigated. We are exploring collaboration with Bottisham Village College and Bottisham Library (both seeking better Internet links), because we feel it would be wasteful and more expensive to have three separate broadband links to Cambridge than to share one. We are also talking to local businesses about their present and possible needs for high bandwidth communications. If we have not already asked you since recently, we should also be interested to hear about yours. The scheme is different from that envisaged by Manet and described in the survey we circulated to some of you in February this year. The planned scheme does not include telephone lines and calls (Manet envisaged including two phone lines + always-on Internet line, with local calls free of any further charge and other calls at a cheaper rate than BT) and so is likely to be considerably cheaper. This communication is one of a number of actions we are taking to inform and communicate with people and organizations in Bottisham, including the Parish Council. We expect to send further emails with updated information to people that receive this email. Please let us know if you wish to be deleted from the list. We plan to hold another meeting of Bottisham Internet users before too long and people on our current contact list will be informed by email. In the meantime we may use email to provide updated information and please feel free to contact us with any issues you feel we should know before then. We are also very keen to hear about any ideas you may have for using the village network and any major change you foresee in your use of the Internet.
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