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Possibility of Getting a Movement Going to Promote Local/Comm Run Fibre/FTTH Schemes?

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  • 02-03-2019 4:54pm
    #1
    hadenoughofit
    Registered Users Posts: 44 ✭


    Thinking about our bogged down 'national broadband plan' and all it entails.


    GCtest50 in a reply on my other thread linked this UK (Lancashire) rural fibre broadband roll out run by locals: http://chippingchain.org/gallery/


    Might it not be the case that this (much as in the group schemes which rolled out mains water in the 1960s) is a very attractive model by which to get high speed broadband into rural areas?


    What if we were to see a situation where this became the preferred means of extending high speed broadband into marginally economic (for the big interests) areas?


    It may be feasible without it, but the possibility is that it would really take off if it was provided with some official top cover from national government level.



    Stuff like guaranteed access to top quality/high speed connections at a reasonable price, tax breaks/relief (zero VAT, grants, etc?), planning and council support, an insurance scheme to protect those working on the scheme, technical support and other resources, a required financial and organisational structure, perhaps a standard project planning and management package/template (key tasks, how to assess feasibility, contact lists etc etc)....


    There's a lot of potential benefits. Politically attractive (seen to be doing something without having to do it), would make commercially feasible less densely populated areas (voluntary work, minimal overheads, no requirement to make enormous profits, tax breaks etc), rapid progress on multiple simultaneous but independent projects (avoids the choke effect of top down organisations), would call the bluff of cherry picking large scale providers, lower costs might make it feasible to specify better/more future proofed hardware etc etc



    Once a few pilot projects were completed it'd be easy to imagine a network of small contractors, tech people, installers and other key service providers popping up pretty quickly.



    Might it fly, and might one of the big political parties get behind it? It'd certainly be a way to take some of the heat and the spotlight off the national broadband plan...


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    #2
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,167 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    I may be a cynic but I suspect you'll find most areas will have one stubborn landowner who'll want a payout for crossing his property and thus scupper the project. B4RN is cool but you need one local pro/semi pro and near 100% buy in. This has been possible for years here and hasnt happened and only on a tiny scale in the UK.


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    #3
    hadenoughofit
    Registered Users Posts: 44 ✭hadenoughofit


    Don't think you are a cynic ED E. Most of these sorts of projects fall foul of a narrow self interest which takes little or no account of the greater good, or seeks to get the goodies without doing a share of the work. The story of humanity actually...

    That said it's not that big an undertaking to at least explore the feasibility of one - walking away if it's fairly clear there's resistance. The situation to avoid would be an attempt at strong arming or blocking when expenditure was already committed - some sort of watertight up-front agreement would be needed.

    It's part of the reason though why some sort of national framework/top cover may be necessary...


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