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Mind The Gap:: Digital England - A Rural Perspective
Mind The Gap:: Digital England - A Rural Perspective
The Commission for Rural Communities acts as the advocate for Englands rural communities, as an expert adviser to government, and as a watchdog to ensure that government actions, policies and programmes recognise and respond effectively to rural needs, with a particular focus on disadvantage. It has three key functions: Rural advocate: the voice for rural people, businesses and communities Expert adviser: giving evidence-based, objective advice to government and others Independent watchdog: monitoring, reporting on and seeking to mainstream rural into the delivery of policies nationally, regionally and locally
Contents
Foreword Executive summary 1 Introduction 2 The rural picture-the current state of rural digital inclusion 3 What are the rural issues? Business sustainability Education and lifelong learning Equitable access to services Social and community cohesion 4 Rural proofing the Digital Britain interim report 5 Universal connectivity in rural areas Achieving the Universal Service Commitment Prospects for USC based on mobile or wireless infrastructure Prospects for USC based on satellite connections The view from 2012 6 Next Generation Access now and in the future Defining Next generation Access Where are the not spots for Next Generation Access? Investment priorities for rural areas. The Caio review 7 Next Generation Access in rural areas putting it into practice Investment models Next Generation Access experiences of rural areas in other countries 8 Next steps Recommendations Appendices Glossary and acronyms 4 5 9 10 13 13 17 19 20 24 27 27 33 34 35 38 38 38 43 44 44 47 52 52 54 54
Foreword
Digital Britain needs to be an inclusive Britain. Access to broadband brings great benefits to rural areas, improving quality of life through increased access to services and more flexible labour markets. New technology is enabling wider business opportunities to be seized by entrepreneurs in rural areas. But rural broadband provision must keep pace with urban. Just as we thought the digital divide was being addressed, new services and demands are putting increased strain on existing infrastructure. Lord Carters report, Digital Britain, calls for the UK infrastructure to meet the demands of a modern, knowledge-based economy, this resonates strongly in rural communities. But providers investment must take account of social impacts and benefits as well as economic criteria. I urge Government to lead the way in bridging the gap for rural communities on Next Generation Access and offer the CRCs support as rural watchdog, adviser and advocate. Internet use is now higher than ever before in rural areas, and demand continues to increase, driven by online shopping, banking and entertainment. Yet users are frustrated by the lack of speed and reliability of existing services. Those not in a position to access broadband, many of whom are already socially disadvantaged, are excluded from what, for a large section of the population, are now basic services, such as applying for road tax and other Post Office services, downloading music and social networking. Digital technology can also tackle social and economic disadvantage in rural areas. It can help older people to improve their quality of life and support independent living by providing access to services, information and purchases and transform healthcare delivery through online appointment and prescription booking and telecare services. Rural entrepreneurs are able to help economic recovery through the innovative use of new technology, but this is dependent on infrastructure. Online education benefits employees, businesses and students and we recommend that rural schools offer access to bandwidth to the wider community and new rural housing be designed and equipped to enable home working. First generation broadband is unlikely to deliver the Governments welcome commitment to universal service at 2Mbit/s by 2012. Equitable roll-out of Next Generation Access is potentially a colossal financial undertaking, and will be more complex and take longer in more remote areas. There must be a firm undertaking from Government, with a comprehensive strategy and implementation plan to include rural areas. CRC is committed to working with Government and others to ensure rural communities are not always following in the footsteps of their urban neighbours.
Stuart Burgess Rural Advocate and Chairman Commission for Rural Communities
4 Mind the Gap: Digital England a rural perspective
Executive summary
The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) believes that digital technology is vital for the sustainability of rural communities and economies. Through the use of digital technology, rural communities can access services on an equitable level with their urban neighbour, thereby reducing disadvantage and social injustice. Rural businesses thereby equip themselves to compete in the wider marketplace, whilst services are delivered more efficiently with associated cost savings. However, lack of access to digital technology and the right broadband speed continues to exacerbate the rural digital divide.1 Todays technology is so tightly woven into the fabric of society that digital deprivation can rightly be considered alongside, and strongly linked to, more traditional social deprivations, such as low income, unemployment, poor education, ill health and social isolation. To consider lack of access to digital technology as somehow less important underestimates the pace, depth and scale of technological change, and overlooks the way that different disadvantages can combine to deepen social exclusion.
Digital divide: A term used to describe the perceived gap between those who can access and make effective use of ICT and those who cannot, due to linguistic, economic, educational, social or geographical reasons. State of the Countryside report 2008, Figure 2.3.6
Of the 17 million people over the age of 15 at risk of digital exclusion, 9.3 million (44%) are over the age of 55. This is especially important in rural areas, where the median age is 6 years older than those in urban areas. Over the last 5 years broadband internet has become the fourth utility for most of the UK population. BT and Virgin Media are aiming to deliver enhanced services in urban areas but this Next Generation Access (NGA) is currently out of reach of many rural communities as the investment case for rural areas is made against a backdrop of purely market driven and commercial drivers, not social arguments.
This report seeks to ensure that there is an effective and sustainable broadband future for rural England. The country as a whole is now at a technological cross-roads. If the roll-out of next generation broadband is undertaken in the right way we will all benefit. If the wrong choices and roll-out mechanisms are employed we run the risk of falling behind in the technological race with the rest of the world. It is a very competitive race and one that we will not get a second chance at winning. Put simply, we cannot afford to take that risk. Rurality must be fully considered and included in the provision of next generation broadband. A great deal of good work has already been undertaken both by Government and the public sector. We must all work together to ensure we remain economically competitive, socially secure and with quality services and support mechanisms for all, regardless of locality. Our recommendations with an indication of the organisation we feel would be best placed to lead on them is included in chapter 8 (page 53).
Introduction
As part of his role Dr. Stuart Burgess, the Rural Advocate and Chair of the CRC, presented advice on steps to build stronger rural economies to the Prime Minister in June 2008. The Governments response was published in February 2009 as part of a summit held in York on Releasing the Potential of Rural Economies: Innovation.3 That report presented evidence of the unfulfilled potential for rural economies to contribute to the economic growth of the country. In this report we recognise that digital technology has a significant role to play in helping to realise that economic potential, in terms of supporting innovation, creativity, productivity and marketability. In addition, rural communities and individuals can enhance their quality of life and wellbeing by accessing digital technology to improve access to services and learning and skills training. Where improved digital inclusion has been demonstrated,4 we have seen: igitally included individuals are likely to perform better academically d (increase of 25% in GCSE grades per subject); computer/internet use commands increased salary premiums (3-10%); overnment services can make significant savings through mediated g interactions. For instance, an NHS Direct online initiative was predicted to save the NHS 68 million in 2008; ompanies can increase their customer base and sales volumes c (online spending is on average 20% higher than offline); and here is a positive impact on GDP to the economy (upwards of 1.54% t over three years). For the future, digital technology will be imperative in embracing innovative and cost intelligent service delivery solutions, opportunities for combining service delivery and addressing much needed service delivery efficiency savings. During February and March 2009 the CRC undertook a rural proofing analysis of the Digital Britain interim report including research and consultation with rural communities and other stakeholders. More than 50 documents were submitted to CRC for consideration through partners and the Rural Services Network. Discussions, visits and workshops also took place involving stakeholders, our Commissioners and Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We also commissioned independent analysis of rural connectivity issues from a technical viewpoint; which is, we believe, the first time this has been done for Next Generation Access on a consistent national basis. The Rural Advocate undertook a visit to Cumbria in January. By combining the two approaches of on the ground consultation and technical analysis, we provide in this report our findings on the impact and opportunities raised in the Digital Britain interim report for Englands rural economies and communities.
www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/events/ releasingthepotentialofruraleconomiesinnovation UK Online Centres Economic Benefits of Digital Inclusion, building the evidence
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State of the Countryside report, 2008 Ofcom, Nations and Regions Communications Market Report 2008 10
Broadband has helped to slow down a migration from rural to urban areas and brought new jobs and businesses into rural areas. Economically active rural residents have supported local shops and schools, helping to safeguard rural services.
Case study 1
Case study 2
But those who are still not in a position to benefit, through lack of broadband provision or poor service, are still suffering from the digital divide and resulting social exclusion and are in danger of having to catch up all the time. Technical limitations have prevented some rural areas from realising these benefits. An ageing infrastructure coupled with low customer density is a disincentive to investment and competition to supply services which we see in other rural and urban areas, leading to so-called first generation broadband not spots. These not spots continue to be a challenge in some rural areas. New services and demands are developing rapidly, leading to increased strain on existing broadband infrastructure in rural areas. BT and Virgin Media are aiming to deliver enhanced services in urban areas but the investment case for rural areas is made against a backdrop of purely market driven and commercial drivers, not social arguments.
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The risk is that as rural residents and businesses demand more, the market will fail to meet this demand and instead invest in a digital cities strategy meaning that those living and working in rural areas may not maximise their life chances or that businesses will fail to reach their full potential.
emand for adequate broadband exists in rural areas and is rising D faster than in urban areas. usinesses will fail to meet their potential if the digital infrastructure B is not fit for purpose. ore people in rural communities will be socially excluded from M society due to lack of access to digital technology.
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Lack of access to digital technology, inadequate broadband and mobile telephone coverage combined with lack of engagement with digital technology all contribute to a complex set of issues for rural communities and residents. Many of these are inter-related and hard to separate, but CRC has identified a number of key issues which we believe must be tackled as a priority. We have also looked at examples of Government programmes aimed to improve service delivery and provided real experiences of rural residents and businesses that have used them. We have illustrated each of these with relevant case studies to reflect how rural residents and businesses are using first generation broadband and the issues faced by those who cannot get broadband over four broad categories: usiness sustainability B Rural SMEs need broadband and mobile telephone coverage, to grow their businesses or to just maintain competitiveness in the current economic climate. Education and lifelong learning here employees are restricted in the degree of on the job learning, W businesses cannot nurture local or existing talent through e-learning. Students in both full and part-time education are disadvantaged if they cannot get adequate broadband at home, whilst an ageing population needs access to broadband to maintain their skills and continue to engage fully in society. Equitable access to services Increasingly, access to government services and to the full range of social benefits is available through various interactive services, for example cheaper bills and healthcare diagnostics, and public service efficiencies created through increased online service delivery. Social and community cohesion Using broadband and mobile technology to communicate and use the internet enables communication between isolated rural settlements, sharing good practice and overcoming isolation.
Business sustainability
In 2005, Englands rural areas hosted at least 476,000 VAT or PAYE registered enterprises. They earned 304 billion and employed 2.96 million people. This represents at least 27% of Englands enterprises; 13% of employment, but only 9% of the countrys business revenue or turnover. In some rural areas businesses are contributing proportionally less economic output than would be expected thus showing the existence of unfulfilled potential from firms and workforce in rural areas. The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts7 (NESTA) called for innovation and creativity as the armoury to fight the global recession. Only through innovation can economies attack the economic downturn. There may not be many opportunities for growth due to the recession, but just maintaining the status quo requires more innovation and effort. Flexible working allows businesses to accommodate better employee
13 Mind the Gap: Digital England a rural perspective
work life balances, attract highly skilled staff or allow home-based working. In addition, the current recession has dictated that where market shrinkage has occurred, the need for business diversification has increased. Where broadband speeds are reduced so too are the options for such business diversity.
Case study 3
Investing in internet-enabled IT services has given UK companies major competitive advantages.8 Business adoption9 and optimisation10 of internet and communications technology, particularly advanced ICTs, generates productivity gains, increases employment and turnover. Advanced technologies often exploit broadband and include remote access, mobility, trading online, supply chain and customer management. Larger rural businesses will and have ultimately invested in broadband at some level. But this is giving them a competitive advantage over their smaller counterparts. SMEs and micro businesses in rural areas lose out to larger businesses who have invested in high-speed broadband and also to competitors operating from urban areas with adequate broadband. Those without broadband cannot even use simple business tools (a website) and means of communication (email). This damages small businesses, reducing their scope to compete and expand.
CBI/Nominet report: UK Competitiveness: The Role of IT Services, July 2008 Adoption refers to the investment in, and utilisation of, ICTs by businesses. Optimisation refers to businesses fully exploiting the ICTs they invest in, so that they obtain maximum productivity gains and increased competitiveness. 14
During challenging economic times businesses need to innovate. Adequate broadband provides a fuel for business competitiveness through innovation.
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Case study 4
There is also evidence to suggest that graduates will have difficulty finding work in the current economic downturn. A survey by High Fliers Research (The Graduate Market 2009) of 100 firms, found recruitment targets had been cut by 17% for this year. The report says swingeing cuts in recruitment, after years of a buoyant jobs market, make it one of the worst years to graduate for two decades. In their latest report (The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2009) it found that 52% of graduates surveyed thought the prospects of getting a job were very limited and 36% did not expect to get a graduate job this year. Nearly half (48%) feared they may be made redundant within a year of work. There are significant differences in internet users and non-users perceptions on prospective employment. In the current economic climate, one of the most significant differences was in their confidence to find information about jobs, do their current job, and find a new job should the need arise. Internet users confidence in their ability to find work outstripped non-users by 25%.11 With good high-speed broadband infrastructure these graduates living in rural settings could be encouraged and enabled to job search in their own locality or to set up businesses from home. There is the potential to see a drift of economic activity out of rural areas into market towns and urban areas if high speed broadband is not available.
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UK Online Centres: Does the Internet Improve Lives? April 2009 15 Mind the Gap: Digital England a rural perspective
Case study 5
Increasing regulation and subsequent additional reporting requirements in the agricultural sector have been mitigated in some cases by the use of new internet based services to disseminate information to farmers and record information from farmers. The Whole Farm Approach, developed by Defra, aims to reduce the burden of form filling for farmers. Intelligent forms reduce inputting the same data repeatedly. Monitoring requirements have also become more complex, so more information is required. Farmers on dial up are disadvantaged as they have to use a paper version.
Case study 6
Case study 7
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Farming enterprise
I am very concerned that most businesses in my neighbourhood cannot access broadband or a reliable dial-up service to access Defra online services for cattle passports etc. County Durham-based farmer
The CRC wants to see more rural businesses able to take advantage of the positive benefits of digital technology. The CRC recommends that existing and future business incentives apply to digital technology and infrastructure development. i.e. installing fibre optic cable should be an approved business expense and therefore tax deductable.
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primary and secondary schools communicating increasingly with parents and pupils electronically. As more learning resources are available online, it is likely that those households with adequate broadband connections will benefit more than those with slow or inadequate connections. There is evidence that ownership of a computer at home is linked with better GCSE results: Schmitt and Wadsworth (2004)13 found a statistically significant relationship between households owning computers and higher GCSE results. The UK Government has established the Home Access Programme to help reduce the digital divide by engaging parents and children in online learning. The Home Access Programme14 allows certain low-income families to apply for a Home Access Grant to purchase a package consisting of hardware, connectivity and support. Part of the pilot activity involves working with accredited suppliers to provide these Next Generation Learning @ Home packages, which meet pre-defined requirements and are available for all to purchase. This initiative is intended to bridge the digital divide where currently more than one million children still do not have access to a computer at home and 35 per cent of families have no access to the internet. This should create a level playing field for learners where every child has equal access to the internet at home to assist with their learning.
Case study 8
Homework
My child was disadvantaged because so much schoolwork was posted online. Other pupils in the class were getting better results. At the time, we could not get broadband, which meant my child could not access PowerPoint presentations of lessons. At up to 5Mb, they are too big to download on dial-up. The community wireless scheme was able to provide us with a connection, so we can now download homework and my child is much happier. Parent
Case study 9
The CRC wants to see rural communities have greater access to the broadband opportunities which schools can offer through the extended school services agenda, particularly the broadband infrastructure available to schools.
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CRC recommends DCSF supports rural primary and secondary schools to offer broadband opportunities to the wider community.
There is considerable inequitable access to services in rural areas. Without intervention, polarisation of service access and quality of delivery for people living in rural areas will continue. This will therefore impact upon the lives of 20 % of the population as a whole.
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State of the Countryside report 2008, CRC Ofcom, Nations and Regions Communications Market Report 2008 19
Shifting public sector services online as part of the e-government agenda has reduced the costs of transactions with citizens and supported wider access to information and services. Government anticipates public spending on e-government and digital literacy programmes to yield returns of between 1.1 and 1.5% of GDP increase in 2008-10, according to the UK Online Centres report Benefits of Digital Inclusion: Building the Evidence.
Face-to-face delivery costs are higher in rural areas because more staff are needed to deliver public sector services in sparsely populated rural counties. An increase in service users with access to good quality internet-based services can shift the balance towards more online transactions with subsequent savings for the taxpayer. Rural areas potentially have the most to gain as some rural residents currently have to travel long distances to meet with council officers and other public sector organisations or service providers. The CRC wants everyone living in rural areas to be able to access services at the same level as their urban counterparts.
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Case study 10
New homes: new digital opportunities The digital inclusion agenda should assess the means to enable technology for home enterprise in new homes and particularly for upland and sparse communities. Equipping homes now will help people to stimulate new enterprise, aid social cohesion and enable learning and training through community intranets. The sheer scale of home-working and the political elevation of the low carbon economy means that Government must be encouraged to produce clear policies to support and facilitate home based work designed to promote it as a sustainable use of property that can help grow the local economy.
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UK Online Casestudy www.ukonlinecentres.com/ corporate/content/view/43/110/lang,en/ 21 Mind the Gap: Digital England a rural perspective
Live-work18 is beginning to gain currency and a number of leading national and regional house builders have started to invest more imaginatively in the use of space, specification and services. But given the breadth of the digital inclusion agenda and positive Government response to the Matthew taylora Living, Working Countryside report and the Dr Stuart Burgess report Englands rural areas: steps to release their economic potential clear scope now exists to explore the live-work potential further. The role of house builders in perceiving a market for live-work which helps sell properties and which in due course could be instrumental in taking the case to, for example, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to deliver new affordable rural homes, designed and equipped to meet this demand. Existing housing often mitigates against live-work options, holding back rural start-up enterprise and investment. With more proactive planning a new housing programme will boost livework in the countryside enabling more people to work from home and reducing car journeys and C02 emissions. The development of green housing in the countryside will not only create a large number of jobs in its development but will also create a second wave of jobs as new homes in particular act as a host for live-work. CRC would like to see, where appropriate, a significant proportion of all new rural housing being designed and equipped to enable home working through the accommodation of broadband accessibility.
CRC would like to see the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) show clear leadership19, in taking forward its positive response to Matthew Taylors Living Working Countryside report and CRCs report on building stronger rural economics to facilitate the, as yet, untapped potential for more rural homes to offer live-working accommodation. We are encouraged to see the new PPS4: Planning for Sustainable Economic Development (currently under consultation) recognises that new ways of working such as live-work or the use of residential properties for home working have an impact upon spatial planning which should be considered when planning for economic development.
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ive-Work may be defined as occurring where L people make a conscious decision to work from home and equip and adapt it for this purpose including installing the IT infrastructure and broadband connectivity to enable them to do so. Typically, they establish and run a business from home. Nearly a third of rural businesses operate in this way. ith other key partners: namely the Treasury, Defra, W BIS, DWP, HCA, LGA, RDAs, BT, Building Societies Association and Council of Mortgage Lenders, the RTPI, RIBA and Chartered Institute of Housing. National Association of Local Councils, www.nalc.gov.uk
Digital inclusion promotes local democracy Parish and town councils lie at the heart of a vibrant rural community. There is much that is healthy and right in our local democracy in rural England, with many examples of strong local leadership, proactive town and parish councils and effective community engagement. Access to effective broadband is key to the successful operation of this local first tier of democracy. From 27 June 2008 there have been a number of changes to the Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme20 which now places greater emphasis on the ability of councils to communicate with their electorate electronically.
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The scheme is designed to allow councils to test themselves against good practice benchmarks, and demonstrate to the local community and partners that they are able to deliver efficient services.
Case study 11
Parish Council
.......the practice of large public authorities sending out meeting papers by email with no choice to the recipient. I represent Parish Councils [LSP] and the voluntary sector [BSP and LAA sub groups] as a volunteer, all of which now send huge agenda documentation by email. I have no means other than my domestic computer with equally small printer to print these off. It is a case of transferring the cost of printing to the end user. I constantly find myself having to ask the sender to forward hard copies. I also feel that in giving my time free I should not be expected to fund my own paper work! Jenny Hunt, Parish Councillor, Aylesbury Vale
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The digital information and communications sector is one of the sectors in the economy, alongside energy and financial services, upon which the whole economy rests. The success and health of this sector is of interest and concern not just to those employed in it but also to the 22 million of us who depend upon it for our daily work, and to the employing organisations for whom effective modern communications is a critical source of efficiency and competitiveness. It is also a sector which touches on all aspects of our lives, at home and at leisure as well as at work. The average British adult spends almost half of all their waking hours using the services of the communications sector or browsing, watching or listening to the audio-visual content it distributes, content that at its best can engage and delight us as consumers and inform us as active citizens in a democracy. Lord Stephen A Carter Digital Britain interim report,
January 2009
The CRC recognises that as we move through the recession and plan for economic recovery, the choices we make about where we invest for the future will have a profound effect upon rural communities as well as urban. Therefore we see the Digital Britain report as a fundamental driver for such investment and future provision of digital infrastructure in rural areas. CRC has reviewed the Digital Britain interim report and set out our response - in particular how the Digital Britain report can help rural communities to reach their full potential. Action 2 the Government will, while recognising existing investments in infrastructure, work with the main operators and others to remove barriers to the development of a wider wholesale market in access to ducts and other primary infrastructure. CRC supports the development of a wider wholesale market to deliver new digital technology infrastructure. We also support the development of an open market so that existing infrastructure is used effectively and to a consistent standard. CRC recommends that new developments have the ability to access
NGA and communications provision is identified in any local plans.
Action 4 consider the value for money case for whether public incentives have a part to play in enabling further next generation broadband deployment, beyond current market-led initiatives. The Digital Britain interim report states it does not wish to chill private sector investment, but the Map 4 on page 42 shows that the investment climate in rural areas is mainly cold for access to NGA, despite increasing demand for broadband in rural areas.
24 Mind the Gap: Digital England a rural perspective
CRC believes that current investment models for rural areas are misconceived because they are based purely on economic criteria. Despite the potential of rural areas, they still get overlooked by service providers, because their geography creates a perceived barrier to investment, and because existing investment models do not adequately take into account the social impacts and benefits alongside the economic ones. CRC recommends that alternative investment models for rural areas should be explored and adopted. CRC offers to work with stakeholders in support of this. Action 5 the Government will help implement the Community Broadband Networks proposals for an umbrella body to bring together all the local and community networks and provide them with technical and advisory support. The CRC wants to see more support for communities to help themselves in delivering their own solutions to digital technology challenges. We would wish to see a comprehensive support network for community broadband networks including practical advice and guidance to help communities deliver their own local solutions by setting up community broadband networks. CRC offers to take the lead in developing this recommendation. Action 17 we will develop plans for a digital Universal Service Commitment to be effective by 2012, delivered by a mixture of fixed and mobile, wired and wireless means. Subject to further study of the costs and benefits, we will set out our plans for the level of service which we believe should be universal. We anticipate this consideration will include options up to 2Mbps. The CRC fully supports the aspirations in the Digital Britain interim report to ensure universal connectivity, take-up and use. CRC recommends that the Government regularly monitors the level at which the Universal Service Commitment is set to ensure it keeps pace with the fast pace of demand for bandwidth, and that appropriate action is taken to ensure rural areas reach this standard. Action 19 we will encourage the development of public service champions of universal take-up. The Digital Inclusion Action Plan recommended the appointment of a Digital Inclusion Champion and expert taskforce to drive the Governments work on digital inclusion. CRC believes there is a role for a Digital Inclusion Champion with a clear rural remit to promote equitable service delivery at the heart of government.
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CRC recommends that the Digital Champion role incorporates a clear remit to tackle the rural digital divide.
CRC fully supports the regional Digital Inclusion Advisors and
recommends that these positions also have a clear remit to ensure
that rural needs are addressed.
Action 21 Public Service Delivery plan: we commit to ensure that public services online are designed to be used by the widest range of citizens, taking advantage of the widespread uptake of broadband to offer an improved customer experience and encourage the shift to online channels in delivery and service support. CRC recommends that new public sector online services should be designed equitably, so that rural service users are not disadvantaged by the speed of their internet connection. Government should initiate a full scale review of the barriers to delivering services equitably both now and in the future as new services are designed.
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From interim Digital Britain report Lord Carters speech at the Delivering Digital Britain event at NESTA on 24 February 2009 27
To understand whether these routes can be valid solutions, we need to look at some aspects of the provision of service which have a direct impact on user experience. These are: he headline speeds of up to X Mbps used by service providers T principally to sell their services and compete with others. We also need to understand what can be done by the user with these theoretical maximum speeds; ther technical factors which have a direct impact on how customers O experience the services.
Prospects for a USC based on existing landline infrastructure Based on Ofcoms research, we know that rural users are both more likely than their urban counterparts to be dissatisfied with their overall broadband services and with the speed of their service. This is not surprising, as they typically receive slower speeds than urban users (among consumers on 8Mbps packages, the average speed for urban users is 15% higher than for rural users). Those in rural households also express relatively high levels of dissatisfaction (14% compared to 8% of urban users). The main reasons for dissatisfaction tend to focus on speed, reliability and value. Those living in rural areas are significantly more likely to mention speed as the main reason for their dissatisfaction (42% of rural users state speed as the main reason, compared to 22% of urban users). First generation broadband services are offered on a best efforts basis by service providers (and there are no Service Level Agreements to assure quality), transitioning rural areas to digital public services on existing infrastructure looks problematic for many users. Ofcom has recently published an interim research report on the quality of service received by broadband customers across the country23. In this report, Ofcom provides a summary of the important factors to consider.
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Ofcom. UK broadband speeds 2008 Consumer experience of broadband performance: initial findings 28
Table 1 Problems associated with landline provision It should be noted that while the factors above all have a critical impact on the performance of broadband services; none of them have any level of service quality assurance. Factor Download speed or headline speed Upload speed Brief description Comment
The Up to X Mbps number used to describe the Few users actually experience these headline speeds. For example on up to 8Mbps products, theoretical maximum speed information can be the average maximum speed delivered is 45% received by the user from the network of the headline speed. The speed available for the user to send information to the network Upload speeds are important for those looking to share large files (such as photos or videos) or large databases, use real-time video communications and for some games. Note that First Generation Broadband is strongly asymmetric, e.g. a user on an Up to 2 Mbps connection has about 1.6 Mbps download but only 0.25 Mbps upload. This becomes an issue as households and businesses make intensive use of their connections
Latency
Latency is the time it takes a single packet of data to travel from a users PC to a third-party server and back again. The figure is most commonly measured in milliseconds, and a connection with low latency will feel more responsive.
Low latency is becoming more important. Many applications perform better, and for some applications such as VPNs, Web 2.0 software as a service, and real-time video a low latency connection is vital. Online gamers, for example, are particularly concerned with having a low latency connection.
Packet loss
Packet loss is the term used to describe the loss of data packages during transmission over an internet connection.
Packet loss can have a big impact on real time applications such as streaming audio or video (iPlayer, for example) or voice and video communications (extended periods of loss lead to choppy and broken-up video and audio, as well as reduced access to the available bandwidth).
Jitter
A measure of the stability of a connection A stable connection is vital for real time essentially how much latency changes over time. applications. Jitter and packet loss are the two biggest contributors to the quality of a VoIP (Voice over IP) phone call and to real time video. This is a vital service which converts domain names (such as bbc.co.uk) into the information needed to locate addresses on the internet. All ISPs maintain a DNS. When these servers fail or operate slowly, web browsing and other online activities suffer. A slow DNS time can even affect access to download speed, and will severely affect the responsiveness of browsing the internet.
First generation broadband appears unlikely to be capable of delivering the USC to a large proportion of rural areas The true extent of broadband availability has never been made publicly available. A number of attempts to measure the size of the not-spot problem have been undertaken. None of these have empirically demonstrated the full extent of the issue. Only BT is in a position to do this; they have previously said this is commercially sensitive data.
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Commissioned by CRC, the Samknows24 broadband information service researched the likely ability of existing landline broadband services to provide the speed required to achieve the USC of 2 Mbps. The research produced an estimated ADSL broadband speed using their line-checking service for the population centre for each of the 32,000+ ONS lower super output areas (LSOAs) in England. Whilst not a perfect model, the LSOA model does lead to a good understanding of the main cause of slow speeds and not-spots, namely telephone line length. Other factors such as the existence of line sharing devices, known as Digital Access Carrier System (DACS), may further increase the numbers of those unable to get broadband services. Line sharing is something which is more likely to affect more vibrant and economically active rural communities. Communities that took steps to evolve and grow, developing a more diversified economy, typically demand more phone lines as the number of homes and businesses grow. The number of copper phone lines laid between an exchange and a rural village was calculated many years ago and in many cases hasnt increased since. Rather than build new connections, BT and its predecessor used linesharing technology to meet the additional demand. Ironically, line-sharing technology is therefore more likely to exist in communities with a higher than average demand for broadband services. The precise scale of this problem is unknown and while it is considered less of a problem than line-length, it is a significant problem in some rural areas. As well as mapping ADSL services, our analysis includes access to Virgin Media cable broadband services. We have also considered the level of competition and extent of choice available to customers. The results of our research are striking.
Rural homes and businesses are under-served by the market Rural homes and businesses have fewer choices than their urban counterparts. Cable services are almost exclusively an urban offering with almost 60% of urban areas able to receive a cable-based broadband service of up to 50Mbps (with trials for 200 Mbps just beginning), while in villages and hamlets this drops to just 1.5%. A similar picture forms when considering competitive ADSL services from Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) operators. A business located in an urban area might typically expect to choose from five competitors to BT, many of whom will be offering the faster ADSL2+ technology. In most of Englands market towns and villages BT remains the sole broadband provider. The performance of ADSL broadband is also inferior in rural areas. Map 1 depicts the LSOAs where ADSL broadband services are likely to fall short of the proposed 2 Mbps USC, and where there is no mainstream alternative such as Virgin Media cable services.
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www.samknows.com
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In the following table, we show the ADSL speeds available in different areas using the Ordnance Survey definitions for morphologies; the ONS definition for urban includes all communities with more than 10,000 people and town refers to smaller market towns, with rural representing hamlets and more dispersed communities.
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Table 2 ADSL speeds 21% of those in rural areas are unlikely to receive speeds to support the USC Urban > 10k 0 kbps 250 kbps 500 kbps 1,000 kbps 1,500 kbps 2,000 kbps 2,500 kbps 3,000 kbps 3,500 kbps 4,000 kbps 4,500 kbps 5,000 kbps 5,500 kbps 6,000 kbps 6,500 kbps 2.8% 0.0% 0.8% 0.7% 0.9% 1.1% 1.2% 5.9% 5.3% 8.3% 8.4% 12.1% 14.6% 15.7% 22.3% Rural Town 3.8% 0.6% 2.6% 1.5% 1.9% 1.7% 1.6% 5.9% 4.1% 4.4% 4.3% 5.2% 7.2% 11.0% 44.1% Rural (Other) 4.1% 4.5% 8.8% 4.0% 5.0% 3.6% 3.7% 11.0% 6.9% 7.4% 6.1% 6.6% 7.0% 5.7% 15.5%
We can see that the issue for the USC is not just in the not-spots but also in areas that have existing broadband services. The following table highlights the number of households affected using ONS definitions of household types.
Table 3 Table of potential USC problems Urban > 10k Affluent Urban Commuter Blue Collar Urban Families Countryside Communities Educational Centres Farming and Forestry Mature City Professionals Mature Urban Households Multicultural Inner City Multicultural Suburbia Multicultural Urban Resorts and Retirement Rural Economies Small Town Communities Struggling Urban Families Suburbia Urban Commuter Urban Terracing Well off Mature Households Young City Professionals Young Urban Families
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Rural Town 6% 14% 15% 0% 19% 0% 9% N/A N/A N/A 3% 11% 4% 0% 13% 13% 10% 7% N/A 19%
Rural (Other) 15% 25% 27% 100% 34% 0% 30% N/A N/A N/A 100% 30% 30% N/A N/A 12% 25% 17% N/A 22%
While the cohort for some of these classifications is small in rural areas, the models suggest that as many as 460,000 homes in areas classified as Rural Economies and a further 128,000 homes in Farming and Forestry areas will fall below the USC levels. In addition, as many as 133,000 rural homes outside of these groups that might otherwise be considered candidates for home working as an alternative to commuting may also not be able to receive the level of broadband necessary to consider working from home. In contrast just 4% of urban homes will suffer the same fate.
Fixed Wireless Access In terms of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), this has mostly (though not exclusively) been used to extend services into not-spots. Large scale roll-out covering significant fractions of the rural areas which cannot receive USC quality services would entail building towers and linking these towers back to the core network (called backhaul). On the face of it, this looks a difficult and complex problem given the likely distribution of potential users. Placing additional FWA antennas on existing mobile base-station towers is one possibility this would require a degree of infrastructure sharing and cooperation between mobile operators which currently appears to be problematic. There is also the issue of the connections from mobile base station towers back to the core network to consider (see below).
Mobile infrastructure We consider that looking to use some elements of the existing mobile phone infrastructure to offer USC level services is worthy of detailed consideration. The Digital Britain interim report mentions using wireless spectrum to help achieve the USC. For our part, the CRC highlight four areas for further consideration:
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pectrum. If mobile broadband services are to become a long-term S solution to the rural broadband problem then the issues surrounding so-called 4G services based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the associated spectrum issues need to be explored further; overage in rural areas. While 3G services are promoted as C up to 7.2Mbps evidence shows that it is unusual to experience anything approaching this even in more urban environments. In many rural areas, especially forestry and farming areas which feature so strongly in the USC data, mobile services are patchier and data rates considerably lower, if indeed they exist. ackhaul from mobile base stations. It is our understanding that B mobile base stations are typically provisioned with 2-8 Mbps backhaul, often multi-sectored (meaning that the available bandwidth is shared widely in the area of the base station). In rural areas, the connection from the base station to the network is often based on microwave links. So if the USC is to be implemented using the mobile networks it would be necessary to understand how the connection from the base station to the network can be scaled-up to deliver acceptable service quality. Costs to users and download limits. Many 3G broadband packages are based on low transfer allowances and high per-Megabit fees for excess use. If mobile broadband is to become a practical solution for rural communities then packages with similar transfer allowances to ADSL and cable broadband packages will be essential.
flexibility; common examples include Google Docs and Salesforce.com. A further issue is that applications which involve exchanging information in real-time, such as secure connections to e-commerce sites and VPN tunnels, and two-way multimedia applications like telephony, video conferencing or online gaming are also not well supported by satellite technology. For these reasons, satellite-based broadband can at best be considered an inconsistent stop-gap solution.
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database of customer requests. Those affected will be predominantly rural and disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Numerous reports have been produced over the past 3 years examining the future needs of users for bandwidth. All the reports talk about the inexorable rise of demand for bandwidth. In 2006, the Broadband Stakeholders Group (BSG) commissioned a report which examined 11 different scenarios based on household types and typical usage patterns25. Noting that the results are critically dependent on the extent of High Definition TV use, the reports conclusion was that: By 2012 household bandwidth demand reaches 23Mbps downstream and 14Mbps upstream, but time criticality of applications means that 3Mbps upstream may be sufficient.
Broadband Stakeholder Group Also in 2006, researchers in Australia produced analysis Quantifying the Broadband Access Bandwidth Demands of Typical Home Users26. They used household scenarios based on existing technologies to examine demand; considering what reductions in demand for bandwidth might be enabled by improvements in compression technology. They concluded that a household of five people requires between 58 and 113 Mbps if bandwidth is managed on a per-application basis. The chart below shows how bandwidth use varies with the number of people in the household: 120 110 100 90 Data rate (Mbps)
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 Number of users per household 5
25
Predicting Future UK Residential Bandwidth Requirements, Broadband Stakeholders Group, 2006 Quantifying the Broadband Access Bandwidth Demands of Typical Home Users, Harrop W and Armitage G, Australian Telecommunication Networks & Applications Conference (ATNAC), Australia, December 2006, ISBN/ISSN 0977586103
25
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We note the disparity between these expected bandwidth demand figures and the USC set at 2 Mbps. While we accept that 2 Mbps may be sufficient to access public services on a standalone basis, the reality of internet use is that standalone access is not the norm and speeds in excess of the proposed USC would therefore be required. The CRC believes that rural communities need and deserve broadband speeds which will support them now and equip them for the future. Rural communities do not deserve a stop gap solution.
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Where are the not spots for Next Generation Access? CRC has employed Community Broadband Networks modelling tools to estimate the mean distance between neighbours as a proxy for the cost of deploying NGA broadband the greater the distance between neighbours (see Map 2), the greater the cost of the civil engineering works to install fibre-optic cables, for example. We believe there is also likely to be a correlation between this mean distance and the effectiveness of fibre-to-the-cabinet deployments such as BTs programme; many rural areas may not have the necessary street cabinets, and the greater distance between homes means that VDSL technology will be less effective in delivering higher speed services.
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Unsurprisingly, when this data is mapped it highlights that the 60% living in areas most likely to see next generation broadband investments are almost exclusively in deeply urban areas; geographically tightly focused and densely populated areas. We estimate that on average rural homes as defined by the ONS are 30% farther apart than urban homes, and therefore at least 30% more expensive to reach with true NGA services. Focusing on urban areas allows traditional operators to reach contiguous high population areas, creating large-scale islands of connectivity without considering, in the short term at least, how they join the islands together to achieve a seamless national market. This approach in more
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rural areas will result in sub-scale islands of connectivity, requiring a different approach which fosters a joined up patchwork quilt from the outset; something we believe the larger urban schemes will need to address in the future if the market for services is to develop. While it is true that urban areas are likely to see superfast broadband first, it is the rural areas which will need to solve the NGA transformational issues soonest if business and homes are to be receive services which keep pace with their urban counterparts, regardless of whether the solution is based on fibre or wireless.
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Less haste more speed In the next few years, residents and businesses in rural areas will rely far more on high speed internet than they do now to maintain their full potential. However, the signs are that these services will not be available in rural areas and, as a result, people will either fail to maintain that potential or move to urban areas. This could be positive for some market towns which are big enough to attract investment in next generation broadband. A pattern will emerge as business follows the bandwidth.
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Map 4 Number of infrastructure competitors by area. Local Loop Unbundling with 4 competitors with locations of market towns
Ofcom Market Classifications Only BT ADSL services available 2 to 3 operators including BT 4 or more operators
Rural communities out in the cold When other internet service providers were allowed to use BTs network to increase choice for consumers, virtually all chose urban locations. Map 4 shows how rural towns and villages were left out in the cold. Ofcom research shows that offers of free broadband therefore failed to reach rural residents but take up still kept pace with urban areas27. In fact the take-up rate in rural areas for the first time surpassed that of the urban areas. It can be argued that this trend is part of a wider economic development where those living in rural areas are in need to be better connected and stay informed.
27
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http://packages.sky.com/surf - Sky Broadband Connect costs 17 / month in non Sky Broadband areas but 5 / month for Sky Broadband Base in areas covered by their network. 43 Mind the Gap: Digital England a rural perspective
Investment models
The following points are key to financing NGA in rural areas: he Community Broadband Network (CBN) has undertaken work T for the East of England Development Agency examining new models of community trust or community bond investment vehicles. If, for example, 30% of a local communitys households become founders investing, say 2,000 per household these resources could be leveraged to enable additional investments. arbon credits paid for journeys saved by residents and businesses C carrying out activities on-line rather than face-to-face. e.g. having shopping delivered rather than driving to the supermarket, or online video conferences rather than travel to business meetings. Buying, selling or exchanging goods on the internet can also encourage waste prevention and re-use of products so substituting for new products and producing environmental gains and reducing waste which could also be included in the calculation. These could be measured and the carbon saved sold to businesses to offset their own carbon footprint. The revenue generated could be invested in NGA. he business model for the networks is developed on a long-term T utility model. ational Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) N proposes that the government could loan the money to broadband companies. That borrowing could be repaid in later years by a universal broadband levy on the communications and media industries. This thinking leads to the following financial structure:
Table 5 Investor Local community founder investors: 20% of 813,000 households invest 2,000 Carbon Credits (say) Long term loans (EIB?) Government bond (repayable over 10 years) Total
44 Mind the Gap: Digital England a rural perspective
Obviously the business models for these locally-driven networks would need careful structuring to be viable. Government can help to deliver Next Generation Access by finding new ways of working with communities, focusing on taking steps to reduce the cost of middle mile connections which often place punitive costs on operators keen to deliver new services in rural areas; possibly by: sing existing public sector investment in broadband (services into U schools, hospitals and council offices) to reduce the cost of services to communities (case study 4.8). elf-help schemes where work can be carried out by local people S (dig where you live). roviding support to rural entrepreneurs to establish Next Generation P Access. roviding a framework for local initiatives to work on common P standards. ood practice guidance about models of delivery and steps to take, G which would help other communities towards self-help.
Rural communities can help too Third sector organisations are transforming the delivery of services in rural areas through projects to provide advice, support and services to rural residents. Broadband is the foundation for these services. By working innovatively with the public sector, third sector organisations are supporting the delivery of transformational government in rural areas, but in some areas this is not possible due to poor broadband infrastructure. Locally managed projects can deliver services more cost effectively, building on local knowledge and skills within communities. Evidence shows that they can tap into community finance and secure higher take up of these services. Cybermoor in Cumbria has 30% of households connected to its service and is currently upgrading its network to offer fibre to the home and telehealth services to residents. South Witham Broadband provides broadband with a local support service to reach customers who would not normally get a connection through their landline. These community and locally based initiatives have shown that locally derived solutions can go a long way towards solving the problem.
Case study 12
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Healthcare services Transforming healthcare delivery in rural areas can improve access to services for patients and reduce costs for the taxpayer. Current services allow patients to book repeat prescriptions and GP appointments online. In Scotland, video links between community hospitals, allow consultants to do their ward rounds in a hospital and then carry out video consultations with patients remotely. Healthcare providers in rural areas will come under increasing pressure over the next 20 years as the ageing population will require more services from the NHS. At the same time, patients have increasing expectations about the services they will receive. Telehealth services, allowing home monitoring of conditions enables patients to leave hospital early. The potential exists to save journeys to hospitals and prioritise staff time so that medical staff look after those patients who really need support. The most remote, and potentially most costly patients to reach, will be unable to access these services without suitable broadband connections. There is a movement to deliver services remotely. This clearly demonstrates the massive potential that government departments recognise in delivering services online. Rural residents and businesses also want to reap the benefits of accessing these services, and are constrained in many cases by poor bandwidth.
Case study 13
Local media Local newspapers play a vital part in the life of rural communities, providing news, information on events and comment on issues facing an area. The rapid structural changes in the news media caused by falling advertising revenues and increased competition from news websites is directly affecting rural areas.
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Case study 14
NGA in Nuenen in the Netherlands Nuenen is a small market town not far from Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Close the Gap, a social enterprise, enabled fibre to the home provision for 8,000 households in Nuenen and achieved take up rates of 90%, making it the most connected town in the world. The founder of the project, Kees Rovers, a local entrepreneur discovered that the key to getting people to commit and engage is not to discuss the technology but to focus on the people.
29
www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/ laughton_report_2006.pdf
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Here the model followed a bottom-up approach in which residents were asked what it is they find important in their lives. For this community (which has a large proportion of elderly inhabitants) it was felt that healthcare, living longer in their own homes, security and safety, staying in touch with children and grandchildren and other social issues, were the most important aspects of their lives. By explaining to this community how high speed broadband (without discussing technology) could enable and enhance quality of life issues, the vast majority of the residents bought into a shared ownership structure of broadband access called OnsNet which means Our Net. The network has a symmetrical speed of 100Mbps and offers triple play (TV, telephony and internet) for much the same cost as the incumbent and other operators. However, in addition to standard services, the community run their own TV station, have started trials with healthcare applications and other services and have regular meetings in which they develop ideas for further applications and services most appropriate to their needs. There are a number of other unexpected consequences of the Nuenen case which make it interesting to consider in the context of our rural areas30. The use of the network has been to promote interaction and social cohesion in the town: Fitness and activity clubs (such as the Nordic walking now popular with elderly people in the Netherlands) use the network both to promote and record their events; through community reporters using video available over the network; Grandparents report that they use the high quality video services to keep in touch with their grandchildren. Their children and grandchildren use the internet and other services when they visit. Anecdotal evidence suggests that visits become more likely and the grandparents get kudos from their grandchildren. In the early phases of the project, some residents supported the OnsNet to help the community (they were keen on the TV service and telephony but did not intend to use the internet); latterly, more residents particularly the elderly, are beginning to use the Internet services, particularly real time video; The use of the network to provide support services ranging from mainstream healthcare services (such as the monitoring of heart patients and video consultations on diets for diabetics) through to voluntary groups (such as a video calling ring round first thing in the morning run by older people) are increasingly used. It is true that no one single service requires the full capacity of the fibre network as a number of visitors from the UK (particularly Ofcom) have noted. However this misses the point. The business model for OnsNet breaks even at about 30-40% take-up and this community has close to 90%. The network therefore makes a surplus which is retained in the community. In addition, the fact that the community owns the network means that new services and ideas can be tested without any additional running costs. This is a particularly attractive feature of community-owned network assets.
30
Fieldwork undertaken by Brian Condon and Marit Hendriks of the Community Broadband Network in Nuenen during 2008 48 Mind the Gap: Digital England a rural perspective
Skellefte Sweden is a world leader in broadband always appearing near the top of any number of OECD tables despite its sparse population. Some 85% of the broadband projects are owned by some combination of regional utility companies and the municipalities. Against the received wisdom, Lars Hedberg, a spokesman for Swedish fibre broadband schemes, cites the low population density as one of the reasons Sweden is a pioneer in fibre deployment. The reasoning behind this is the necessity for distance learning and eHealthcare in order for the country to function well. Skellefte is a community of around 70,000 people in the rural north of Sweden. With just 10 people per square kilometre, the area is more sparsely populated than Englands most sparsely populated areas, yet 80% of the households are connected to a fibrebased service. The project is a partnership between the community and SkeKraft; a municipal joint stock company and one of the largest energy companies in Sweden. One of the key factors in the success of the project is a sharing of the work between SkeKraft and the community. Such a division of the effort and skills encourages the community to become involved in those elements they feel comfortable executing, while essentially outsourcing the specialist the more esoteric functions. Because the area is so large, 7,200 km2, SkeKraft also provides the project co-ordination function. This structure has kept the cost of connecting a home to around 2,500 while still more than an urban norm, it is considerably less than the anticipated costs of a traditional network build. Customers pay an initial installation fee of 450 and a monthly subscription of around 10 per month for a 10 Mbps broadband service, and 13 for telephony and internet service. There is also a mechanism for recognising further contributions both in kind and financially. Members of the community that are in a position to, for example, dig the trenches for their neighbours, are rewarded, encouraging active community engagement in the project with a safeguard against volunteer fatigue; this is a carefully balanced sustainable project.
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Fibre in rural Vermont, USA ECFiber There are approximately 35 municipally owned fibre to the home networks in the USA, most of which are based on a single city or town. In Vermont, for example, Burlington Telecom is a municipally owned telecommunications network which began connecting customers in early 2006 and has over 4,000 customers. It is operationally cash-flow positive and expects to be profitable when it reaches 5,000 customers in 2009. Vermont itself is a rural state, with an overall average of only 23 people per sq km. In East Central Vermont, where ECFiber began, population density is about 13 people per sq km. ECFiber is a grassroots community-based initiative, working to bring modern, affordable internet and telecommunications access to all residents, business, and institutions within the community. Over the past two years, volunteers from a growing list of towns in east-central Vermont (now twentytwo) investigated the various ways of responding to local demand for high-speed access. Having weighed all options, they concluded that a community-owned and operated fibre-optic network was the best solution, both technically and financially. ECFiber has established a partnership with ValleyNet, a community based non-profit organisation in White River Junction, Vermont, which has been serving local customers for years, to develop a business plan, secure financing, and build and operate the network. The drivers for the initiative are rooted in the communities awareness of the need to be included in the social and business advantages of very high speed broadband31:
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We are at the point with broadband (and cell, land line, electricity, etc) where it no longer makes sense to do business in rural Vermont. Our customers are annoyed beyond the point of jokes about pulling tighter on the string to get a good signal. The rural environment has lifestyle advantages, but the infrastructure handicaps are a severe impediment to doing business in Vermont. David in Vershire, USA
I am a small business owner in rural Vermont. I run two web-based companies. Being a virtual company has allowed me to run my business in many ways that were not possible only a few years ago. With the current economic climate, sometimes I feel that I am one of the few businesses that are growing and hiring... or trying to. We run our meetings with Skype and take advantage of their low cost telephone fees. We video conference and screen share with customers. We provide end user support through Gmail and training videos through Screencast.com and podcasts. By leveraging the web and the many tools now available I am able to run two world-wide businesses with employees, contractors and customers in several continents. The web is accelerating the speed at which business is done around the world, but Vermont is getting left further and further behind. I only hope that a point wont be reached when catch up becomes impossible for our state. At that point, I might well be forced to move to a 1st world state just to grow my business. Barrie in Strafford, USA
The ECFiber initiative is essential to stop the out-migration of young people from Vermont. Broadband is important to middle age people, but it is like air and water to young people. A Vermont without true high speed broadband will become a Vermont with not enough ambitious and productive young people. Expansion of the first generation broadband (cable, DSL, satellite, cellphone-based) that is available in some parts of Vermont is a temporary stopgap measure. These approaches fall far short of what young people (and the employers of young people) want to do with the internet today and in the future. They should ask the advice of young people who grew up with DSL in their homes. These young people can see much more clearly. High speed broadband is certainly a part of their future, but just maybe, not here in Vermont. I wholeheartedly urge my representatives to fund and build the ECFiber system without delay. Paul in East Thetford, USA
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Next steps
Recommendations
The CRC calls upon Government to lead the way in bridging the gap on Next Generation Access for rural areas. CRC offers support through its roles of rural watchdog, advocate and adviser. We have set out our recommendations in the table below and indicated who we believe should lead on each.
Table 6 Lead responsibility BIS and DCMS Chapter 3
The CRC recommends that existing and future business incentives apply to digital technology and Infrastructure development. i.e. installing fibre optic cable should be an approved business expense and therefore tax deductable. The CRC would like to ensure that investments made through FE/ HE colleges, publicly-funded private training providers and Job Centre Plus are rural proofed to ensure that these meet the needs of rural employers, employees and would-be employees. The CRC recommends that where possible e-learning support for SMEs and vocational studies should provide support for access to digital technologies e.g. laptops on loan, broadband discount grants for infrastructure development. This will reduce the technological barriers to distance and on the job learning. CRC recommends DCSF enable the opportunity for rural primary and secondary schools to offer broadband opportunities to the wider community. CRC recommends all service funding, planning and delivery plans to be rural proofed in order to address the needs of rural communities. CRC would like to see where appropriate a significant proportion of all new rural housing being designed and equipped to enable home working. We are encouraged to see the new PPS4 (currently under consultation) recognises that new ways of working such as live/work or the use of residential properties for home working have an impact upon spatial planning which should be considered when planning for economic development. CRC recommend that new developments have the ability to access NGA and communications provision is identified in any local plans.
BIS, DWP and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES)
3 3 3
4 4
CRC recommend that alternative investment models for rural areas should be BIS, DCMS and the explored and adopted. Treasury Supported by Community Broadband Network The CRC wants to see more support for communities to help themselves in delivering their own solutions to digital technology challenges. We would wish to see a comprehensive support network for community broadband networks including practical advice and guidance to help communities deliver their own local solutions by setting up community broadband networks. CRC recommends that the Government regularly monitors the level at which the Universal Service Commitment is set to ensure it keeps pace with the fast pace of demand for bandwidth, and that appropriate action is taken to ensure rural areas reach this standard. CRC offers to take the lead in developing this recommendation for rural areas
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Table 6 (continued)
CRC recommends that the digital champion role is rural proofed to ensure a clear remit to tackle the rural digital divide. CRC fully supports the regional Digital Inclusion Advisors and recommends that these positions are also rural proofed to ensure that rural needs are addressed. CRC recommends that new public sector online services should be designed equitably, so that rural service users are not disadvantaged by the speed of their internet connection. CRC recommends that the Government should initiate a full scale review of the barriers to delivering services equitably both now and in the future as new services are designed. CLG and the Digital Inclusion Action Plan team Supported by CRC 4
CLG
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DSL
ADSL
ADSL2+
ONS LSOA
Office of National Statistics The ONS is the independent body responsible for collating and publishing statistics relating to the UK economy and society. Lower Super Output Area LSOAs are small geographical areas defined and used by the ONS for calculating statistics in a consistent way. Each LSOA has between 1,000 and 1,500 residents. DACS is a technology used by BT in more rural communities where there is insufficient capacity from a community to the telephone exchange. DACS is used to combine two phone services onto a single phone line. While this technology provided an economical solution for voice-grade services it does not support broadband. Although Ofcom requires BT to make reasonable steps to remove the technology when a customer requests broadband, the regulator falls short of mandating them. LTE is the main candidate to become the fourth generation (4G) mobile phone technology. Unlike todays 3G services, LTE is an IP-only broadband data service which can potentially deliver up to 1,000 Mbps when the technology is ready to be deployed in the coming years. To support voice communications LTE will require a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) application on the handset to provide traditional telephony services. The unmetered amount of data a customer is allowed to send and receive using their broadband connection. Once this initial allowance is used up, mobile operators typically enforce a high per megabyte excess charge. Typical mobile broadband allowances are lower than terrestrial broadband allowances, so it is not usually economically viable to use a mobile broadband service as a direct replacement for a traditional terrestrial broadband service.
DACS
LTE
Transfer allowance
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Table 7 (continued)
Rabbit Rabbit grant scheme Rabbit was an approximated acronym for Remote Area Broadband Inclusion Trial, and was a grant programme for small businesses of up to 700 towards the cost of a satellite broadband service in areas where ADSL broadband was unavailable. The programme was run by a number of Regional Development Agencies but in no longer in operation. Examples can be found on Worcestershire County Councils and Stafford Borough Councils websites: www.worcestershire.gov.uk/home/wccindex/wcc-ibs/wcc-broadband/ wcc-broadband-rabbit.htm www.staffordbc.gov.uk/static/page5723.htm SaaS Software as a Service SaaS is where software is hosted on the internet rather than on your computer. The most common examples are GoogleDocs, which provide office applications via a web browser, and Salesforce.com, which provides customer relationship and sales tools through a browser. SaaS is becoming a more common and popular way for smaller businesses and individuals to access applications which they would otherwise need to buy and install on their own computers, lowering the technical literacy requirements, reducing the costs, while holding data remotely where is can be accessed from anywhere and can be backed up on a professional data centre. It is a particularly good was for smaller companies to access software solutions that might previously have only been available to large organisations such as customer relationship tools.
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Commission for Rural Communities John Dower House Crescent Place Cheltenham Glos. GL50 3RA Telephone 01242 521381 Facsimile 01242 584270 Email [email protected] www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk
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