ABbA Celebrates Fifth Birthday
| Published: 1st June 2008 19:30 |
ABbA – the Abthorpe Broadband Association Ltd, our little not-for-profit company owned by villagers, is celebrating its fifth birthday.
Celebrating is perhaps not the correct word as the anniversary has simply arrived without any formal recognition. Back in 2002 the surface of our main through road was dug up so that a thick fibre-optic internet cable could be laid. Many villagers hoped that after suffering the upheaval of traffic lights and road works on our quiet lanes, it would be possible for our community to be connected to a high speed internet service via that cable. Sadly it was not to be! But a team of villagers decided that we should adopt a DIY approach using wi-fi radio signals instead of telephone lines to connect our businesses and homes to the world-wide-web. RABBIT grants (Remote Area Broadband Inclusion Trial) were obtained from a government agency keen to ensure that all parts of the country were connected to the web.
This money paid for the infrastructure. Initially back in 2003 the monthly connection fee was £25 but as more and more villagers came on-line with ABbA the fee was reduced in stages to £5 and then as the not-for-profit company had far more money than it needed, the AGM in May 2007 decided that the service should be free for the immediate future.
At the next Annual General Meeting scheduled for Wednesday 1st October 2008 at 7:30pm in The Old School, ABbA’s volunteer directors intend to propose that the service should remain free for another year. Over two thirds of homes and businesses in the village are connected to ABbA’s broadband network as well as some in the neighbouring communities of Slapton and Wappenham. Due to a dedicated team of volunteers the network has been remarkable stable. Occasionally the equipment in one of the access points needs rebooting or a tree needs to be pruned so that our wireless signals are not impeded.
ABHOTSPOT in our pub the New Inn allows anyone owning a wi-fi equipped laptop computer to use our free service. At the 2007 British Grand Prix a Formula 1 team was reported using this community facility to download software from its factory in France. The village is grateful to the team of enthusiasts who have worked to provide such an efficient free broadband service.
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