{"id":1433,"date":"2011-12-15T10:47:55","date_gmt":"2011-12-15T09:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/digital-citizen.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=1433"},"modified":"2011-12-21T00:14:09","modified_gmt":"2011-12-20T23:14:09","slug":"b4rn-broadband-for-rural-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/digital-citizen.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=1433","title":{"rendered":"B4RN – Broadband For The Rural North"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Heading to Lancaster and the launch of “B4RN”\u00a0 an innovative project in bringing FTTH to the people, by the people.\u00a0 This from their site<\/p>\n

The purpose of the project is to take a new approach to the ownership, financial and deployment models used traditionally, and still proposed by, telecommunications companies. These models invariably leave rural areas outside of the scope of economic viability for the telecoms companies, and have helped to create the Digital Divide between rural and urban Britain.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>The event was packed – standing room only and a lively audience with lots and lots of questions.\u00a0 It seemed surprising to some local people there that there were so many “foreigners” there.\u00a0 As a Yorkshireman, based in Kent, I am foreign in so many ways!\u00a0 One distinguished-looking lady kept asking “Why are they here? What are they doing here?”\u00a0 and someone else said (and you can see it on video) “The eyes of the world are on you!”.<\/p>\n

It was a great event – the various politicos; Mayors etc seemed impressed and quite surprised at the strong turn-out.\u00a0 A notable (and worrying) absence of Lancaster Council officers and County Council people; and no one from BDUK (though I’m sure they would have been welcome!).\u00a0 You may speculate why they were not there…<\/p>\n

Here’s a video of the Mayor cutting the cake!<\/p>\n