Demand for broadband goes skyhigh - 16th August (Surrey and Hampshire Herald Group)

Herald article sparks surge in Alton registrations

FOLLOWING a massive response to our recent article about local broadband internet con­nection, the Alton Herald is getting behind the local campaign to bring broadband internet ser­vices to the area.

The campaign, Broadband Alton, was launched at the start of June this year by locals Peter Garner and Duncan McGregor, after BT announced that broadband ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) services would not be installed in Alton.

The local campaign is built around a website at www.broadbandalton.co.uk, on which local people can sign a petition to show their support for the installation of local broadband services.

Since the article on The Herald's front page on July 19, entries on the petition have shot. up from 87 private users and 22 business users, to 273 individuals and 58 businesses.

The number of pre-registrations reported by BT has reached 113 in just six weeks. BT has stressed that it will assess registrations before deciding on an installation at Alton.

ADSL is a high-speed digital internet connection capable of carrying data over existing telephone lines at up to 500 kilobits per second, 10 times the speed of a conventional telephone connection. This allows for much faster downloading, smoother video and audio streaming and quicker MP3 loading.

Other benefits of ADSL are that it is always switched on, eliminating the wait to connect to the web, and that it does not affect the service of your phone line, allowing you to make and receive calls while online.

For a person to be able to receive broadband services, their premises have to be located within approximately five kilometres of the nearest tele­phone exchange, and this exchange must be fitted with the appropriate ADSL equipment.

Although towns as close as Bordon, Farnham and Petersfield are equipped with the new service, the exchange serving Alton was not going to be equipped with ADSL technology, as internet traffic tests carried out by BT at the Alton exchange indicated an apparent lack of demand.

The resulting outcry caused a change in policy.

Duncan McGregor said: "Since we started the campaign, British Telecom has launched a scheme to allow people to preregister for ADSL. When the number of registrations reaches a trigger threshold, they will install the equipment, and we can have the broadband internet connection we need. The threshold for Alton has not yet been announced, but indications are that the number will be between 300 and 400"

"At first the pre-registration scheme was chaotic, so we held back from recommending that people register. Now things have settled down and most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are participating, we have to convert our support into registrations.

"The wholesale branch of British Telecom collates pre-registrations from ISPs, but does not accept registrations itself. Different suppliers are offering different broadband deals, but there is no need to decide which to go with now -you can make up your mind when our exchange is enabled. The important thing is to pre-register to get your number onto BT's list. Our website tells you what registration involves, and how to do it.

"The support we have received from the public has been fantastic," says Mr McGregor. "Now we have to convert this support into pre-registrations so that BT know that we are serious. We are asking people who have signed the petition to return to our website , at www.broadbandalton.co.uk to find out how to register with BT.

"It is important for us to be able to gauge the real level of demand. If you are already on the petition, please come back to the website to let us know whether you have pre-registered, plan to sometime soon, or are just showing your support. If you haven't signed the petition and are already online, do come and add weight to the campaign."

While the public have been quick to lend their support following The Herald article, local businesses have been slower to come forward. Only a tiny fraction of the town's businesses have pre-registered for ADSL.

Mr McGregor said: "Alton is a breeding ground for small businesses, many of them involved in the new information economy. A broadband internet connection is essential to their work, but in Alton this access is very expensive compared to other local towns where ADSL has slashed the cost of broadband access.

"It's not only new hi-tech businesses that would benefit from broadband internet access. Consider how your business could make use of email, the vast amount of information on every subject on the web, online catalogues from suppliers and competitors, and access to a global marketplace.

"Maybe a broadband connection would allow you or your staff to work from home some days and save the time, expense and environmental impact of a commute. If only 10 per cent of the small businesses in the town were to demand broadband ADSL we would meet BT's trigger threshold and the installation could begin.

"I am working from home at the moment, and I am under pressure to rent office space in another town, because I can't get the kind of internet service that I need to support my business.

"If the service isn't offered in this area, then enterprises wanting to establish themselves in Alton will be forced to go elsewhere. The economy of our town is under serious threat if we don't address this issue."