Memorandum submitted by Emeritus Professor Peter Cobbold (DIW 1)

re Rural Broadband.

I write from the rural broadband blackspot of Derwen in Denbighshire. This month, fed up with 28k dial-up and a mobile signal only capable of supporting speech not data (if I stand in the porch), I decided to use my scientific skills to resolve the problem myself.

As scientist I was aware of the capabilities of point-to point wireless broadband and contacted a local IT company ( BoynsNet, Ruthin ). With Robert Boyns ( BSC Physics, MSc Digital Eng.) we devised a simple extension to his own ptpwbb system that would meet the bb needs of 10-12 properties in the digitally excluded south Clwyd valley.

The dwellings are all on ageing/ancient 10km-long phone lines from the Clawddnewydd. The dwellings depicted in the image are spread over ca 2.5 km diameter with differences in elevation af ca 100m. Despite the terrain I had, in a few hours, devised line-of-sight layouts that would give these properties up to 8Mbps. (jpg attached shows where they are).I am currently finessing the detailed location of aerials at each building.

These dwellings come within the remit of the WASC, and

include: several with teenage school pupils who are given homework that demands broadband access( eg Google Earth for Geography) ; several small businesses - in tourism, IT and farming, and two medical doctors (whose capabilities in on-line triage are denied the nation through lack of bb) are all severely disadvantaged. One professional home-worker is disadvantaged to the point of having to spend £250per month on satellite broadband.

The point I wish to emphasise is that point to point wireless bb technology is simple, unobtrusive and does not need a broadcasting licence. The equipment is all off-the-shelf and costs around £500-700 per dwelling plus wiring and setting up the software. So why is BT/Open Reach not implementing ptpwbb in and area such as ours?

In order to better inform their deliberations the WASC would I believe greatly benefit from a practical demonstration of the ease of building a ptpwbb network. So I propose that I provide that demonstration by linking the dwellings on the attached image (excepting Cilgoed and Fawnog Rydd) with point to point wireless broadband with a target completion date of the deadline for submissions to WASC of

23 Jan. I would contract to supply WASC with a full description of the design and implementation of the project and a further report on the network's performance and customer feedback after three months operation. The grant I would require to do this for ten dwellings, including groundwork and wiring in each building is £10,000. (ie £1k per dwelling ). As scientist I cannot conceive of more effective evidence that WASC could use by way of persuading BT/Open Reach that simple technology IS available NOW to provide remote rural properties throughout Wales with real broadband, up to 8Mbps.

November 2008