As we saw with the roll-out of first generation broadband, which delivered both better connection speeds than dial-up plus an always-on connection, a raft of innovative services followed on, that have substantially changed the way many of us live and work. Think of the rise of e-commerce, and the huge popularity of social networking services as just two examples. Who would have predicted the importance of such services when we were connecting to the internet via dial-up?
We are now approaching a second revolution with the advent of super-fast fibre connectivity. We can only begin to imagine the new services that will arise from having a fibre network. A community connected with a 100Mbps symmetric connection (and with the potential for speeds ten times that) benefits from an array of social, economic and environmental outcomes:
Rural communities like the Colne Valley compete, whether we like it or not, in a globalised economy. In order for our local economy to prosper we need to keep jobs and businesses here, and we need to be able to attract new businesses to base their operations here, employ and invest in local people, and spend their money with other local businesses.
For many of us the Colne Valley is a great place to live, with its outstanding natural environment, good transport links, and a good quality of life. In terms of connectivity the story is less positive, with many users reporting connection speeds well below average, and many local people cannot receive Freeview due to the local geography.
In the new knowledge economy, with the increasing importance of communications networks and digital industries, great scenery is simply not enough. Increasingly the availability of high speed data connectivity will be a critical issue in deciding where people live and work, and where businesses choose to locate.
Within the next few years the major urban centres in the UK - including Manchester and Leeds - will have high speed networks. In order to protect our local economy and create a robust digital platform on which to build for the future, we must be able to compete with these urban centres in terms of speed and quality of connectivity.
With a high speed network available to businesses and consumers locally, we will see businesses, jobs and investment coming in to the Colne Valley. We will see a growth in the number of people choosing to work from home rather than face the daily commute into Manchester, Leeds and elsewhere, with a concomitant boost to the local economy as a result of these people spending their working day locally rather than in a neighbouring city.
The speeds achievable with a fibre network make services like live video conferencing readily available to businesses, enabling virtual meetings and sales presentations in high definition. The fact that fibre can deliver 100Mbps upstream as well as down means that businesses can move large volumes of data quickly and cheaply, perhaps running applications, web sites and online services from their own offices rather than using remote hosting services, lowering costs and increasing the opportunities for creativity and innovation. At a recent conference the business potential of these next generation networks was likened to a having the power of city to bring people together to deliver innovation and creativity, but without the costs and challenges of having a real city.
The social benefits of fibre could have a dramatic impact on the quality of life of many groups within our community. As has been seen in Nuenen in Holland, which has been connected with a fibre network for several years now, older people especially can benefit from a number of innovative services made possible by the high bandwidth available. Imagine being able to live independently in your own home, avoiding the disruption and costs of going into a care home, with the peace of mind of always being within instant reach of professional care and support services through your TV and telephone handset. Or being able to have a live video consultation with your GP without having to travel all the way to the surgery. Fibre brings people and communities closer together, drastically reducing distances and eliminating the isolation often experienced by elderly people.
It is estimated that it costs £500 per night to keep someone in hospital. In many cases that person could be equally well cared for at home, with the benefit of a high speed connection enabling consultant and nursing staff to maintain close monitoring of the patient. Coupled with site visits as required, the benefits to the patient and NHS budgets could be substantial.
The fear of crime remains a very real challenge for communities like ours, especially amongst vulnerable groups. Having instant on-screen access to a police officer could have a massive impact in this area, as well as taking the whole notion of community policing into a new era.
The educational possibilities of the network are limitless, enabling rich online learning experiences for all. The high bandwidth available means that you no longer have to be in the classroom to be able to fully engage in the learning experience.
Our vision is to create a community-owned network, where everyone has a real stake and a real sense of ownership in this critically important utility. This alone will help to strengthen community cohesion, and coupled with the possibilities for local media channels such as community based radio and TV there is huge potential to enhance our sense of community and build social capital.
Recent studies show that the vast majority of vehicles on the roads in the Colne Valley are engaged in short local journeys of just a few miles. If the network can eliminate the need for perhaps just 15 or 20% of those journeys it could have a massive positive impact on traffic congestion in our village centres, air quality and carbon emissions.
Increases in home working as a result of better connectivity will also help to reduce the carbon emissions of our community. The ability to bring people together through the network impacts directly on the need to travel.
Additionally our plans see the network being powered using renewable energy sources.
These are just some of the more obvious positive impacts that a high speed fibre network will deliver to our community.