I'm putting this out for comment. Please feel free to make any suggestions you feel worthwhile.
I have come to understand the dilemma of trying to put in place a community project. It is easy to gain support - a small number of people will always be found to help and support the project. The critical factor is broad engagement. How do you not only inform the whole community about the project but engage them to the extent that they are willing to express a genuine level of interest. Without that broad support the project goes nowhere.
And so I move on to the next phase of my project - community engagement. And I would like to ask for your help. Below is the messaging that we are putting together in an endeavour to broadly engage my local community for our NGA project (through a variety of means). This has been compiled from comments received from the existing supporters as well as my own thoughts and experiences and, of course, those other rural activists with whom I have the pleasure of engaging. I'd like to ask for your thoughts now, as well. Am I missing anything? Am I misrepresenting anything?
All input will be very gratefully received!
LECB (Lane End Community Broadband) will deliver a new & improved broadband service
* Superior bandwidth to allow access to all Internet information & services
* Next generation telephony solution
* Freeview digital TV service (possible to include in the package)
* Access to a wide variety of Internet-based applications (e.g. BBC iPlayer HD, SkyPlayer, XBox Live, Online Banking etc.)
* Potential for a new range of public services (Telecare - healthcare via the Internet, eGovernment)
No need for a BT connection
* One line for Broadband, telephone & (potentially) Freeview TV
* Retention of your existing phone number
* Potential for future integration with your mobile phone
A more reliable service
* Our network will be the latest technology, unlikely the copper plant that BT uses that is more than 100 years old
* It is far less likely to go wrong
* If it does, fixes will be done far more quickly as we will only serve our community
A less costly alternative
* LECB aims to offer this package at around the same, or even less, than you currently pay
A service that will be available to everyone
* We will offer a limited speed, entry-level service that will be available free of charge for those who cannot afford a broadband service
* Digital inclusion is vital for the future of our community and our country
Protect the Future for your Family
* This will be a flagship project that will be used by generations to come
* It will increase the visibility of the Lane End community
* Next generation broadband services can increase the value of your house
Friday 6 November 2009
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Community Engagement is always a bit of a black art. First question I would ask is: who is your community? It sounds a bit obvious but even communities have communities and engaging the whole community might not be possible. Second question would be: who are the movers and shakers? It's not always obvious this one it might be the head of a faith group or the post mistress or the hairdresser: Third question is: where does your community like to meet, where are they most comfortable? The village hall, a community centre, the post office, the local shop? It might not be where you expect but it's where you will have to start. Lastly, what are people interested in today? How does your offer meet their need? A golden rule ought to be meet the need then backfill, don't start at the beginning. And finally: delegate, spread the load and build capacity. I know you will have your core group of keenies but find your champions and vlaue them they might be the gardening club, or the cross stitch club or the WI or the youth group, you might find you have champions in a number of small communities, whatever it is feed them with love and they will grow, believe me.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are doing fine. We are in the same position in our little world up here in Lancashire. Our problem is the backhaul. No matter what sort of network we build on our patch (currently we have wifi and fibre)we are limited by access to backhaul. It costs £76K per year just to get a pipe out from the nearest city because of BT charges and government tax.
ReplyDeleteThere are many communities within our community as the previous commenter and you have both said. All support our endeavors but all are mad keen on their own projects and so limited active support will ever come from them although they are engaged. Your core has to be people really interested in getting true broadband, you need folks who understand the difference. We are concentrating on building a tiny network that is so good everyone will want one. If we could just show everyone what they are missing they will then be prepared to make more effort to get it.
Currently most 'normal' people haven't a clue. They just think of broadband as something everyone moans about as being too slow and they aren't interested in promises. Our only solution is to JFDI somehow. There is no quick fix. We are piping in 100meg to the village institute as part of an experiment. Once people see how good that is they will start to think...
'...how can I get a bit of that in my house?' - and that is three quarters of our battle won.
you can lead an orse to water. But it will only drink when it is ready, and the bulk of the population are too skeptical, especially after the failures of the telcos to deliver what they promised. (nobody reads the small print).
chris
Here are a selection reasons to want Next Generation Access that we've used at NextGenUs UK to energise local community demand FWIW.
ReplyDeleteNext Generation Access (NGA) at speeds of up to 10MB/s, not available from any other provider, will revolutionise communications within the parish bringing many benefits such as
For domestic Users
FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Faster communications with friends and family enabling you to upload and download photos, videos, use web cams to keep in touch
REDUCED PHONE BILLS
Through internet telephones, the ability to talk to other local neighbours users free and reduced call costs to regular telephones via VoIP (Voice over IP)
HDTV
The potential to view High Definition television and films
EDUCATION
Access to all the educational tools that are only currently available in schools. The
internet is now an essential and integral part of the education process and is destined to become even more so.
HEALTH
The future potential to have real time access to health services
For Business users
QUICK EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
NGA gives you a high-speed, always-on connection to the internet which is typically at least one hundred times faster than dial-up connections. One of the key elements to the success of any business is the ability to communicate quickly, effectively and efficiently
SPEED AND TIME
The main difference between NGA and traditional telephone communications is that NGA is based on advanced digital technology, and the telephone is based on now-obsolete analogue technology – note the difference between B & W analogue TV and the new digital colour – that is the same difference NGA can make for you.
COST SAVING
Despite paying a flat fee for NGA together with any charges associated with additional data transfers, you can save money while also making
more use of the internet. The cost of NGA will be balanced by saving time and resources - thanks to a more streamlined and efficient way of doing business.
NGA provides the capacity to support VoIP (Voice over IP) which offers lower call costs and more sophisticated features than traditional telephone services –
With NGA VoIP, people now have the choice to dispense with their old telephone service completely and save money by eliminating the cost of line rental – and remember the Government's £6 Broadband Tax levied on copper telephone lines is expected to come into force imminently, another reason for switching to NextGenUs NGA, based on modern Fibre Optic and Wireless technologies.
VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS
Enjoy the advantages of being able to have ‘face to face’ communications with customers and suppliers. (Look them in the eye when they tell you ‘you can have it tomorrow’!!)
Holiday let businesses can have a web-cam’ promoting the blooming gardens of local view from the facility, The duck pond; bird table etc.
FORM FILLING
Do you have lots of forms to fill in for ‘officialdom’? Interactive ‘video conferencing development now allows direct person to person communications with visual contact on helping to complete awkward documents. Each participant can see the form and how it is completed.
Future developments may also allow this with Doctor/Patient communications; Council Office/ Citizen; Tax Office/Customer.
PROPERTY SECURITY
The facility to view premises from anywhere in the world using video camera attached to home computer or a dedicated IP security camera