Social network as villagers lay their own internet cable
FOR years they have had to struggle without a reliable internet connection.
But now locals in a Scottish community have come up with a solution – laying 22 miles of cable in a trench they will dig themselves.
In the absence of any public or private plans to deliver a fibreoptic connection, volunteers from Balquhidder, Stirlingshire, plan to get to work with shovels and spades, while local farmers are set to help out with their diggers.
Villagers hope to secure funding of around £300,000 for the project, which aims to bring super-fast broadband to some 200 homes.
The two locals driving the plan are scientist Richard Harris, who has led the community’s broadband campaign for ten years, and retired police officer David Johnston.
Mr Johnston, 67, said: ‘We have been given assurances of public funding. Our ambition is to get everyone connected.’
Volunteer diggers will have to contend with stone-strewn soil, boulders, tree roots and other obstacles.
The trench will be dug in line with fences where possible, while almost four miles of cable will be laid in Loch Voil to minimise the amount of digging required.
Mr Harris, 59, who runs a business from his home, currently has to rely on satellite services for his internet connection.
He said: ‘The farmers will do most of the digging with the machines and we will have volunteers who will help out with that. After that we will be looking for particular people to train on how to install the cable.’
Retired IT manager Andrew Poulter, 70, who lives in the area, is willing to lend a hand.
He said: ‘I’m treasurer of the local magazine.
‘There are minutes to do, banking etc. The slow connecdifficult. tion makes all these things a pain.
‘I might have to learn to fuse connections and I’ve got my spade too. There’s a real sense of community here.’
Café owner Andrew Leishman, 52, said the current internet situation makes everyday tasks very ‘It would be fantastic to get this done,’ he said.
After years of disappointment in getting broadband, locals believe their luck has changed.
A mobile phone firm recently paid BT to install fibre-optic cable to the site of a mast which is set to be erected in the village.
This has reduced the amount of cable the group will have to lay and cuts the potential cost of the community’s broadband project in half, to around £300,000.
Villagers are looking to secure funding from Stirling Council, Community Broadband Scotland and private investors.
They hope further meetings with their potential funders will help to iron out the last few details.
Mr Harris said: ‘With the public funding we are hoping to secure and some private investment we can get stuck in.’
‘A real sense of community’