Dig it ourselves

With a broadband connection, so...

Café owner Andrew Leishman, 52, and his son Angus, 21, said the current internet situation makes everyday tasks such as sending and receiving emails a chore.

“It would be fantastic to get this done,” he said.

After years of disappointment the group hopes their luck has changed – and in some regards it has.

Above, getting stuck in. Below, Angus and Andrew.

A mobile phone company recently paid for BT to install fibre- optic cable up to its soon- to- be- erected phone mast in the village. This unexpected development has reduced the amount of cable the group would have to lay and cut the potential cost of the community’s broadband project in half to around

£300,000.

This map shows where the group plan to lay the cable.

They are l ooking to secure funding from Stirling Council, Community Broadband Scotland and private investors.

They hope further meetings with their potential funders will help iron out the last few details of their bid.

Richard said: “With the public funding we are hoping to secure and some private investment we can get stuck in.”

OTHER WAYS OF GETTING SUPERFAST BROADBAND

Satellite: No need for underground or overhead cables, all you need is a satellite dish and a modem. Mobile: Uses the mobile phone network to bring a signal to your home. Works well where there is a strong 3G or 4G reception, but not at all if there is no such signal. Wireless: The most popular solution in rural Scotland. Uses a transmitter to beam a broadband signal from an area with high existing speeds.

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