Introducing broadband

Broadband is nothing more than a way of connecting to the Internet at much greater speeds than can be achieved with a conventional modem or an ISDN connection.

There are many ways that a broadband connection can be provided. The commonest is known as ADSL, and is yet another way of connecting by telephone. It is the basis of the widely advertised services from many ISPs. However, it requires someone (usually BT) to install special equipment in the local exchange. Garboldisham, like many rural exchanges, has not yet been upgraded.

In early 2003, it seemd unlikely that this conversion would happen in the foreseeable future. EEDA announced a competition for proposals for community groups to provide alternative access methods. We were successful in getting a grant, awarded in July 2003, to provide broadband to Garboldisham using a satellite link to the Village Hall and a wireless connection from there to homes and businesses. For a number of reasons, this has been less successful than we had hoped. A statement of the current situation and our plans will be found on our subscribers' page.

In April 2004, BT announced plans to convert almost all exchanges in the country, including ours, to ADSL. This should provide broadband service to nearly everyone who wants it in the Garboldisham exchange area. The official conversion date is 20th April 2005, and it seems from other exchanges that the programme is more or less on schedule. Information on getting ADSL service once the exchange is converted will be found on our ADSL broadband page.