Category: Community Broadband

Superfast Broadband Has Arrived

You can now sign up for fibre broadband in Kinlochbervie.

Go to the following site and enter  your address.

https://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/when-can-i-get-fibre.aspx

Then click the button that reads:  “Great news.  Superfast fibre is in your area.  Find out which Service Providers can offer you Superfast fibre broadband today”.

You can check out what speeds you might expect at your address at:

https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/main.html.

Kinlochbervie residents can expect improved speeds within 2.5 km of the exchange.  If you live beyond 2.5 km, satellite is really the only current method available of increasing internet speeds.  The Better Broadband Voucher Scheme provides a grant of £350 towards satellite installation.

Community Broadband Scotland has provided a helpful update on the current broadband situation in Kinlochbervie.

Kinlochbervie Broadband Update Dec 2016

 

 

When Can I Get Fibre Broadband?

The village was busy with construction in December.  The fibre cabinet was installed in Dog Street and work was underway building trenches to carry the fibre optic cable.  You can’t order superfast broadband yet but it shouldn’t be too much longer. Scourie has already been activated and customers who have signed up have been given a start date in February.

To keep track of the status of the fibre band rollout for your address, check:

https://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/when-can-i-get-fibre.aspx

Once fibre service is ready in Kinlochbervie, you can check out what speeds you might expect at your address at https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/main.html.  Until the service is ready, this site only shows the current speeds.

Kinlochbervie residents can expect improved speeds within 2.5 km of the exchange.  If you live beyond 2.5 km, satellite is really the only current method available of increasing internet speeds.  The Better Broadband Voucher Scheme provides a grant of £350 towards satellite installation.

Community Broadband Scotland has provided a helpful update on the current broadband situation in Kinlochbervie.

Kinlochbervie Broadband Update Dec 2016

 

 

Project Updates – 1 August 2016

Much has happened since the last updates in May.  Please click on the Projects tab to view more information about each of our projects.

  • Loch Clash – Phase 1.  The camper van site is almost completed.  All that remains is the electrical connection, the placement of signs and the final cleanup.
  • Loch Clash – Phase 2.  We were awarded £9,200 from Awards for All in April for a Business Plan.  We are currently trying to secure funding for the shortfall for the Business Plan and for other costs associated with the planning work for Phase 2.
  • 17 Manse Road – We were awarded a grant of £2,000 from the Stronger Sutherland initiative.  This brings the total that we have raised to £22,000.  Renovation work began in June.
  • 18 Manse Road – We have submitted a Business Plan to Highland Council.  The Council’s Resources Committee will consider whether the house can be transferred to us at their meeting at the end of August.  A total of  £17,000 towards the costs of renovating this house has been raised.
  • Community Broadband.  Superfast broadband is expected to be “rolled out” to Kinlochbervie by the end of 2016 with the installation by BT OpenReach of a fibre cabinet in the village.  This will benefit only those who live up to approximately 2.5 km of the cabinet.  However, the Scottish Government has pledged that superfast broadband will be available to all premises in Scotland by 2021.
  • Community Council Minutes.  The Kinlochbervie Community Company is not part of the Community Council; however, the minutes can be viewed/downloaded from our website.  The minutes are also available at the Kinlochbervie community website and at the local garage.

North West Sutherland Community Broadband Meeting

There will be an area-wide meeting on 13 June 2016 in Elphin to discuss community broadband options for communities in North West Sutherland and whether there is interest in joining together.  The meeting is being organised by Community Broadband Scotland.  We will be there along with community representatives from covering the entire region from Assynt to Tongue.

Community Broadband Study – Pattern of Broadband Speeds

The Community Broadband Study has been completed.  This was sponsored by Community Broadband Scotland.  The purpose of the study was to collect information about the quality of broadband service in the Kinlochbervie area and the interest in faster broadband.  The results are based on 64 completed questionnaires.

Click the link below to view the whole report.

Kinlochbervie Community Broadband Study 21 March 2016

Click on map to view enlarged image.

Broadband speeds decline with distance from the village centre.  The map displays broadband speeds in the area.

Pattern of Broadband Speeds

 

 

 

Community Broadband Survey – Update February 21, 2016

There is one week left to do complete the Community Broadband Survey.  The easiest way is online:

http://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/klb_broadband

The purpose of the survey is to discover the pattern of broadband speeds in the Kinlochbervie area, whether people are satisfied with their broadband speeds and whether there is interest in faster broadband.  Superfast broadband is being rolled out across Scotland but under current plans, it will not reach remote communities like ours.  The Community Broadband Survey is necessary before we can move on to the second stage in the Community Broadband Scotland program which is an assessment of technical solutions.

The survey will be open until February 29, after which the results will be tabulated and put on this website.

Community Broadband Survey

We have sent over 200 questionnaires to households in the Kinlochbervie area.  The purpose of the survey is to discover broadband speeds in this area and to assess demand for faster broadband.

The quickest way to do the survey is to complete it online – it just takes a few minutes:

http://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/klb_broadband

You may also fill in the survey by hand and post it to us or drop it off in the striped boxes (at Garage & at Ceilidh House).  Click the links below for copies of the questionnaire and the covering letter.

KLB Broadband Questionnaire

Community Broadband Covering Letter

We also want to hear from people who have holiday homes or second homes in the area.

The deadline for returning the survey is Friday 26 February 2016.

Update on Community Broadband Study – January 2016

Community Broadband Scotland has approved funding for us to carry out a Stage 1 study to determine what broadband speeds people in Kinlochbervie currently receive and whether there is interest in receiving faster broadband.  Once the necessary paperwork for the grant has been signed, we will start sending out questionnaires.

For more information on the Community Broadband program, please visit:  http://www.communitybroadbandscotland.org

Update on 17 Manse Road – January 2016

The former school house at 17 Manse Road has been vacant for over 7 years.  Currently owned by Highland Council, the Kinlochbervie Community Company is in the final stages of signing a long-term lease for the property (20 years).  We are also in the process of applying  for funding for essential repairs.  We intend to bring the house up to a habitable state and to make it available for rent as family accommodation.  The Highland Small Communities Housing Trust have drawn up a draft proposal for managing the property on our behalf.  Any revenue from rental of the property would help support other initiatives of the Community Company such as acquiring the house next door at 18 Manse Road which became vacant in September.