Lothian Broadband asks: how slow do you go?

Co-operative company Lothian Broadband is on a mission to discover just how poorly served the rural communities of East Lothian are with internet access over phone lines.

Despite all the constant press advertising for super-fast services the reality is that for rural communities and villages such as Pencaitland, the chances of getting it are almost non-existent.

Now Lothian Broadband, which started many years ago, providing wireless internet initially to Garvald & Morham, is aiming to ramp up its super-fast wireless web solution for other communities that have thus far been left in the slow lane of the so-called information super-highway.

How you can help

To help the team at Lothian Broadband understand where the not-spots are around East Lothian point your web browser at http://speedtest.net, run the test (it’s free) and then, once you see the results please then share them by posting the provided link either to Twitter @lothianbb or to the Facebook page for the co-operative company.

And if you can, please also give your postcode. Here’s what a typical result from Speedtest looks like.

What a speedtest result looks like: In this case it shows very poor performance for a broadband user living in Pencaitland. Click the image above to see how your broadband performs.

Here are a few video examples from the last couple of days. The first was taken from a house just next to the Mercat Cross in Wester Pencaitland which is fairly close to the local phone exchange at the other end of the village.

http://youtu.be/MIhEhkZj0yY

By contrast, here’s David Walls’ test which is many miles from any phone exchanges, enjoying far better broadband than about 95% of the rest of the UK population (and all of Pencaitland by a huge margin).

http://youtu.be/nwRiqParjjQ

What’s the rush?

Like so many digital services we have increasingly come to rely on, many require a minimum upload or download speed to operate reliably. Ten years ago there was no option to have Skype video calls with family in some far flung part of the world. Equally there was no BBC iPlayer catch-up service nor emerging digital video rental services like NetFlix which let you watch movies for a modest monthly charge.

Today, as more people spend some of their working week in a home office, it’s less of a luxury and much more a vital necessity.

The problem is, for rural communities in East Lothian these services are out of reach to most as the basic infrastructure we have today simply can’t cope. There’s no prospect of services like BT’s Infinity here; without the actions being taken by Lothian Broadband, and others like it across the UK, we will be waiting for an infinity to see any significant improvements.

And for those who live far from an exchange, even when these improvements do eventually arrive they are unlikely to make much difference for those living 5+ miles away.

Broadband Survey – Pencaitland/New Winton/Glenkinchie Area

Because of the variable speed and quality of broadband available in and around the village of Pencaitland and other outlying communities, Pencaitland Community Council has been looking into alternatives to the conventional Internet Service Providers who supply internet services through your telephone line connecting to the local Pencaitland BT exchange.

One alternative would be a wireless high speed system, giving coverage to homes and businesses in the area via a small external wireless receiver/transmitter on your house or office which can attach to your existing TV aerial.

Q. Have you taken part in Pencaitland’s Broadband survey?


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