Broadland District Council backs WiSpire broadband scheme

Thursday, February 16th 2012
The WiSpire wireless broadband project could be expanded in Broadland.
Broadland District Council backs WiSpire broadband scheme
Broadland District Council (BDC) is set to look into the possibility of extending the WiSpire scheme, which involves the installation of wireless broadband transmitters on church towers.

The project - a joint venture between internet service provider FreeClix and the Diocese of Norwich - has already seen one transmitter fitted to a church in the village of Postwick, with the Wi-Fi technology being adopted by a growing number of homes and businesses.

Consumers who sign up for the service, which is broadcast within a 5km radius of the church, can take advantage of guaranteed 6Mbps download speeds and upload rates of 1Mbps.

WiSpire has identified more than 500 additional church towers across Norfolk that would be suitable for inclusion in the scheme, which aims to deliver high-speed broadband to rural communities that currently have little or no fast internet access.

Signalling its support for the initiative, BDC has revealed it is looking into the possibility of backing rollouts at other churches in the Broadland area.

Chris Hill, head of economic development at the local authority, said: "Having seen the Postwick project in action we are actively looking at whether the council can help establish WiSpire antenna on other churches within our footprint.

"It would provide a massive boost to the rural economy and allow businesses operating from villages and market towns the ability to compete with their urban rivals."

He added that BDC is looking to identify the best churches in Broadland that would potentially deliver wireless broadband to thousands of commercial and residential properties, in order to provide "a mechanism to plug those signal gaps".

Last year, WiSpire expanded its service to several more Norfolk communities, with the technology going live in, Great & Little Plumstead and Blofield Heath in May following the installation of a transmitter at Blofield Heath.

Ringland, Costessey, Longwater and Easton were also connected thanks to a mast at Ringland Hills.

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