Can't Get Online Week kicks off in Hampshire

Residents of Beaulieu Road near Marchwood in Hampshire were out in force on Sunday October 30 to back the CLA's Can't Get Online Week, which aimed to bring a dose of rural realism to national Get Online Week, 30 October to 6 November. Around 30 people joined IT and social media expert John Popham at the Bold Forester Pub on Beaulieu Road on Sunday October 30 for advice about how to get online and to sign the CLA's petition calling for a broadband connection of at least five megabits per second (Mbps) for every rural business and household. If you have inadequate or non-existent broadband, the CLA urges you to sign its petition at: http://www.cla.org.uk/Policy_Work/Petitions/ even if you have to seek out a decent connection away from home to do so. Alternatively call the CLA South East office on 01264 722000 to be added to the petition.
Hughes Europe set up a temporary Satellite connection at the Bold Forester to demonstrate an alternative route to a decent connection.
John Popham said: "The residents came largely from the part of the village immediately adjacent to the pub. Marchwood is divided by a by-pass, and the main part of the village has acceptable connectivity. It is radically different on the opposite side of the road. We talked about how watching the BBC iPlayer is an unfulfilled dream for most of them. We discussed how what little internet connectivity there is disappears completely once the kids come home from school and rush to try to get online. And we talked about the people trying to run businesses who have to travel to places with better connectivity to use online services and send content to clients.
"I found the event incredibly inspiring because it was about more than the internet. Neighbours were meeting each other for the first time. This was about community; a community interested in addressing their common lack of connectivity, and an exploration of how that shared interest could help strengthen community ties. It's a real counter to those people who say that the internet is isolating and anti-social."
CLA South East Regional Director Rupert Ashby said: "One fifth of rural England still does not have adequate capacity broadband, and in today's world that is just not acceptable.
"The Government wants us to fill in tax returns online because it's more cost-effective and schools expect children to do homework online. These are only possible if homes and businesses have a good broadband connection.
"Internet service providers must concentrate on bringing broadband not-spots up to speed rather than making the already fast even faster."
Christopher Britton, managing director of Hughes Europe, said: "Dial-up no longer has to be the case. Thanks to the latest Ka-band satellite technology, we are able to provide robust and viable broadband which meets the needs of those areas of the UK not served by terrestrial DSL or cable solutions. 
"This initiative follows a similar collaboration between Hughes and the CLA earlier this year when we joined forces at several countryside shows to support the CLA's drive to put the 'e' back in the rural economy. By helping areas that are commercially disadvantaged by a lack of connectivity, satellite broadband creates a level playing field because everyone can benefit equally from consistent high performance internet access."
The week-long roadshow, sponsored by the CLA, saw IT and social media expert John Popham tour rural communities across England to highlight the difficulties they face in getting online.