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kingswells.guest
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| 20 Jun 2005 16:30:19 |
 Alert
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| THE SCOTSMAN Monday 20 June 2005 p17
Broadband must be open to everyone
PLATFORM
BRIAN ADAM
BY THE end of 2005, the Scottish Executive, in co-operation with BT, has promised that all communities in Scotland will have broadband internet access. Despite this,
significant communities including parts of Kingswells and Bridge of Don in the North-East, will have no such access.
This pledge to give 100 per cent broadband coverage simply means that all the exchanges throughout Scotland will be upgraded to support broadband. Upgraded exchanges
however, do not necessarily equal broadband access. As a result, many communities are left wondering if and when they will receive the promised technology.
There are two issues facing homes and businesses: distances from the exchange and fibre optic cabling. Exchanges are set up to provide internet access to all homes within a
6km diameter. However large communities remain outside this range and therefore have no access to the BT exchanges and many have poor access in that they cannot get
the full speed of 2mb.
Some homes and business have the additional problem of fibre optic cabling. While 90 per cent of the homes in Scotland are hooked into broadband through traditional
copper wiring, much of Kingswells , for example remains connected by fibre optic cabling. Although this technology show promise for the future, it simply is not compatible
with the existing infrastructures.
One constituent of mine put it this way: “I have been trying to get broadband internet access for a long time. Every time I try to get it, I am told that the line length between
my home and the exchange is too long. I’m sure I am not the only house-holder who wants this. There must be several hundred homes in the area...” There are indeed
several hundred homes throughout the area that have expressed similar frustrations. People from outside my constituency have also contacted me, and I have become aware
of similar problems in the Dundee area.
I would like to recognise the efforts of the Executive and BT in trying to roll out broadband coverage to all communities in Scotland. However, their promises have been
deliberately misleading, implying that all individuals will have access, which is clearly not the case. I urge the Executive to stop dragging its feet in delivering this promise and
begin investigating alternatives.
Trials of several alternatives have been conducted throughout Scotland, but none have gained significant market share. Either BT must bear responsibility for universal service
provision or appropriate support will be need to be provided to develop commercial alternatives to establish the proper broadband connections for these communities. We
must seriously investigate these positions and ensure that all individuals, not just all communities have broadband internet access by the end of this year.
Brian Adam is the SNP MSP for Aberdeen North |
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kingswells.guest
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| 26 Aug 2005 09:42:01 |
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| Brian Adam is the SNP MSP for Aberdeen North & a complete useless waste of space.... |
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kingswells.guest
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| 20 Sep 2005 11:17:35 |
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| I must strongly disagree with the last comment.
I applaud Mr Stephens efforts on behalf of the residents of Kingswells.
Even if the outcome of the BT trial is not favourable he is to be congratulated.
Hes got my vote!! |
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kingswells.guest
Posts:0
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| 28 Sep 2005 12:08:25 |
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| I live in Corse Gardens and had trouble getting broadband when the street lights went on. After numerous calls to BT - and unable to prove the case as engineers only came out during daylight - I have this month (September 05) found a solution.
A BT engineer gave us a new filter box to replace the standard phoneline one and a different cable to attach to the PC.
He said it worked in some situations but not all. We were relieved to find that it worked for us. We now get broadband all the time - although it has entailed my partner crawling under the house to run the cable to where we have the computer.
I hope it will work for others with similar problems if they ask BT. |
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