News

Great news from the BiGDiG campaign. After a lengthy and thorough selection process we have chosen Spectrum Internet to supply our communities with greatly improved broadband services. Work to secure funding and build out the new infrastructure starts immediately.
 
Spectrum has committed to delivering a minimum of 4 Mbps services to your home. To put that into some perspective, that is easily fast enough to stream television and movies from services like iPlayer and NetFlix. Or, to put it another way, it's about 2 to 4 times faster than the average broadband experience in our area today. And that's the minimum. In fact, many of those registered with BiGDiG will benefit from significantly better services - 10 to 15 times faster.  
 
The improved broadband speeds will only be available when you subscribe to services from Spectrum Internet. We'll update you in more detail on what to expect at a series of public meetings - the first of which  will be Sunday 7th October. More of this later.
 
The first urgent task is to secure the funding - and this is where we need your help.  Please could you speed test your current broadband service so that we can prove to the funding bodies, particularly the Welsh Government, that you are eligible for grant aid. We've made this really simple. Here's what you do:

•  Go to BiGDiG's speed test page, and follow the simple instructions
•  Submit three separate tests, each on a different day and time slot. You will need a morning test, an afternoon test and an evening test.
• That's it!

We will store your speed test results, and we hope to be able to submit them on your behalf as part of the grant application process. We will not share your personal data with anyone else without your permission.
 
We have also attached a Welsh Government grant form, already partly completed by us to save you effort, and a complementary form from Spectrum Internet to indicate that in due course you would be prepared to commit to the new services. You can find a crib sheet for filling the forms here . But get your speed checks done first!
 
We are going to be running a series of meetings and workshops in partnership with Spectrum. This will be an opportunity to meet our new service provider, catch up with the BiGDiG team, and get answers to all of your questions about services, prices and processes. It's also the place to get help with speed checks, grant forms etc. We'll do as many meetings as we need to, but the first one is already organised:  Sunday 7th, at Devauden Village Hall from 3.00pm.
 
Our goal is to submit a community bid to the Welsh Government, complete with forms from at least 90 BiGDiG households, before the 31st October. Time is of the essence - so please get speed testing!

22nd August 2012 - Update

The BiGDiG team have been continuing their efforts to bring superfast broadband to our area.  A RFP (request for proposal) document has been sent to potential suppliers and we are expecting several responses before the 14th September deadline.  The most appropriate solution will  then be chosen and this will be presented to the public shortly afterwards.  Details of this event will be sent to your nearer the time.  Once a final decision has been reached we will need as many subscribers as possible to complete application forms for the Welsh Government's Broadband Support Scheme.  BiGDiG volunteers will be available to help you with this.

We have held detailed discussions with suppliers who offer a variety of possible infrastructures for deploying superfast broadband in rural areas.  Specifically, wireless, FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) and FTTP (fibre to the premises) solutions are being considered.  We remain confident that a greatly improved broadband service can be achieved for our communities within the next few months.

7th July 2012 - Devauden Fete

Join us at Devauden Fete on Saturday 7th July from 2pm to 5.30pm  The BiGDiG organisers will be on-hand to talk to you about the project and our progress so far.  Please call in at the BiGDiG stall for a chat and to shelter from the relentless blazing sunshine (probably).  Visit www.devauden.org.uk for details.

6th July 2012 - Progress Report

We issued our RFI (Request for Information) document at the end of May and subsequently met with several potential suppliers specialising in a range of different technologies (fibre to the home, wireless etc.).  Three of these companies gave formal responses to the RFI and this information was used to produce BiGDiG's application to Monmouthshire County Council for their Local  Broadband Development Scheme grant.  This was submitted at the end of June and the Council's grant panel is due to meet on 16th July. In the coming weeks we shall be putting together a detailed RFP (Request for Proposal) to send to the various companies who could  provide the service we require.   

30th May 2012 - Public Meeting

Thanks to everyone who came to the BiGDiG public meeting in Devauden Village Hall.  Over 40 enthustiastic local residents attended and we had some valuable contributions during the discussion.

17th May 2012 - BiGDiG Launch

The BiGDiG project was officially launched at the 2012 Devauden Music Fest.  Many thanks to the festival organisers for allowing us to pitch our stall on 17th and 18th May.  We spoke to many local residents about the project and we boosted our number of registrations to nearly 100 households and businesses.

BiGDiG representatives Peter Kenington and Andy Williams
at the 2012 Devauden Music Festival.