Remote villages boosted by super-fast broadband (From Gazette & Herald)
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Newton-on-Rawcliffe and Stape boosted by super-fast broadband
9:25am Saturday 10th April 2010 in News
Billy Garrett from Beeline Broadband, checks out the new high-speed connection with residents Julian Richards, left, and Keith Evans
More than 140 residents and businesses living and working in two remote North Yorkshire villages are to benefit from high-speed broadband thanks to a new project.
Villages Newton-on-Rawcliffe and Stape, near Pickering, are part of the first scheme of its kind in England, launched by NYnet and Yorkshire-based company NextGenUs UK CIC.
NYnet, which was formed by Yorkshire Forward and North Yorkshire County Council with funding from the European Union, NextGenUs UK CIC and Beeline Broadband, have collaborated to give residents access to a broadband connection with up to 10Mbps upload and download speeds.
And the connection has already made a huge difference to the residents that have signed up to the scheme.
Mike Steele, who lives at Kale Pot Hole, five miles outside Stape and Newton-on-Rawcliffe, runs an event management company and holiday cottage from his home, and said the new broadband connection had made a huge difference to both his business and family life.
Mike said: “The broadband connection has made an incredible difference to my life. It has reduced my working hours and given me time to keep in touch with my family who are spread all over the world, via webcam.”
Elderly resident Norah Moxon, who lives alone in Stape, uses the internet to do her food shopping, order online prescriptions and arrange doctor appointments, and revealed that she has “embraced technology”.
Norah said: “The internet provides a window to the world and brings the outside inside.
“As a result of the new service, I have embraced technology as I would rather have the benefit of it than be afraid of it.
“This has made a huge difference and I now feel less isolated.”
David Cullen, chief executive of NYnet said: “North Yorkshire is England’s largest county and has some of the most remote villages in England.
“Newton-on-Rawcliffe and Stape is the first pilot project in a series of community broadband initiatives that NYnet plan to introduce in rural villages throughout North Yorkshire.”
