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Thanks

Badenoch Broadband was formed by a small few like minded folk within the community who got together to solve a problem.  And we did.  However, as in so many things, we could not have done it alone.  Community support for the project emboldened us to think big.  Likewise, support from local business who helped to fund our beginnings was crucial as were all our funders.  All these people and groups deserve our heartfelt thanks.  

Thanks also goes to landowners who allowed us to see our vision of a broadband mast on their land come to fruition.  Your confidence and patience was and continues to be much appreciated.  Thanks also to a small few who have taken on board the provision of electricity to the powered masts.  Without you, there would be no signal.  

Then there are the volunteers.  Friends, farmers, neighbours we didn't know before and other hopeful recipients of the signal.  Broadband equipment can be heavy and unwieldy.  Without the volunteers and your booted feet, your quad bikes or 4WD's we would never have managed to get it all to the hill tops in one piece. Your patience and enthusiasm helped keep us motivated and we are extremely grateful for your hard work.

Then there are the people in our Community.  The families and the businesses who had the bravery to take on our service knowing we had no prior experience of having delivered it before.  Your belief and hope we would succeed has made Badenoch Broadband the success it now is.  We look forward to serving you and the wider community for years to come.

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News

06/10/2014 Stop Press! We have been nominated for the Sottish Rural Parliaments Rural Innovators Award.  Many thanks to all who nominated us!

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You can too.

Its been a long journey..and its not over yet!  We are now helping other communities to achieve their own networks.  There are dozens of small, rural communities throughout Scotland who are struggling with slow broadband or still forced to use dial-up services. We can help guide you through the process or even do the hard and technical work for you.  If you want to find out about our Consultancy services please get in touch.

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Why we're here...and how we did it.

Rural communities have been left behind across the United Kingdom when it comes to the provision of broadband services.  Why is that? Simple. Money.  Rural telephone exchanges are often too small to make the upgrade cost effective for big business. When Badenoch Broadband was formed our community of just over 300 souls had lived and worked with a maximum of a 0.5Mbps connection.  Existing business and tourism had begun to suffer and there was a distinct lack of new business moving into the community or being started up. So, when it sunk in that our telephone exchange was not going to be upgraded and we would be stuck with snail-net we decided to take matters into our own hands…

 How do we do it?

Our network uses wireless connections between the clients premises and one of several hill top masts.  Each client has a receiver that connects their premises to the network.  To connect our network to the internet we have a 15km wireless link to a nearby town where faster internet is available.  We currently offer 8Mbps and 4Mbps services with speeds set to rise dramatically in 2015 (more announcements on this soon).  All our services have no data caps, so clients can download as much as they like without paying extra.  Click on Our Service above to find out more.

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Badenoch Broadband

We are a community run wireless broadband provider based in Laggan within the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands.  Our mission is to offer broadband services to as many homes and businesses within the surrounding postcodes as possible.  As we expand our network and increase our speeds we are finding more and more people keen to join up.  Faster broadband increases business, enables better education for adults and children alike and creates an environment for competition.  Keeping young people working in the community, enabling local businesses to flourish and assisting those who work from home have all been healthy bi-products of our success. The Scottish Highland economy also relies a great deal on tourism throughout the seasons. Tourists to the area demand connectivity and without it rural communities can no longer compete effectively for the holiday pound.

Badenoch Broadband now enables sporting estates, holiday homes, rental properties, hotels and tourism businesses to attract valuable income through the provision of our service to their customers.  We are hugely proud of our achievements so far and motivated and excited for the prospects and partnerships we are in the process of forming for the future. 

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Webcams

The Scottish weather plays a useful part in our provision of wireless broadband to the Community.  We currently run one mast ‘off-grid’.  This means that it is run on the energy provided by the sun and the wind. This year (2014) this particular mast provided service using just the solar panel for the summer months, our long sunny days providing enough power to the unit without the need for the wind turbine.  We were able to switch off the turbine, saving several months of its mechanical life.  Using monitoring software and equipment we were able to continuously analyse battery charge and output.  This enabled us to know ‘to the week’ when the dwindling autumn daylight would require the renewed efforts of the wind turbine.

The webcams enable us to monitor both the wind and weather conditions as well as our equipment through the summer and winter months.  Doing maintenance and repairs on the tops of Scottish mountains through winter can be difficult, the webcams enable security, safety and a knowledge of the situation in bad weather.  The webcams also alert us to the level of snow cover, wildlife and livestock interaction on a mast site as well as any potential damage to equipment.  They also have the added advantage of showing spectacular panoramas.  Click on the video below for a live view.

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Support

Support Contact: Phone:  [phone] Email: [email protected]

Badenoch Broadband is a community owned and run service providing wireless broadband to our friends, neighbours and businesses across an ever expanding area.  As such our support when things go wrong is swift, personal and effective.  We keep stock of replacement client equipment so that in the event of breakage or failure we are able to re-connect service quickly and easily, normally within 24 hours.

We offer all our clients a mobile phone number to call us or text if there are any issues or queries about their individual service.  This enables a swift response by us as well as a satisfied client.

When maintenance on masts or the network is planned we alert everyone by mobile phone and keep them updated as to progress. 

We do request that client equipment is kept safe from damage and that the client is responsible for clearing any obstruction to the signal such as trees.

Important Information

Our Broadband Network is ultimately connected to British Telecom lines in nearby Kingussie and we therefore cannot be held responsible for any outages that occur through British Telecoms wider network.  We will however, endeavour to keep our clients updated as to progress on any fault reported to us.

Badenoch Broadband provides broadband connectivity only.  We do not provide any mobile phone or land-line telephone services. 

Any damage to equipment that is the responsibility of the client may accrue a monetary charge for replacement.  This is at the discretion of Badenoch Broadband. 

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About Us and our Network

In 2010 a disparate group of community members began a discussion regarding the state of the broadband provision within our locale. With varying types of businesses and groups, families with school age children and the demand by visitors to the area for a decent broadband speed something needed to be done.

Through research online and discussions with existing groups already maintaining their own wireless broadband solutions we realised the possibilities for our own area. After consultation with our Community Association and a majority vote from villagers and rural residents we began the journey that has brought us to today. We are a profitable, efficient and expanding Community Interest Company, privately run and administered by founding members Alistair Fleming and Morag Macrae.

Thanks to various groups such as the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Leader, European Community, Enterprise Growth Fund and our very own forward thinking Community Association, we were able to raise sufficient funds to start transmitting. Point to point masts were built, some electric and some wind and solar powered, to transmit the signal from nearby Kingussie along a 15km corridor. This signal was then received by homes and businesses with small and efficient equipment positioned on their premises.

As the business has expanded throughout the community so has our network of masts. We now connect not only the majority of households within our community but also Ardverikie Castle and Estate cottages, Scottish Natural Heritage, Spartan Press, Wolftrax Mountain Bike Centre and The Pottery Coffee Shop to name a few.

Tourism is a huge part of the economy in the Highlands and Badenoch Broadband is contacted on a regular basis by accommodation providers, tourist facilities, mountaineering and outdoor activities groups, coffee shops and hotels for the possibility of connection. These businesses are now all too acutely aware of the demand by visitors for fast and efficient broadband. We feel that we are offering not only a reliable network for our users but also a community service giving businesses the ability to compete effectively within the tourism market.

Connection to our network has also allowed local business people to work from home and holiday home owners have told us they are able to stay longer and work from their properties, something they were previously unable to do due to poor connectivity and speed. This has had the knock on effect of reducing fuel consumption and travel time, boosting local spend and allowing local people more quality home time.

Without the co-operation of the Landowners and volunteers, no mast would have been built and no signal would have been transmitted. We could not have achieved what we have without those who gave permission for equipment to be sited on their land, provided electricity for masts and those hearty volunteers that hauled heavy equipment up hills in bad weather through midge infested bogs and snow.

Our success is due to all those involved as well as our own community for giving us the chance to prove our worth. We know that anything is possible if enough thought, discussion and research is given to a problem.

As for the future we are constantly improving our equipment and looking for sites to extend our signal to those who might still be using a dial-up service (yes they still exist). With our extensive knowledge of the technical side of providing broadband as well as our awareness of the limitations of Scottish geography we are also able to offer Consultancy to other rural communities who are still suffering with low speeds. Please contact us for more information. 

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Our Service

Badenoch Broadband offers a wireless broadband signal to homeowners and businesses using point-to-point hill mounted masts to transmit the signal.

We offer the service for a regular monthly fee as follows:

4Mbps @ £17.99

8Mbps @ £29.99

Installation Fee £100

We ask you to sign a Customer Contract that explains our equipment and service and requires each customer to pay monthly by Standing Order. We ask for only one months notice of cancellation.

How do you get connected?

When we receive your enquiry our Engineer will visit your property to ascertain if the signal is receivable. Your property must be able to see one of our masts. Any obstructions such as buildings, hills or trees will obscure the signal so making sure 'line-of-sight' is available is the first step. Through discussion with you an appropriate location will be agreed for the installation of the small receiver. This is generally mounted on the outside of a building, high enough to receive the signal without interference. A single cable to the receiver, about the same thickness as a satellite TV cable needs to be installed from the outside of your property to the inside. Generally this will be run through a wall or a hole in a window or door frame, which we will drill with your permission. A router is then installed inside the property and connected to the electricity supply. The router provides a standard wifi signal that you can then connect to from your computer/phone/tablet (or you can use a cable if you prefer).

The equipment requires two (13A) plug sockets to be available.   All our equipment is individually password protected and installed with the latest software for secure and efficient provision of service.