News & Events

Winning tenderer selected to deliver Teesdale’s digital

Barnard Castle Vision is pleased to announce that Networks By Wireless, the UK’s largest independent supplier of wireless infrastructure and mobility solutions at the forefront of technology and convergence, has been selected as winning tenderer for the provision of Next Generation Broadband Access in Teesdale.

The Digital Dale project, backed by Durham County Council in conjunction with One North East, is being led by Barnard Castle Vision in co-ordination with a number of local partners including Teesdale Enterprise Agency, Teesdale Action Partnership, local businesses and residents. Barnard Castle Vision is currently securing funding for the building, maintenance and operation of the network. Works looks set to begin in March 2010, with completion expected by the end of 2011.

“The skills, experience and knowledge brought to bear on the project through working together with these partners has enabled us to make remarkable progress where many other rural areas of the country are still struggling,” said Deborah Jenkins, Chair of Barnard Castle Vision. “This project is hugely exciting and looks set to transform Teesdale’s ability to compete on an equal basis with urban and city centre locations as places to live, work and visit.”

“Through the tender process, we were offered a wide range of different technological solutions from traditional copper to satellite, wireless, fibre and even broadband via electricity cables. However, the solution which we have chosen will offer maximum geographical coverage, speed and capacity, building on existing infrastructure in the area. The solution is also scalable so that the network can be extended over time.”

Of the proposals tendered, Networks By Wireless’s solution offers the most comprehensive and cost-effective coverage of the rural area currently available, utilising 3.5 GHz of licensed WiMax for client delivery covering all of Teesdale. Once constructed, the network will be maintained and operated by Network by Wireless together with their partner ISP.

In total, the project expects to connect a number of micro-enterprises and a wide variety of residential, community and business users. In addition, the project will also offer public internet access to over 100,000 visitors per annum through WiFi zones in Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale and through WiMax technology approaching 12,000 domestic residences and 1000 commercial premises in Teesdale once the project is fully expanded.

Beneficiaries will include isolated farms and those communities which currently have poor or no connectivity. These will be identified through additional survey work.

“The appointment of Networks By Wireless to provide super-fast broadband in Teesdale is fantastic and bodes very well for the region’s future economic success,” comments Durham County Council’s Cabinet Regeneration Portfolio Holder Councillor Neil Foster. “We are delighted to lend our support to the scheme and wish the Vision every success with its delivery.”

The Digital Dale project forms part of Barnard Castle Vision’s commitment to provide broadband services to as wide an area as possible across the dale, including remote rural communities.

'Welcoming the announcement Teesdale Action Partnership chairman Barbara Harrison said 'This is great news for the dale and the first big achievement of the TAP. Numerous studies and feasibilities have been done over the years, but nothing happened. That's why the people said it was a priority at the TAP launch last year. I have backed this all the way. The TAP brought everyone together and now we have made real progress and I would like to thank Charlotte Stow for working with the Vision on this. I look forward to the TAP adding value in a similar way in future'

The aim of the Digital Dale project is to bring reasonably priced broadband to the dale. The scheme will also be highly beneficial for a large number of people who presently have no internet connection at all.

The basic speed offered through the scheme – downloading speeds of up to 8Mbs, at least 2Mbs at the lower end and an upload speed of 2Mbs with a contention ratio at 50:1 – is already faster than what is currently available in most of Teesdale. It is anticipated that this speed will be more than adequate for most domestic users, and this level of connection will be available for everyone within the WiMax footprint of the network.

However, any businesses and individuals wishing to obtain faster speeds than this via the WiMax network will also have the option of subscribing to a higher cost, super-fast broadband service. The contract cost for the super-fast service is still to be arranged, yet it will offer access speeds of 20Mbps at the edge of the network and higher speeds still in Barnard Castle and other node points.

A survey by Barnard Castle Vision and the Enterprise Agency for Wear Valley and Teesdale in 2008 found that there is currently great need for better connectivity in Teesdale. As well as identifying many areas of poor or no connectivity, it collated many responses from businesses and residents who wanted or needed better broadband in order to stay in the area. A Teesdale Action Partnership Needs Analysis in September 2009 also identified the key local issues limited by lack of broadband as Economic, Business, Education, Social Digital Inclusion, Health and Welfare.