Broadband  for  the  Rural  North  Ltd  Barry  Forde  -­‐  CEO  

B.Forde@b4rn.org.uk  

www.b4rn.org  .uk  

2  

Design Funding Corporate

100% of properties in parish 1Gbs/1Gbs guaranteed £150 connect, £30/mth

2f per property Dark fibre to Telecity

DWDM scalable

1700 properties 250Km2

173Km trunk duct 137Km spur duct

180m dig per property £1.473M infrastructure Cost per metre ~£4.75

£1.86M to build £1.2M material £0.66M labour

£2M share offer EIS compatible 30% tax rebate

Incentives £1500 free connect and 12 month free

£350K cash shares £660K labour shares £510K RCBF grant

£340K revenue/loans

IPS ComBen

Not for Profit

Design  •  Detailed  Network  design  completed  •  16mm/12mm  duct  (blown  fibre)  •  Cross  county  •  Build  cost  is  £1.86M  

–  100%  of  properMes  –  No  one  too  far  or  too  expensive  –  It’s  a  community  project  

•  £660K  =  labour  costs  –  This  is  work  that  can  be  done  by  community  

•  £1.2M  =  materials  –  This  includes  work  we  cannot  do  ourselves  –  Road  crossing,  direcMonal  drills  

Community  Involvement  

•  Created  web  site  –  Over  890  registraMons  –  220  have  bought  shares  for  cash  

•  Overall  sign  up  35%  –  Most  routes  >50%,  best  is  81%  –  A  small  number  of  routes  have  low  take  up  which  skews  results  

•  Need  the  community  to  donate  labour  –  Lots  of  farmers  and  land  owners  have  signed  up  to  do  the  work.  –  Confident  that  the  full  work  element  will  be  delivered  by  community  members  –  Surprised  how  many  housewives  offering  to  dig  across  their  gardens  to  help  

us!  •  Need  landowners  to  grant  free  wayleaves  

–  Doesn't  seem  to  be  a  problem,    –  Very  few  refusniks  and  easy  to  reroute  round  them  –  Community  spirit  is  alive  and  well  in  Lancashire....  

Skills  

•  80%  of  labour  costs  are  digging  ducts  and  crossing  walls  and  fences  –  Plenty  of  people  in  the  country  know  how  to  do  this  –  and  have  the  equipment  to  do  it  – And  are  signing  up  to  help  

•  20%  is  down  to  fibre  installaMon  and  terminaMon.  – We  have  included  the  cost  of  training  up  volunteers  within  the  budget.  

– And  buying  in  all  the  equipment  they  need  –  Plenty  of  people  have  put  their  names  down  

Broadband  for  the  rural  North  Ltd  

•  Industrial  and  Provident  Society  Act  1965  •  Company  number  31352R  (R  indicated  an  IPS)  •  Community  Benefit  Society  

– Similar  to  coop  but  answerable  to  community  rather  than  our  shareholders,  more  like  a  charity  in  some  ways  

•  One  member  one  vote,  not  related  to  number  of  shares  member  holds  

•  Asset  lock  

Membership  

•  Minimum  investment  is  £100  •  Maximum  investment  is  £20,000  •  These  are  per  person  limits  •  Mutual  Society  so  1  member  1  vote  •  From  year  4  can  apply  to  withdraw  investment  •  Remains  a  member  so  long  as  £100  remains  •  If  all  shares  withdrawn  ceases  to  be  a  member  •  No  longer  able  to  vote  and  determine  policy  of  B4RN  

Type  “A”  shares  

•  1,500,000  Type  “A”  shares  – available  to  anyone  who  wants  to  buy  them  – Minimum  subscripMon  is  £100  – This  makes  you  a  member  of  B4RN  and  you  get  one  vote  

– Buy  £500  or  more  and  you  become  eligible  for  EIS  (Enterprise  Investment  Scheme)  

–  tax  relief  30%  of  the  value  of  shares  purchased  

Type  “B”  Shares  

•  We  want  to  encourage  members  of  the  community  to  involve  themselves  in  the  network  build  

•  We  believe  90%  of  the  labour  element  will  be  done  by  community  volunteers  

•  So  500,000  “B”  shares  reserved  for  purchase  by  those  doing  work    

•  sweat  rather  than  swag  equity?  •  This  recognises  volunteers  efforts  and  allows  them  to  build  a  long  term  stake  in  the  project  

EIS  

•  Both  “A”  and  “B”  shares  are  the  same  for  EIS  relief  purposes  

•  Purchasers  of  £500  or  more  of  shares  are  eligible  for  EIS  tax  relief  at  30%  

•  Scheme  has  been  pre-­‐approved  by  HMRC  

Core  Status  

•  Village  node  cabinets  arrive  Friday  30th  •  Fibre  to  Telecity  goes  live  <end  June  •  DWDM  kit  same  date  •  Working  on  diverse  fibre  route  •  Juniper  MX240  into  Telecity  for  end  June  •  ConnecMon  to  EDGE-­‐IX  &  IP-­‐Transit  •  RIPE  –LIR  in  place  •  BGP4  peering  being  designed  •  Full  IP  service  into  B4RN  by  end  June  •  Go  Live  date  14th  July  (BasMlle  Day)  

Duct  status  

•  Duct  and  access  chambers  for  core  routes  in  our  stores  –  1Km  reel  7x16mm  ducts  is  2.2m,  weighs  1200Km  –  150  tons  of  material  to  do  11  core  routes  

•  11  core  routes  underway  •  First  2  due  to  be  completed  by  end  June  •  All  11  (50Km  trunk,  30Km  spur)  within  three  months  

–  500  properMes  •  Remaining  32  to  follow  as  funding  allows  

Project  Management  

•  Lots  of  enthusiasMc  volunteers  •  Lots  of  individual  land  owners  doing  their  own  bit  

•  Dozens?  Hundreds?  All  working  on  their  own  small  bit  of  the  project  

•  Each  bit  is  low  tech  •  BUT  added  together  we  get  something  special