allpay Broadband

Herefordshire Housing makes ambitious broadband pledge thanks to partnership with allpay

Wed, 09 May 2012 14:39:45 +0100

Every Herefordshire Housing tenant will have access to free broadband within the next five years, according to its chief executive.

The ambitious goal was set after the 5,500-home social landlord agreed a unique partnership with local service provider allpay Broadband.

The partnership will initially see wireless broadband installed at three sheltered housing schemes in the county, providing residents with broadband speeds of up to 10Mb.

The first scheme to benefit is Innesfield in Clehonger where the allpay system is serving a communal area along with 31 bungalows.

Peter Brown, Herefordshire Housing chief executive, says digital inclusion is high on the agenda for his organisation.

“Broadband is increasingly becoming the fourth utility and we want as many tenants as possible to benefit from having high-speed internet access in their home,” he said. “We chose the scheme at Clehonger to test the allpay system as it is a rural location and BT have only been able to provide 2Mb to this point.

“We feel access to the internet can help change people’s lives – from shopping, to contact with family members as well as accessing our own services.”

The next sheltered schemes to benefit from the partnership with allpay Broadband will be Southgate in Ross Road, Hereford, and Bryngwyn Court, off Barrs Court Road.

As part of its digital inclusion drive, Herefordshire Housing is providing training and support to residents who need help getting started on the internet.

If all goes to plan, Herefordshire Housing hopes to have all of its older persons’ schemes covered by the end of 2012.

Tony Killeen, allpay Managing Director, said the partnership with Herefordshire Housing was an ideal fit for his organisation.

“allpay already helps housing associations across the UK with the collection of rent through our bill payment systems, so it is a natural fit for us to provide them with broadband solutions as well,” he explained.

“Digital and financial inclusion are high up the allpay agenda and we are delighted to be working in partnership with Herefordshire Housing.”

April Newsletter

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:21:00 +0100

Welcome…

Welcome to allpay Broadband’s monthly e-newsletter, keeping you up to date with all our latest news.

Just so you know, we’ll be changing the frequency that we send out these e-newsletters to bi- monthly. The next one you’ll receive will be at the end of June but you can continue to keep hot on the toes of what we’re doing through our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Coming to a community near you…

Coming soon to… BRILLEY!

We’ll be live in Brilley by the end of next week! Make sure you register your interest if you’re within the coverage area by clicking here. We can then get in touch with you as soon as we’re up and running.

Next stop…

The Golden Valley!

We’ll soon be making our way down to the Golden Valley - the Bage and Peterchurch are next on our list. So remember to register your interest here and tell your friends and family too.

Goodrich

Our engineers have been completing site surveys in Goodrich over the past few days and we’re hoping to install over the summer period. Keep an eye out for our June newsletter when we should be able to give you some firm dates.

In the meantime, spread the word amongst friends and family and get them to register their interest here.

allpay Broadband out and about…

Party on the Path!

We attended Party on the Path – a festival of food, fitness and fun which took place on Saturday 21^st April at Widemarsh Common in Hereford.

This event launched Herefordshire Council’s Personal Travel Planning (PTP) project which aimed to bring the community together to discover more about active travel in an enjoyable community focused event.

Hereford High Town meet and greet

We’ll be in High Town again on Saturday 2^nd June so make sure you come over and say hello. We’ll have our expert technicians on hand to talk you through our service and answer any questions you may have.

Credenhill drop in session

We’ll be at Credenhill Social Club on Friday 4^th May from 6.30pm – 10pm, answering questions about our service and providing more information on how it works. If you’re in the area and would like to know more about our service, pop down – our team would love to meet you.

We’re always looking for opportunities to get out and about in our community so watch this space to see where we’ll be this summer.

Welcome to the team…

We’d like to welcome Geraint Hill to the Broadband team. He joined us recently as a Broadband Engineer and will be helping us install our service across the county.

Geraint is originally from Bargoed in the Rhymney Valleys, Wales where he spent five years in the Royal Signals. He completed two six months tours of Afghanistan as well as some other smaller achievements, including competing in the Lanyard Trophy event which was a 40 mile “tab” carrying 40lbs in a bergen over the Otterburn training area in Scotland. Finishing with a time of 16hours and 15minutes, it was quite an achievement.

He’s also a keen rugby supporter and loves watching Wales.

Oh and he’s also fluent in Welsh!

So, in summary Geraint is a Welsh speaking, rugby playing hidden hero and should be able to help us conquer the Broadband woes of Herefordshire!

Welcome to the team Geraint!

Registering your interest…

We are continually working to provide a reliable broadband service to more areas of Herefordshire.

Please encourage friends and family to register their interest with our service. If you are a landowner and think you could help allpay Broadband come to your community call us on 0844 557 8322, email sales@allpaybroadband.com or click here to find out more about how it works.

Want to know more?

Can’t wait til next month to hear more about allpay Broadband? Why not follow us on Twitter or ‘like us’ on Facebook?

Simply search allpay Broadband. We will keep you up to date with the latest news, as it happens, including updates on our new broadband coverage areas.

0844 557 8322

www.allpaybroadband.com

sales@allpaybroadband.com

March Newsletter

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:58:56 +0100

Welcome…
Welcome to allpay Broadband’s monthly e-newsletter, keeping you up to date with all our latest news.

Coming to a community near you…
We’re now live in WELLINGTON!
We have now successfully installed allpay Broadband in WELLINGTON! Make sure you register your interest if you’re within the coverage area www.allpaybroadband.com

Next stop, BRILLEY!
The next village to benefit from our service is BRILLEY. So make sure you register your details on our website now, we can then get in touch once we’re live.

If you want to see exactly where we plan to go over the next few months click here

Wi-Fi hotspots
As we mentioned in our last newsletter we’ve installed our Wi-Fi service at Burghill Valley Golf Club. This has proved very popular with their members and guests.

We’re now carrying out Wi-Fi trials on some new technology to ensure we can provide the best Wi-Fi service at more hot spots around Herefordshire. We’ll make sure we keep you updated on this and let you know as soon as we have more Wi-Fi zones up and running.

allpay Broadband out and about…
Hereford High Town meet and greet
We’ll be in High Town again on Saturday 31^st March so make sure you come over and say hello. We’ll have our expert technicians on hand to talk you through our service and answer any questions you may have.

Green Biz showcase
We’ll be attending the Green Biz showcase on Monday 2^nd April at the Courtyard, Hereford.

The event hosted by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce and Herefordshire Greenlinks offers an excellent opportunity for businesses to learn more about a better, greener, prosperous future in this county.

The keynote speaker is Vince Cable, current Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. And he will be answering questions from local businesses and learning about the issues that are affecting Herefordshire businesses - especially in the green sector.

We will be showcasing allpay Broadband and our Print & Design Service at the exhibition and we’ll also be attending the Question Time on behalf of allpay as a whole, so it should prove quite an interesting event.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Expo event
We attended the Expo event at Hereford Leisure Centre on 21^st March. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and met lots of other fellow businesses from around Herefordshire. We even had live demonstrations of our service running on our stand.

This was the first of hopefully many business events we hope to attend and we hope our services can help the business community across Herefordshire thrive.

Registering your interest…
We are continually working to provide a reliable broadband service to more areas of Herefordshire.

Please encourage friends and family to register their interest with our service. If you are a landowner and think you could help allpay Broadband come to your community call us on 0844 557 8322, email sales@allpaybroadband.com or click here to find out more about how it works.

Want to know more?
Can’t wait til next month to hear more about allpay Broadband? Why not follow us on Twitter or ‘like us’ on Facebook?

Simply search allpay Broadband. We will keep you up to date with the latest news, as it happens, including updates on our new broadband coverage areas.

0844 557 8322 www.allpaybroadband.com sales@allpaybroadband.com

GETTING SHELTERED HOUSING RESIDENTS ONLINE HAS WIDESPREAD BENEFITS

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:56:45 +0000

National Institute of Adult Continuing Education

www.niace.org.uk

Press Release - Monday 19 March 2012

PR29/12

GETTING SHELTERED HOUSING RESIDENTS ONLINE HAS WIDESPREAD BENEFITS

Providing computers and training in sheltered housing across the country has had a positive impact for both residents and landlords by helping to reduce isolation, improving attitudes to learning, increasing confidence and instilling better personal health management through the Get Digital project - delivered by NIACE and Digital Unite – according to an evaluation report published today, Monday 19 March 2012.

In one year the Get Digital programme - commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government and funded by the Department of Work and Pensions – provided 196 sheltered homes with grants to set up kit and online facilities and engaged around 3,000 older residents in digital skills activities.

The evaluation report studies the learning journey and outcomes of residents who took part in the whole 16-week learning programme at their schemes and recognises, amongst other things, the provision of skilled tutors that accompanied the online facilities as a key factor in the scheme’s success. Older residents felt supported and it enabled them to learn at a flexible pace and according to their own needs and interests. As a result there was a marked improvement in their quality of life ranging from increased self-confidence, greater freedom resulting from access to online information, more willingness to take up different learning activities and stronger social relationships with family, friends and other residents.

The evaluation also formed the basis of a rationale report outlining Get Digital’s multiple benefits to landlords – including how the investment can become a business asset and selling point for attracting future residents and how staff involved in planning and managing the delivery of the learning activities reported increased job satisfaction. As a result of the strong business case presented in the rationale report, many participating landlords have stated that they will be delivering digital inclusion across their housing stock. Some have placed digital inclusion within their community development strategies and it is expected that both the evaluation and the rationale reports will encourage even more landlords to make further investments in digital literacy initiatives for older residents.

Philip Taylor, Neighbourhood Team Manager, Medina Housing Association, said, “Spectrum Medina were delighted to participate in the Get Digital programme which proved to be a great success for residents, partners and staff. The evaluation shows the wider success of Get Digital in dispelling the myth that computers are not for older people, while the rationale gives convincing reasons to develop such facilities and by engaging residents, staff and partners shows how success can be achieved. This has given us the encouragement to go further and we are investing in computer facilities across our sheltered schemes in 2012.”

Susan Easton, NIACE’s Get Digital programme manager, said, “Two thirds of those over the age of 65 in sheltered housing are not connected to the internet, or don’t have the skills to use it, and are therefore missing out on the many benefits of being online. By supporting the digital inclusion of older people in sheltered housing, the Get Digital programme has helped a significant number of older people to develop their IT skills and to be more confident in the use of technology. This in turn has empowered them to make important decisions about issues affecting their lives. Get Digital will also inspire more landlords to develop their own digital inclusion programmes and the rationale report makes recommendations on how landlords can develop successful programmes in a sustainable and cost–effective way.”

Emma Solomon, Managing Director of Digital Unite, said, “Digital Unite has been delivering digital literacy programmes in sheltered housing environments for over ten years, and we have long known of the multiple benefits, to a range of stakeholders, of such initiatives. The Get Digital programme was exceptional because it was delivered at such scale, and it has been fascinating – and inspiring - to examine the findings of the evaluation report. Stimulated by the feedback from Get Digital, in particular that local organisations, such as landlords, really wanted and needed to ‘own’ their digital inclusion to make it truly sustainable, we have developed the Digital Champion ITQ, which is a level 2 qualification designed to give staff and more able residents the skills, techniques and resources to deliver digital literacy in their environments long into the future.”

Ends

For further information please contact:

Ed Melia, NIACE Head of Media, on 0116 204 4248 or 07795 358 870 or ed.melia@niace.org.uk

Marie Koupparis, NIACE Communications Officer, on 0116 204 4270 or 07824 481 499 or marie.koupparis@niace.org.uk

Notes to Editors

1. Both the Get Digital: Impact Study and the Get Digital: Rationale for Enhanced Digital Inclusion can be downloaded for free here: http://bit.ly/yp7sqN

2. A short film about the Get Digital programme – featuring residents and landlords – can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/x1gMA6

3. The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) is an independent charity which promotes adult learning across England and Wales. Through its research, development, publications, events, outreach and advocacy activity, NIACE works to improve the quality and breadth of opportunities available for all adults so they can benefit from learning throughout their lives. www.niace.org.uk

The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, England and Wales (NIACE). A company limited by guarantee registered no. 2603322 and registered charity no. 1002775, Registered address: 21, De Montfort Street, Leicester, LE1 7GE, UK www.niace.org.uk

Sefydliad Cenedlaethol Addysg Barhaus i Oedolion, Lloegr a Cymru (NIACE). Cwmni cyfyngedig drwy warant rhif cofrestredig 2603322 ac elusen rhif cofrestredig 1002775, Cyfeiriad cofrestredig: 21, De Montfort Street, Caerlŷr, LE1 7GE, DU www.niacedc.org.uk

February 2012 Newsletter

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:32:42 +0000

Welcome…
Welcome to allpay Broadband’s monthly e-newsletter, keeping you up to date with all our latest news.

Coming to a community near you…
We’re now live in Credenhill
We have now successfully installed allpay Broadband at CREDENHILL! Make sure you register your interest if you’re within the coverage area, just click here.

Next stop, Wellington
The next village to benefit from our service is WELLINGTON. We should be up and running in the next week or so. So make sure you register your details on our website now so we can get in touch once we’re live.

If you want to see exactly where we plan to go over the next few months click here

Burghill Wi-Fi
We’ve just installed our Wi-Fi service at Burghill Valley Golf Club. Not only have they got a great golf course there, they also provide some excellent food in their restaurant. And now you’ll even get free Wi-Fi while you dine!

allpay Broadband out and about…
‘Our Country’s Good’
allpay has been involved with Hereford Courtyard’s Youth Theatre for a number of years now and we recently supported them with this year’s production of ‘Our Country’s Good’.

As proud sponsors of the production we attended the show with a stand in the foyer. We had a great evening and had a lot of interest in allpay Broadband.

Hereford High Town meet and greet
We’ll be in High Town again on Saturday 31^st March so make sure you come over and say hello. We’ll have our expert technicians on hand to talk you through our service and answer any questions you may have.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Expo event
We’ll be attending the Expo event at the Leisure Centre on 21^st March. We’ll be there alongside our Print & Design Service team. Hopefully we’ll get to meet lots of other fellow businesses from Herefordshire and make some firm partnerships.

Registering your interest…
We are continually working to provide a reliable broadband service to more areas of Herefordshire.

Please encourage friends and family to register their interest with our service. If you are a landowner and think you could help allpay Broadband come to your community call us on 0844 557 8322, email sales@allpaybroadband.com or click here to find out more about how it works.

Want to know more?
Can’t wait til next month to hear more about allpay Broadband? Why not follow us on Twitter or ‘like us’ on Facebook?

Simply search allpay Broadband. We will keep you up to date with the latest news, as it happens, including updates on our new broadband coverage areas.

0844 557 8322 www.allpaybroadband.com sales@allpaybroadband.com

Broadband Engineer - New Vacancy

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:35:53 +0000

This is an excellent opportunity to work in the rapidly growing allpay Broadband Team.

In conjunction with the Broadband Manager / Broadband Team you will design and commission the allpay wireless broadband infrastructure and support the business by devising technical solutions to deliver services to our customers.

You will be liaising with clients both consumer and corporate, suppliers and internal departments throughout allpay. In addition you will be required to test and review new hardware and software making recommendations for improvement as necessary.

The successful candidate should be educated to GCSE or equivalent in particular English and Maths and have a recognised networking qualification. A strong understanding of the telecoms and ISP industry is essential along with proven experience of wireless broadband systems set up and infrastructure.

Please note that this role does require local and international travel along with being on an on call rota to ensure technical cover is provided at all times.

All roles at allpay Limited are subject to a successful CRB and Credit Check.

We are a company committed to Equal Opportunities.

Full details available online: http://www.allpay.net/vacancy/view/id/57

January 2012 Newsletter

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:52:42 +0000

Welcome…
Welcome to allpay Broadband’s monthly e-newsletter, keeping you up to date with all our latest news.

Stepping up broadband services across Herefordshire…
We’re set on making a difference to broadband services in Herefordshire in 2012 and in our New Year campaign we’re giving away a free router if you install before the 10^th February 2012!

Remember with allpay Broadband you can get speeds of up to 35Mb!

Call our team today on 0844 557 8322 or email us at sales@allpaybroadband.com to find out more.

Coming to a community near you…

Hereford City
You may have heard that we installed our equipment at Hereford Cathedral at the beginning of December last year. This will support our network expansion and allow us to widen our service to more customers across Herefordshire.

We’re really pleased with the demand so far. Our service is very competitive, so why not check if the Cathedral installation means you can now receive allpay Broadband and give us a call on 0844 557 8322 or email us at sales@allpaybroadband.com

Please spread the word amongst family and friends too. They can register their interest by visiting www.allpaybroadband.com/availability/interest

Credenhill, Wellington and Brilley
We’re also actively working with landowners and PCCs in Credenhill, Wellington and Brilley to install allpay Broadband in the next couple of months.
These will be fantastic additions to the nine villages already live, including Burghill, Madley, Kingstone and Staunton-on-Wye. And by stepping up our game we’ll be installing in many more areas soon.

allpay Broadband out and about…

This month we’ve been meeting lots of you at…

The Courtyard
As proud sponsors of The Courtyard we held a stand at the venue whilst the production of ‘Fame’ was on. We welcome any excuse to go to the theatre so you may see us at The Courtyard quite a bit over the next few months!

Hereford High Town
We visited Hereford High Town again this month on Saturday 21^st January – did you see us? As always we had lots of interest and thoroughly enjoyed meeting you all. Although it was a bit cold!

Registering your interest…

We are continually working to provide a reliable broadband service to more areas of Herefordshire.

Please encourage friends and family to register their interest with our service. If you are a landowner and think you could help allpay Broadband come to your community call us on 0844 557 8322, email sales@allpaybroadband.com or click here to find out more about how it works.

Want to know more?

Can’t wait til next month to hear more about allpay Broadband? Why not follow us on Twitter or ‘like us’ on Facebook?

Simply search allpay Broadband. We will keep you up to date with the latest news, as it happens, including updates on our new broadband coverage areas.

0844 557 8322 www.allpaybroadband.com sales@allpaybroadband.com

For the month of January we’re offering a free router for all new customers who install with allpay Broadband*

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:58:20 +0000

For the month of January we’re offering a free router for all new customers who install with allpay Broadband*

Fast internet set to reach rural parts in 2012

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:41:21 +0000

allpay Broadband has recognised that many households across the county have been struggling to receive an acceptable internet service and has set about enabling as many communities across Herefordshire to surf the web in 2012.

allpay Broadband gives users the ability to access the internet with speeds of to up 35Mb. Using a pioneering approach it works through a network of antennae and receivers placed on high points and within a line of sight of each other.

The tower of Hereford Cathedral is the latest access point to have antennae installed, enabling villages to the north of Hereford to benefit from allpay’s fast internet access for the first time. Already available in nine communities, including Allensmore, Clehonger, Dinedore, Kingstone and Swainshill, allpay Broadband is set to make 2012 the year a difference is made to Herefordshire’s internet problems, replacing a slow and unreliable service with its own speedy broadband connection.

Lisa Howell, Broadband Manager, said: ‘We believe we can tackle digital exclusion in the county head on. Everyone should be able to use a fast and reliable broadband service, improving people’s lives and supporting local businesses. allpay Broadband is geared up for an exciting year and is committed to making a difference in 2012.’

And for the month of January all new customers who install with allpay Broadband will receive a free router!*

If your internet is slow and unreliable, why not give allpay Broadband a call on 0844 557 8322 or visit www.allpaybroadband.com where you can find out more about the service.

*Only valid for those currently living in the allpay Broadband coverage areas and who install before 10/02/2012. To find out whether you can receive allpay Broadband in your area please go to www.allpaybroadband.com/availability.

ALLPAY BROADBAND HITS NEW HEIGHTS WITH FIRST

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:44:03 +0000

Herefordshire based internet company, allpay Broadband, has reached new heights thanks to an unlikely but pioneering partnership with worshiping community that has existed for over 1200 years.

Hereford Cathedral is to become the first in the UK to allow broadband antennae to be installed on its tower in a bid to widen the service to more rural areas in the county.

allpay Broadband works through a network of antennae and receivers placed on high points and within a line of sight of each other. The height of Hereford Cathedral opens up a 5 mile line of sight radius creating vast opportunities for the expansion of the service. It will enable villages to the north of Hereford to have allpay’s fast internet access for the first time.

The agreement between the Cathedral authorities and allpay comes on the back of a unique agreement with the Diocese of Hereford and its Broadband Licence for churches. The Licence, launched in January this year, provides standard terms and conditions allowing every church in the Diocese to apply for allpay broadband equipment to be installed.

Already available in nine communities, the existing antennas are currently placed on businesses and churches within the Diocese of Hereford. However, there is a lot of interest for the service to grow rapidly, replacing the service which is very slow and unreliable in many areas of the city itself.

Local entrepreneur, and owner of allpay Limited, Tony Killeen, who conceived the rural broadband service after listening to frustrated businesses and individuals, comments:

“This is a great step forward for allpay Broadband and for residents across the County who have told us they are desperate to have fast and reliable internet access. Hereford Cathedral has been extremely helpful and forward thinking and will work as a crucial stepping stone in our service.”

He continued: “We’ve taken great care to ensure that the modern technology does not affect the beauty of the Cathedral’s architecture with each antenna unit colour coded to the tower louvres.”

The Dean and Chapter from Hereford Cathedral supported allpay’s application to use the cathedral tower as part of their network to extend broadband to our rural county.

The Reverend Canon Andrew Piper commented: “Other church towers around the south of the diocese have also been granted faculties to install such equipment. Extending broadband into the more remote parts of the county is especially important, not only to support local businesses, but also to give young people faster access to the internet, to assist them with their studies. Broadband also enables families to keep in touch across continents, using facilities like Skype”.

Four access points have been installed on each of the four sides of the bell tower in addition to a PTP (point-to-point) antenna on the south face of the Cathedral which receives the allpay signal from Dinedor. A subscriber module is then installed on the customer’s property enabling them to receive the service.

To register your interest in receiving the service, which is available for speeds of up to 35Mb, visit www.allpaybroadband.com

- Ends -

Notes to Editors:

allpay

allpay Limited is the UK’s leading payments specialist.

Established in 1996, its core business concentrates on providing bill payment services - primarily to the public sector – and handles around £3.6 billion a year, across 44 million transactions.

The company’s aim is to work with each of its clients to save them money through creating modern payment systems that are both cost effective and very convenient for the end consumer.

The company has grown to now comprise a total of seven businesses:

· Bill Payments – facilitating the collection and receipt of revenues

· Prepaid Cards – for the paying out of benefits and allowances

· Dosh – a revolutionary new cashless payments system

· Card Manufacturing and Bureau facilities – securely producing and distributing secure credit, debit and prepaid cards

· Print and Design – fast, accurate and cost effective solutions

· 24publishing – publishing news to the housing and local government sectors via 24dash.com and 24housing magazine

· Broadband – taking fast and reliable wireless access to rural communities.

allpay meets high standards of quality and security, achieving PCI DSS compliance, a comprehensive range of ISO certifications, plus MasterCard and Visa© accreditations. ISO accreditation relates to the audit of our registered company address.

allpay is committed to managing its growth responsibly so it can continue to make a positive contribution to the community and to the environment, as well the workplace.

For more detailed information visit www.allpay.net

For more information on allpay please contact:

Annie Neesham, Communications Executive, annie.neesham@allpay.net

Ruth Andrews, Marketing Communications Manager, ruth.andrews@allpay.net

allpay Limited

0844 557 8346

For more information on Hereford Cathedral please contact:

Melanie Davies

Communications, Visits & Volunteers Co-ordinator

HEREFORD CATHEDRAL

5 College Cloisters

Hereford HR1 2NG

t: 01432 374202

m: 07811 896044

w: www.herefordcathedral.org

BROADBAND ON-TRACK IN HEREFORDSHIRE AND GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:13:00 +0000

The Borders Broadband project, as one of the UK pilots to bring to high-speed broadband to rural areas, is making good progress in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. Despite claims made today that plans to bring fast broadband to rural areas have ‘stalled’, plans for the two counties are progressing well and are on target. The procurement process is well underway to attract a commercial telecoms supplier to provide the new high-speed broadband infrastructure. A contract is expected to be awarded in late Spring 2012, and work is due to start soon afterwards, initially in the Forest of Dean and south Herefordshire before extending to other areas of both counties. In addition, surveys are underway in the counties to gauge demand for high-speed broadband among households and businesses. “The suggestion that plans to bring fast broadband to rural Gloucestershire and Herefordshire have ‘stalled’ is simply untrue,” said Natalia Silver, Project Director for Borders Broadband. “This is an extremely complex procurement process whereby we have been given public funding to attract investment in a fast broadband infrastructure for rural areas which the private sector has not seen as being commercially viable. “A competitive dialogue process is being used to explore the supplier’s most viable technology solutions before the final contract is issued. And there are strict protocols that we must adhere to in line with EU Procurement Directives including statutory timescales to ensure an open and fair process is undertaken and the right supplier chosen.” Ends Communications team, Herefordshire Council 01432 260006 Notes to editors The Borders Broadband project is being managed by a partnership of Herefordshire Council, Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership GFirst, Gloucestershire County Council and BDUK. The Herefordshire/Gloucestershire border area was among the first areas in England to receive funding from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) to pilot the next generation of high-speed broadband in rural areas. For more information regarding the Borders Broadband Project visit www.herefordshire.gov.uk/broadband

Opening Hours

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:18:45 +0000

We would like to wish you all the best for this festive season and a Happy New Year.

Our opening times for telephone customer support over the holiday period are listed below:

Friday 23^rd December
9.00am – 17.30pm
OPEN

Saturday 24^th December, Christmas Eve
CLOSED
Sunday 25^th December, Christmas Day
CLOSED

Monday 26^th December, Boxing Day
CLOSED

Tuesday 27^th December, Bank Holiday
CLOSED

Wednesday 28^th December
9.00am – 17.30pm
OPEN

Thursday 29^th December
9.00am – 17.30pm
OPEN

Friday 30^th December
9.00am – 17.30pm
OPEN

Saturday 31^st December, New Year’s Eve
CLOSED

Sunday 1^st January, New Year’s Day
CLOSED

Monday 2^nd January, Bank Holiday
CLOSED

We’ll be back up and running at full speed on Tuesday 3^rd January 2012.

With warm regards from everyone here at allpay Broadband.

November Newsletter

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:59:48 +0000

Welcome…

Welcome to the November issue of allpay Broadband’s monthly e-newsletter, keeping you up to date with all the latest broadband news.

Coming to a community near you…

We’re pleased to announce that Preston-on-Wye and Staunton-on-Wye are now live! It took us a little longer than expected but these two villages can now start benefiting from our service, receiving up to 10Mb.

Remember if you’re in the coverage area and want allpay Broadband, call us on 0844 557 8322 or email sales@allpaybroadband.com

allpay Broadband out and about…

As always, this month we’ve been out and about meeting lots of you and hearing all about your broadband woes. We’re hoping we’ll be able to get you all up to speed and receiving a great broadband connection soon.

Events we attended this month included:

Allensmore WI
We joined the WI ladies in Allensmore on 10^th November where we were able to explain a bit about how allpay Broadband could help them. And they taught us a few things too! It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

High Town stall, Hereford
Some of you may remember we were in High Town in September. Well, we had so much fun, we decided to do it again and held a stand in High Town on 16^th November. It was a bit chilly but we enjoyed meeting all of those who came to say hello and it was a very successful day.

The New Inn in Staunton-on-Wye and The Yew Tree in Preston-on-Wye
With Staunton-on-Wye and Preston-on-Wye going live this month we wanted to get out and spread the word in both villages.
On 14^th November we held a drop in session in Staunton-on-Wye at The New Inn. The evening gave the opportunity for those who live locally to drop by and learn more about our service.
We also held a drop in session for those in Preston-on-Wye. On 25^th November we were on hand at The Yew Tree Inn to talk to those who wanted to know more.
Both events were a success and we were kept busy. It’s good to know our service is benefiting so many of you.

Burghill Golf Club
We’ve been working closely with Burghill Golf Club to ensure local residents in Burghill get the best service around. And on 17^th November we gave resident golfers a live demo of our service. With free Wi-Fi access available they could see for themselves what our service can do. Overall it was a good evening and it seems that most people were impressed and surprised at what we can offer.
We’re hoping to provide permanent free Wi-Fi at Burghill Golf course in the near future so watch this space!

Welcome to the team…
We’d like to welcome Paul Clayton to the Broadband team. He’ll be joining us at the beginning of December as Broadband Coordinator and will be responsible for the operations and network side of allpay Broadband.
Born and raised in Manchester, Paul moved to Hereford in 2009. He’s got lots of experience in IT so we’re sure he’ll keep the networks up to speed. Like most men Paul’s into his sport, particularly golf and football and he even played semi-professional rugby for Sale RUFC at the age of 16.

Welcome to the team Paul!

allpay Broadband in the spotlight…
Keep your eye out for a big announcement from the city. We’ve got some big news…

Registering your interest…

We are continually working to provide a reliable broadband service to more areas of Herefordshire.

Please encourage friends and family to register their interest with our service. If you are a landowner and think you could help allpay Broadband come to your community call us on 0844 557 8322 or email sales@allpaybroadband.com or click here if you would like to know more about how it works.

Refer a friend and claim your £10 Amazon voucher
Don’t forget our great offer! If you are an allpay Broadband customer with friends in our broadband coverage areas, ask them to sign up to our service and we will send you a £10 Amazon voucher.

Your friends simply fill in their details on the ‘register your interest’ page at www.allpaybroadband.com and include your broadband customer number in the ‘Surf with your Friends’ code field.

Once you are verified as an existing customer with us and your friend has been set up to use our service, we will email you your £10 voucher.

Want to know more?

Can’t wait till next month to hear more about allpay Broadband? Why not follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook?

Simply search allpay Broadband. We will keep you up to date with the latest news, as it happens, including updates on our new broadband coverage areas.

0844 557 8322 www.allpaybroadband.com sales@allpaybroadband.com

Hereford High Town - Wednesday 16th November

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:34:35 +0000

Hereford High Town - Wednesday 16th November

Herefordshire Council hopes for broadband funds

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:43:46 +0000

Herefordshire Council hopes for broadband funds:

Herefordshire residents could be in line for a major investment in their broadband networks.

The county is in the running for government funding to be spent on improving speed and access in rural areas.

October Newsletter

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:22:00 +0000

Welcome…

Welcome to the October issue of allpay Broadband’s monthly e-newsletter, keeping you up to date with all the latest broadband news. We’re sorry it’s a bit late this month but we’re pleased to report that we’ve been kept busy!

Coming to a community near you…

We’re pleased to announce that Preston-on-Wye and Staunton-on-Wye will be live next week! If you’re in the coverage area, register your interest on our website .

allpay Broadband out and about…

Open evening at the New Inn, Staunton-on-Wye
To pre-launch our service going live in Staunton-on-Wye, pop down to the New Inn between 7.30 – 10pm on Monday 14th November to meet our field sales executive. Whether you want to find out about what speeds you can achieve or how to order it for your home or business, it’s a great opportunity for us to answer your questions.

High Town stall
We’ll be in High Town again on Wednesday 16^th November from 8.30am – 3pm, so come down and say hello. We’ll have the usual sweets and pens to offer and all the answers to any questions you may have.

And here are a few more things we’ll be doing in November:
Allensmore WI group on Thursday 10^th November
Staunton-on-Wye Christmas Fayre on Saturday 26^th November.

Hereford Association of Local Councils Conference
On Saturday 24^th October we attended the HALC Conference where we met with local councillors to learn more about local initiatives. It gave us the opportunity to explain what we’re trying to do and help get allpay Broadband in your local parish.

We had a really positive morning and it was good to see that we have so much support in local parishes.

Hopefully attending events like this can help us expand our network quicker and improve what we’re doing in Herefordshire.

Thank you…

To all those coming to see us
We’d like to say thank you to everyone who came to see us at the Cathedral Close Apple Tree Celebrations and the Clehonger Solar Day earlier this month.

We know a lot of you are waiting for allpay Broadband in your area so it is great to meet you all. Remember to keep up the demand and ask friends and families in your communities to register their interest.

For completing our survey
Thank you to everyone who completed our survey, we appreciate your feedback and it’s been really helpful to understand how we can improve our service.

We were disappointed to see that 7% of you feel the service doesn’t quite meet your expectations and we’ll be looking to make some improvements in the near future. We want all our customers to feel they’re receiving the service they want.

Kingstone Church receives its first annual fee…

As some of you may know Kingstone is our ‘base station’ and was the first village to go live with allpay Broadband.

The church has just received its first annual payment for allowing us to use their steeple as an access point plus they benefit from an additional £180 bonus for all the community members who have signed up.

All this has been put towards the upkeep of the church so please encourage friends and family to sign up so that next year, the church receives even more. Before allpay Broadband went to Kingstone, villagers were struggling to receive 0.5Mb, now they can get up to 10Mb.

Want to know more?

If you can’t wait until next month to hear more about allpay Broadband, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook

Simply search allpay Broadband. We will keep you up to date with the latest news, as it happens, including updates on our new broadband coverage areas.

0844 557 8322 www.allpaybroadband.com sales@allpaybroadband.com

HEALTH PROTECTION AGENCY ANNOUNCES VERDICT ON WI-FI SAFETY

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:09:00 +0000

The Health Protection Agency has recently announced the result of a lengthy study into the safety of Wi-Fi antennas and the use of radio waves in internet connection.

It concluded that there is no consistent evidence to date that exposure to radio signals from Wi-Fi and WLANs adversely affects the health of the general population.

The report, published in September 2011, continues:

“The signals are very low power, typically 0.1 watt (100 milliwatts) in both the computer and the router (access point), and the results so far show exposures are well within the internationally-accepted guidelines from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Based on current knowledge and experience, radio frequency (RF) exposures from Wi-Fi are likely to be lower than those from mobile phones. Also, the frequencies used in Wi-Fi are broadly the same as those from other RF applications such as FM radio, TV and mobile phones.

On the basis of the published studies and those carried out in-house, the HPA sees no reason why Wi-Fi should not continue to be used in schools and in other places. However with any new technology a sensible precautionary approach, as happened with mobile phones, is to keep the situation under review so that parents and others can have as much reassurance as possible. That is why Sir William Stewart, former chairman of the HPA, stated that it would be timely to carry out further studies as this new technology is rolled out. Based on this, the HPA announced on 12 October 2007 that it would be carrying out a systematic programme of research into WLANs and their use, to include measurements of exposures from Wi-Fi networks, in particular those in schools.”

To read more, and to take a closer look at the HPA’s review of Wi-Fi use in schools, please visit http://www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/Radiation/UnderstandingRadiation/UnderstandingRadiationTopics/ElectromagneticFields/WiFi/

Herefordshire and Shropshire churches deliver broadband

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:13:53 +0100

Hundreds of churches in Herefordshire and Shropshire could be used to improve access to broadband in rural areas.

The Hereford Diocese, which also covers south Shropshire, owns more than 400 churches.

Three of them have recently had antennae operated by Hereford-based company Allpay fitted on spires or towers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-15465456

allpay Broadband Survey

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:30:55 +0100

allpay Broadband Survey:

We’d like to know what you think of access to broadband services in Herefordshire and would really appreciate it if you could spare two minutes to fill out our questionnaire.

All those who complete the survey will automatically be entered into a prize draw. The lucky winner will receive their first month subscription half price.*

All information will be kept confidential and we won’t share any of your answers with anyone else. It is purely for us to see how we can improve our service.

*Subject to availability. If allpay Broadband isn’t currently in your area, you will receive your first month’s ½ price subscription once it is available and you have signed up to the service

September Newsletter

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:21:06 +0100

Welcome…

Welcome to the September issue of allpay Broadband’s monthly e-newsletter, keeping you up to date with all the latest broadband news.

Coming to a community near you…

We are now live in seven villages across Herefordshire:

                           Allensmore          Clehonger           Dinedor            Kingstone
                           Swainshill             Madley                  Burghill

Preston-on-Wye and Staunton-on-Wye will also be live in the next couple of weeks. Please register your interest if you are in either of these areas and we will be in touch as soon as it’s available. Remember to tell your friends and family in these areas too!

Belmont Abbey
We’re really chuffed to have been approached by Belmont Abbey who is interested in becoming an access point.

We’ll soon be carrying out some site surveys to fully understand how we can use the Abbey to provide the best possible service, to as many areas as possible.

We’ll keep you updated on this one.

We were wondering…

We’d like to know what you think of access to broadband services in Herefordshire and would really appreciate it if you could spare two minutes to fill out our questionnaire.

All those who complete the survey will automatically be entered into a prize draw. The lucky winner will receive their first month subscription half price.*

To view the survey just click here

All information will be kept confidential and we won’t share any of your answers with anyone else. It is purely for us to see how we can improve our service.

*Subject to availability. If allpay Broadband isn’t currently in your area, you will receive your first month’s ½ price subscription once it is available and you have signed up to the service.

allpay Broadband out and about…

Hereford high town stall
On 17^th September allpay Broadband were out and about in the centre of Hereford high town.

It was really good to meet some of our current clients and also to meet lots of you telling us how much you need allpay Broadband in your area. We’re going as fast as we can, but make sure you keep up the demand by registering your interest and telling your family and friends as well.

We had lots of interest in the stand and received over 40 registrations of interests into the service – that’s a record so far! We’ll make sure to keep you up to date with our progress.

Madley Autumn Fair
On Saturday 24th September allpay Broadband held a stall at the Madley Autumn Fair.

The annual event was held in aid of the Poppy Appeal at Madley Parish Hall. There were lots of stalls and games and of course tea and homemade cakes to help raise money for this worthy cause.

As always we had lots of interest in the stall and it was a pleasure meeting you all.

We had eight registrations - all adding to the demand - and a possible five installs!

Cathedral Close event
On Saturday 15^th October from 10.30am – 2.30pm allpay Broadband will be joining in with the celebrations of the Apple Tree in the newly refurbished Cathedral Close.

There’ll be a variety of craft stalls, local producers and garden and nature products, as well as live demonstrations, music, poetry and dance shows.

allpay Broadband will be holding one of the many stalls too so come down and say hello. We’ll be happy to have a chat or answer any questions you may have.

Clehonger Solar Day
Clehonger will be celebrating the launch of solar panels in their village on Saturday 15^th October at 1:00pm in their village hall.

Always keen to support the community, allpay Broadband jumped at the chance to be involved and will have a stall at this event too.

There will be a programme of speakers on sustainable energy and architecture, information stalls and family activities, including a solar powered racetrack, refreshments, a quiz and art competition, not to mention tea and cakes - all free, although buying raffle tickets will be encouraged!

allpay Broadband in the spotlight!

The Hereford Times sparked rumours this month about possible plans to have an allpay Broadband antenna on top of the Cathedral!

Could this be true?

Well, we are currently in talks with the cathedral authorities and we would obviously be overjoyed if we’re to gain the cathedral as an access point, but we have a way to go yet - watch this space!

Registering your interest…

We are continually working to provide a reliable broadband service to more areas of Herefordshire.

Please encourage friends and family to register their interest with our service and if you are a landowner and think you could help allpay Broadband come to your community call us on 0844 557 8322 or email sales@allpaybroadband.com or click here if you would like to know more about how it works.

Refer a friend and claim your £10 Amazon voucher
Don’t forget our great offer! If you are an allpay Broadband customer with friends in our broadband coverage areas, ask them to sign up to our service and we will send you a £10 Amazon voucher.

Your friends simply fill in their details on the ‘register your interest’ page at www.allpaybroadband.com and include your broadband customer number in the ‘Surf with your Friends’ code field.

Once you are verified as an existing customer with us and your friend has been set up to use our service, we will email you your £10 voucher.

Want to know more?

Can’t wait till next month to hear more about allpay Broadband? Why not follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook?

Simply search allpay Broadband. We will keep you up to date with the latest news, as it happens, including updates on our new broadband coverage areas.

0844 557 8322                           www.allpaybroadband.com                     sales@allpaybroadband.com