This Rural Community Is Building Its Own Gigabit Fibre Network
“The parish of Borwick is hardly where you’d expect to find a grassroots techno-revolution. Not far from the historic city of Lancaster, it has a population of around 210, and is an example of archetypal British countryside. Look around and you’ll see green fields in every direction, broken up only by leafy hedges and a healthy smattering of sheep. When I visit in early April, the trees are still spindly silhouettes, just starting to get their leaves, and newborn lambs lay close to their mothers. If it weren’t for the odd power line and a nearby wind turbine, the scene could grace an Easter card from centuries past.
But while the landscape may be idyllic in its timeless charm, the residents of Borwick and the surrounding rural area are moving with the times—and looking toward the future. They’re among the UK’s rural residents who still lack a fast, reliable internet connection, and though they’re geographically remote, they’re keen to get connected.
Frustrated by the major internet service providers and failed attempts to get local government funding, they’re going it alone. They’re building their own fibre network—digging the routes, laying the fibre, splicing the wires—and it’s not just superfast but hyperfast, bringing broadband speeds of one gigabit per second to every home.” [READ MORE]