b4rn cheshire

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B4RN Cheshire

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News

The Big Dig starts

MP joins villagers as they dig their way towards faster broadband Determined villagers are celebrating the start of months-long digging work to deliver a superfast broadband network to their remote …

News

It’s good to talk

Great turnout at the drop-in sessions at Capenhurst and Burton on Saturday. Lots of discussion over the big route maps as we move into the mobilisation phase. We are looking …

News

CheshireHyperfast is now B4RN Cheshire

Since our very successful public meeting in Burton last October, we have now become an official B4RN project. As a consequence, our name has changed from CheshireHyperfast to B4RN Cheshire …

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b4rn cheshire

About Us

B4RN Cheshire

Last year, CheshireHyperfast was set up locally after it was clear that we, and many other people in our area, were dissatisfied with their broadband provision with little prospect of the situation improving in the near future.

We looked at many ways to address the problem but there was really only one approach that stood head and shoulders above the rest – Broadband for the Rural North or B4RN.

B4RN started as a community project in rural Lancashire with just a couple of parishes. They built a very very high speed pure fibre optic network from scratch with the help of local volunteers, landowners and investors. Very quickly though, communities on the edge of the coverage area also wanted the service. So, each community formed a group, raised investment, persuaded landowners and recruited volunteers to build their own new piece of the B4RN network.

The attraction of B4RN’s high quality, high speed and affordable network has resulted in rapid expansion and given rural dwellers access to broadband that is the envy of most city dwellers.

Up until recently, expansion of the B4RN network has always occurred in this ‘organic’ manner and the B4RN network now covers a huge area in Lancashire extending into Yorkshire and Cumbria.

After much negotiating with B4RN, and after a successful public meeting in Burton last October. we are now officially a B4RN community project

As a consequence, our name has changed to B4RN Cheshire emphasising we are very much part of B4RN and trailblazing their community principles here in Cheshire.

We, along with B4RN East Anglia, are the first truly remote B4RN coverage areas. As such, we will likely be the focus for surrounding local communities wanting to join B4RN and will eventually have our own permanent staff, much like B4RN in Lancashire in fact.

So, if you are interested in subscribing… or investing… or volunteering… or giving permission to cross your land… or any combination, then register now!

(Registering puts you under no obligation and we won’t disclose your details to anyone else.)

b4rn service

Features

Community led

B4RN was set up in rural Lancashire in 2011 after people got fed up waiting for decent broadband. It has since enabled over 3800 homes and businesses (and counting) to connect to the world’s fastest rural broadband through it’s unique community-led approach

Community benefit

B4RN is an FCA-registered community benefit society. It is owned by the communities it serves and can’t be sold to, or taken over by, any commercial company. It relies on volunteers and landowner co-operation to keep build costs to a minimum. Any profits  must be returned to the community

Community built

Communities that want the B4RN service have to build their own segment of the B4RN network. This means raising funds by encouraging investment in B4RN shares,  identifying potential subscribers, persuading land owners to allow the network to cross their land and recruiting volunteers to do the build

Egalitarian

B4RN subscribers all receive the same, affordable, very high speed service. No ‘up to’ caveats here and no extra charges for reaching remote properties

Very very fast

You can download a full HD film in around 10 seconds for example. The service can also upload as fast as it downloads making working from home as fast (or faster) than the office

Future proof

The B4RN network is a brand new state of the art pure fibre optic network all the way to your door. It bypasses altogether the old speed-sapping BT Openreach copper telephone network cabling, over which, most broadband services (even those labelled ‘fibre’ or ‘superfast’) are delivered in this country

Affordable

£30 per month on a 1 month contract. £150 install. Simple. You can even pay just for installation and activate the service when you are ready, perhaps when your current contract expires. Invest £1500 in B4RN shares and your installation is free!

Investor Funded

Our network will be funded largely by local investors. You can buy B4RN shares with your funds ringfenced for our build. Shares can be sold back to B4RN after a minimum 3 years or left in to earn 5% pa. The HMRC EIS scheme enables individual tax payers to claim 30% tax relief on their investment. It is also possible to loan B4RN money at 4% pa

The techie bit

B4RN provides a 1 gigabit (1000mb) FTTP (Fibre To The Premises), symmetrical, low latency, PtP (Point to Point) service. For everyone. The network uses the same highly reliable commodity hardware used by thousands of companies all over the world

No phone line required

You can keep your existing phone line if you wish but the B4RN service doesn’t need it. If you decide not to keep your line, use one of the internet phone services such as Vonage, sipgate, Voipfone etc. You will usually be able to retain your existing phone number and equipment if you do

Volunteer built

Volunteers from the community build the network. This includes landowners who may elect to bury the thin plastic network ducting themselves (typically using a mole plough) or accept the help of other volunteers. In return credits can be earned and used to buy shares in B4RN. Volunteers are needed for everything including making the tea!

Landowner driven

Landowner co-operation is vital. Landowners give free permission for the network to cross their land (although they under no obligation to do this). The B4RN approach means they, and their community, can benefit from the world’s fastest rural broadband safe in the knowledge that their generosity will not be exploited for commercial gain

Great support

The B4RN network is extremely reliable and failures are very rare. if you do have an issue you will be able to talk directly to someone knowledgeable at their headquarters in Melling, Lancashire. No call centres. No scripts. Just real people whose aim is to help

Good for business

B4RN have great rates for local businesses and enterprises. Businesses up to 5 staff pay the same £30 pm (incl vat) as the domestic service for example. The current price list is on the main B4RN website

Investor privacy

Investors buy shares in B4RN directly from B4RN head office in Lancashire, backed up by local advice. However, details of investments are not revealed locally and remain private between the B4RN finance department in Melling, Lancashire and Individual investors. Only the gross investment figure is revealed to us so we can check if we have met fundraising targets

Home improvement

Having a very high speed broadband service can not only help you but can also help sell your house when the time comes. Rural homes for sale in Lancashire often mention they have the B4RN service. B4RN’s 1 month contract makes it easy and cheap to disconnect when you leave or reconnect when you move in

b4rn cheshire

Register

Registering allows us to gauge interest so that we can plan the network. Doing so puts you under no obligation whatsoever and we won’t reveal the information we collect to any third party. We will only contact you if you specifically request it on the form