A new cycle path between the University of Essex and the town of Wivenhoe could give an internet speed boost to residents.
According to the Essex County Standard, Essex County Council has examined five possible routes for the new path. Colchester Council says any of the four options that use Colchester Road would give it the opportunity to install open access fibre optic broadband to Wivenhoe.
A report by council officers said: “Allowing for fibre optic cabling within the design of the cycleway potentially offers construction cost sharing with the fibre provider and reduced disruption for residents.”
Paul Smith, councillor for business and resources at the borough council, said: “We are well aware about the need to improve broadband speeds across the borough with benefits not just for private users, but businesses as well.
“Our partner, County Broadband, has already done some installations in areas such as Abberton, mainly using line of sight technology, but Wivenhoe presents a problem geographically because it is well shielded by Clingoe Hill.
“The tricky part is always the cost, but there is some national and county council funding available.
“This is an encouraging situation and it may be that by doing the cycle route we could substantially reduce the costs of putting in the cable.”
The university is stumping up the £250,000 cost of the bike path as part of a planning agreement that sees it also building a multi-storey car park.
Locals have welcomed the prospect of faster internet speeds.
Ginny Waters, owner of the Wivenhoe Bookshop, said: “Having fibre optic broadband would definitely be good for us.
“All of our ordering to suppliers is done online and we sell books online and run a website, so we really are on the web a lot.”
Jane Knight, owner of Wivenhoe Pets, is about to close her bricks-and-mortar shop and switch to a mobile business.
“The internet will the basis of my business, she said. “Having faster broadband would be fantastic.”
If the idea of different service providers cooperating like this rings a bell, maybe you're thinking of this video:
That one used to wind me up when I was selling cars, got so fed up with it, i just quoted the original asking price....
Most councils will overfill/do something about correctly informed potholes because that makes them accountable if they don't fix them.
On the 'rate' point - the victim does not care one jot how far someone has travelled to hit them or whether it's their third journey of the day....
In Australia, not only is government refusing to give any subsidy to EV purchases, they are looking how to tax people that buy EV's, as the...
That is a conversion from USD, it is a $55,000 goal. There will be a celebratory meal if we succeed but it will likely be mac and cheese while we...
Of course the van was over the white line.. if the driver had stayed within the white line, he would have actually hit the cyclist. The driver...
This road is a fucking nightmare to ride on and always has been. And I regularly ride DCs, so I'm not exactly a shrinking violet when it comes to...
Whilst I wouldn't go that far I'm rather surprised that there are 2 Condor Frames out of 7 total. I'm sure they are fab but given the range of...
Do not be taken in by Mr King's occasional posturing. The AA campaign for measures such as the fuel duty freeze, free parking and 'fair' (i.e. lax)...
This project was misguided from the outset- if those new non-disc wheels were intended for a previous bike, then use them on it. Don't lumber a new...