FibreValley is a community led campaign to see next generation high speed broadband services universally available to homes, farms and businesses in the Worth Valley, West Yorkshire.

Worth Valley villages, including Haworth, Oldfield, Oxenhope and Stanbury, could be considered a little remote and left to commercial market forces are unlikely to benefit from the latest technologies, providing lightning fast digital services that compare with the best in the world, for some considerable period.

We currently suffer from poor broadband speeds and unreliable services. Many villages are several miles away from the nearest exchange and served by an ageing copper telecoms network that was designed for the telephone and not the digital information age.

What can we do?

To realise our vision we think we need to focus on the following three things;

1. To create digitally aware communities where every citizen is connected to the web and understands the many benefits offered by high speed broadband services.

2. To demonstrate to key stakeholders and providers that there is sufficient interest and potential take-up of new services in the Worth Valley to influence their investment decisions.

3. To explore the possibility of working with a Community Broadband Operator, to deliver a FibreValley Network that is regulated, owned and operated in the interests of Worth Valley communities.

Why?

In the 19th Century a community of mill owners and others, organised to bring the steam railway up our valley to provide access to trading markets in Keighley, Bradford and beyond. We are hoping to do the same with next generation broadband and by making the Worth Valley a Fibre Valley we will be able to compete with markets across the world whilst enjoying all of the life enhancing benefits offered by the web.

When the commercial providers get round to providing high speed broadband to our villages they will not connect directly to each premise and whilst we will see an improvement we will not enjoy the best the technology has to offer and will be behind other areas and other countries for many years. The services that will be provided if we leave things to the market will also not allow for high speed uploading, an increasingly important requirement for many people, including students and businesses seeking to upload video and stream content across the web.

Our message is simple – given sufficient community demand and commitment we can achieve something truly remarkable – a future proofed, lightning fast infrastructure that will change our lives and ensure the Worth Valley does not become the digitally excluded valley that time forgot!

Together, we can have influence. Please do get involved and help us realise our vision.

Ken Eastwood, Oxenhope.