• CBN supports, promotes and develops community-owned broadband schemes
• We have helped more than 100 projects directly and connect 200 project promoters throughout Great Britain
• We develop strategic thinking in Next Generation services and architectures
• We work with partners to deliver advanced and exciting community services

The Community Broadband Network (CBN) has a track record of delivering innovative, community-based broadband solutions for challenging projects  that are perhaps geographically hard to reach (remote, rural areas) or  that suffer from urban deprivation and social exclusion.

CBN was launched in the UK during January 2004 by the then Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael and Broadband Minister Stephen Timms. CBN is a co-operative of community-run independent broadband operators, and it aims to encourage and support the provision of local broadband services through shared community ownership as an alternative to conventional national service providers.

At the time of the CBN’s 2004 conception, most of the UK's community broadband projects were being established to provide broadband services to homes and businesses that were not being served by any other operator.

CBN member projects typically cover rural countryside, where other forms of broadband can be scarce, or urban areas identified for regeneration where a traditional broadband infrastructure may not fulfil the needs of local people.

As BT has accelerated its exchange upgrade programme, the focus of the CBN members has shifted towards the logical Endgame, namely the provision of higher-speed and symmetric next-generation broadband services, including higher-capacity wireless and fibre-optic networks, and to sharing our experiences internationally.

There is an increasingly important role for community broadband projects even after traditional operators have provided vanilla services into an area. Many member projects give something back to their local community, and are constantly innovating and evolving their service to the needs of their community.