CBN has been engaged by the communities living among the glens of Angus in Scotland, to help them find a solution to their lack of broadband. This is a rural area with the population dispersed across the countryside. While the population is connected to one of several BT telephone exchanges in the area, they are too far away or the infrastructure too poorly maintained to provide most of the community with a broadband service of any kind.

After spending a few days in this beautiful part of the country researching their predicament, Adrian Wooster spoke to a very well attended public meeting. This is a community used to being self-sufficient, who are clearly keen to find their own solutions to their broadband dilemma rather than expecting others to solve the issue for them. However, the complexity of the geography means that its not immediately obvious what the solutions might be. In the coming days, CBN will be presenting a report to the community which will lay out the options, and the work will begin to make broadband in the glens a reality.

The community's report of the public meeting can be found here. 

With the debate about next generation broadband beginning to heat up, this community is a timely reminder that there remain some areas of the UK with no access to the first generation.  While the solutions may become less obvious, CBN believes they exist and with the right balance of stakeholders, an intelligent approach, and a strong community there is no reason why these communities can't lead the way to the next generation.