The Surf House, Superfast Your Business

Across some areas of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, superfast broadband is still a big issue facing some businesses. Although, thanks to significant investment, many areas of the region do enjoy access to high-speed broadband connectivity, where people can stream videos without buffering and access large files quickly, there are still a number of locations where fibre broadband is not available.

This lack of connectivity often affects routine business tasks, like checking and sending emails, sharing files with clients and online bill payments.

Whilst phase three of Cornwall’s fibre broadband network is already underway, deployment takes time, and there are rural and remote locations which simply will not gain access to superfast speeds through fibre. This is where Avanti Communications comes in. Avanti is a UK satellite operator which owns communications satellites and, under a scheme funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), provides superfast connectivity to rural businesses across Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. The scheme helps rural eligible businesses who do not have access to superfast broadband, get a connection of up to 40Mbps, the fastest satellite broadband speeds available in Europe.

The aim of this project is to support the growth of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by increasing competitiveness and productivity, as well as promoting the use of online and digital marketing tools. The scheme targets areas where there is no broadband connectivity or, where broadband access has speeds lower than 2Mbps. The project has funding to provide high speed broadband connectivity of up to 40Mbps to up to 1,000 businesses across the region. Avanti is running the project from their base at the world famous Goonhilly site on the Lizard peninsula.

Getting on Board

One of the first small businesses in Cornwall to utilise the satellite technology is Surf House St Ives.  It must rank as one of the most amazing business locations in Cornwall, if not the UK.  Standing proud on The Island in St Ives with views across Porth Meor beach and Tate St Ives, business Director Tassy Swallow could not be better placed.  The Surf House provides a number of functions including the provision of a clubhouse for “Tassy’s Surf Rats”, an all-girls club that helps to build self-confidence using surfing as a tool to engage.  The Surf House is also home to Tassy’s surf school and it is a community events hub which has already hosted a festival and arts exhibition.

However, this seemingly perfect location has challenges to overcome. Tassy, Director of Surf House St Ives said, “The Surf House is effectively on an island so we can’t get close enough to the main cable network to get internet speeds that will open a basic webpage. That obviously has made our business plan really difficult, but that’s where Avanti came in. We purchased an Avanti business package to connect the Surf House and get the speeds we need to run our business. The engineer came and got everything set up for us efficiently and with no issues. Based on our previous connectivity issues, I was sceptical about the speeds we would get, but from the moment we connected we could access what we wanted in seconds, at high speeds. It is actually better than my connection at home! It’s game changing for us and it seems like the possibilities are endless.”

“I want to create a specialised technical classroom environment where I can bring in the latest software to facilitate modern coaching techniques. We can film a lesson on the beach, come back to the Surf House upload it, analyse it and immediately make changes and improvements. Beyond that, we can look to resources and people from around the world that we can then bring into the classroom through the internet. Going the other way, we have so much talent in this community that we will be able to share and export our offer to the world. We are not confined to the walls of this building now that we have this connection.”

The Satellite Broadband Offer

The project offers satellite broadband services of up to 40Mbps download speeds and up to 6Mbps upload speeds, with a range of monthly data caps. The funding for the project includes free kit and subsidised installation, as well as the monthly tariffs offered on a subsidised rate. All packages offer the same speeds with the variance on price reflecting the data allowance per month; data packages start at 25GB and go up to 100GB for larger users. The installation is carried out by a Certified Service Provider, and includes the installation of a satellite dish (installed on the outside of the premises), and a modem (installed inside the premises). Once this is installed, PCs, Wi-Fi routers and other equipment can be connected and businesses can benefit from significantly increased broadband speeds.

To check your eligibility for the scheme, please visit www.connecting-rural-cornwall.co.uk/ or contact one of the following certified Service Providers:

Europasat: 01869 722 870

Bentley Walker: 0845 873 0266