12.12.03
Camelford looks forward to a prosperous new year!

December 17th sees the arrival of broadband in Camelford after a long campaign by local businesses, spearheaded by Simon Final who runs Stephens Hardware in the town.

Simon Final started a campaign to bring broadband to the town last June and gathered over 500 registrations of interest. This was the highest level of interest in the whole of the UK achieved for an area without a 'trigger level' (a target level of registrations set by BT, which, once reached, triggers the exchange to be upgraded). The level of registrations generated in Camelford resulted in significant interest from other campaigners and broadband pressure groups across the UK.

"The success of Camelford has become a shining beacon nationwide, showing how much can be achieved by individual campaigners,” said Nigel Ashcroft, Project Director of actnow.

The Camelford campaign has been supported by actnow, the Objective One project, which fast-tracked the process of getting broadband so the exchange was put straight into BT's upgrade programme.

actnow have also confirmed that businesses within reach of the exchange will receive the full actnow support package of business advice, as well as a rebate on broadband set up costs and ongoing monthly charges. In addition, through its accelerator service, actnow can subsidise up to 40% of the costs where businesses want to grow through broadband related ICT investments.

The project has been hailed as the most successful rural broadband partnership in the country, recently receiving a national champions award for its innovation in the Broadband Britain Challenge.

Nigel Ashcroft, actnow Project Director says: "What has been achieved in Camelford is phenomenal. The vision and drive of one or two individuals can make a huge difference.”

Simon Final, who led the Camelford campaign says: "I worked hard to gather enough registrations just to get a trigger level set, so it was great when actnow came along and put Camelford straight into the upgrade programme. After we hit the 500 mark, I was sure we'd be successful as that's more than most exchanges need to be upgraded. Now we can look forward to broadening horizons for businesses and self employed people in Camelford. It is a great Christmas present for the town and we can certainly look forward with confidence as we embark on making the most of the new technology! It will open up eCommerce to many and save businesses time and money.”

Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Objective One Partnership for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: "The lower costs of technology have meant that we can help more communities than was originally envisaged. The Objective One Partnership is delighted to see Camelford and the other six towns upgraded and we know that this will help guarantee them a prosperous new year!”

Bob Ellison, County Councillor for Camelford and Director of Cornwall Enterprise says: "The arrival of broadband is the icing on Camelford's regeneration cake! My next objective is to secure a suitable site for a modern business park. Broadband will boost our economic regeneration prospects no end.”

The other exchanges in Cornwall set to get broadband on December 17th programme are Callington, Lostwithiel, Mevagissey, Three Waters, St Just and St Day.

Editor's notes:

The actnow programme is a demand-led initiative to encourage businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to gain the support they need to move into the new broadband economy. Including about £5.25 million from Objective One, it is one of the largest private and public sector partnerships in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly since they were granted Objective One status by the European Union in 2000.

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) broadband transforms the pair of copper wires between a local telephone exchange and the customer's telephone socket into a high speed digital line.

For more information contact:

Emma Lydon 01209 722850

Jason Clark
Communications Adviser
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Tel: 01872 241379
Fax: 01872 241388
objectiveone@cornwall.gov.uk

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