Broadband project B4RN made a little bit of history today when it launched a share offer. The project promoters want to raise £1.86m to lay optical fibre that will provide 1Gbps broadband to homes in the deeply rural uplands of Lancashire.
Barry Forde accepts a cheque from B4RN's first shareholder. Credit: Lindsey Annison
To get to this point, B4RN asked people living in the project area to register their interest in getting hooked up to a new fibre network. The business plan depends on at least 50% of residents being prepared to pay £30 per month to receive an ultrafast broadband connection. The registration scheme launched in July and by the end of November had over 700 sign-ups: and B4RN was go!
In Phase I of the project, money raised by the share offer will be used to connect 1452 homes across nine parishes. Some have questioned whether such a small project really matters. But CEO of B4RN Barry Forde, who has spent the last two years putting the plans together, set them straight immediately. “It does matter; in fact it’s life or death for the countryside,” he told the launch meeting at the Storey Arms in Lancaster this afternoon.
