Shropshire firm delivers broadband boost . . . from The Wrekin
A Shropshire business claims to have found a solution to rural broadband problems in the county after making a major investment in its infrastructure.
Telford-based Unitron has installed a dish on top of The Wrekin which will give wireless internet connections to properties in the area with a direct line of sight to the landmark mast.
Bosses have invested around £50,000 in the roll-out of the uConnect wireless technology, negotiating with the owner of the mast, Arqiva, to be able to install the necessary dish.
Chief executive Steve Griffin said: "The potential is very high, especially with Shropshire being such a rural county
"We are already working with wireless technology on five sites, and we have been working towards getting up on The Wrekin as the coverage is massive.
"Whilst listening to many people and the media discussing issues with rural broadband in Shropshire, we have made our own investment to provide what we believe to be the future for rural high-speed broadband."
The wireless technology works by having line of sight to the rooftops of local homes or businesses, and linking the dish back to Unitron's headquarters on Stafford Park.
It then links back to major internet hubs including at London's Docklands, bosses at the company say.
The wireless connection brings speeds of more than 20Mbps to users in a 10-mile radius, including a number of rural villages, and is also accessible to users whose properties have sight of The Wrekin from further afield.
Mr Griffin said: "From our point of view the potential is massive, and it's going to give us a big boost. We are now catching up with clients who wanted to get on our existing network but couldn't be reached previously.
"As far as the cost of putting it in goes, we have spent around £50,000 on infrastructure."
Technical director John Shaw added "Negotiations have been ongoing with mast owner Arqiva for the past 12 months.
Success
"We have been using this technology very successfully for more than three years and have many satisfied clients. We are also looking at other key sites around Shropshire to further expand the network."
Unitron already offers services at Atcham Business Park, Stafford Park, Pulverbatch, Hortonwood and Kynnersley.
The service will complement the roll-out of broadband to rural locations, potentially providing high speeds for customers based a long way from cabinets used for standard fibre-optic broadband connections.
