Information Research Weblog

Broadband Britain is in the news again - this being Thursday and the Guardian Online supplement being out. Online has a couple of items on the subject. In the first, Paul Rubens reports on the problems of access in rural areas, and the currently available alternatives to ADSL and cable, which are only available in the more populated areas. The alternatives, of course, boil down to one - wireless, either from a mast on the land or from a satellite and both are more costly than the typical ADSL charge.

The other article is on the problems of getting wireless connection if you live in a difficult location, even in a city. Martin Wainwright lives in Leeds - he is the Guardian's northern editor - and he reports on the survey being undertaken by one of the wireless providers. Line of sight is the key issue - if you have it, connection is straightforward, if you haven't it's a problem. Wainwright is going to have to end up with a 2.5 metre pole strapped to the chimney of his Victorian house. Not quite as problematical as another customer who, "connects with a mast through his house walls, both main stands at Leeds United's Elland Road stadium and a hill"