MoorsBroadband is a Community Wireless Network, providing wireless broadband to people in St. Martins Moor, Rhosygadfa, Hindford and surrounding area. Because we are so far from Oswestry telephone exchange, broadband over the phone line is difficult or impossible to get.
The system is run by a committee (currently consisting of all the subscribers). David Ellis at Henlle and Nikki Locke at the Moors do most of the day-to-day running. The billing and regulatory administration is done by Cybermoor, who were the first Wireless Community Network in the country, and are based in Cumbria.
The equipment was originally installed by Access Broadband, with grant aid from West Midlands Advantage. When the grant ran out, the company pulled out, as it was not a commercial proposition. However, they have kindly passed all the equipment on to us, and we have been able to reduce the costs, keep the system running, and even improve it.
To join the link, you need a wireless antenna on your roof. This is wired to a small black box inside your house, which provides a connection for a single computer. You also can purchase an Ethernet Switch from Micro Plus or your preferred computer supplier to extend the connection to more than one computer, or a Wireless Access Point to enable you to use a laptop without having to plug it into the box - (see Equipment).
Installation costs £100 + VAT. In addition, you pay £20/month + VAT subscription. The mimimum contract period is 12 months (the installation costs us rather more than £100, and we need to make sure we get the extra back).
The subscription includes access to the Internet and firewall protection. No email addresses are provided, but you can register for free email addresses (see Email).
Please note that the Internet connection is firewalled (to protect against hackers). It is only suitable for ordinary Web browsing, email, etc. It is not suitable for peer-to-peer file sharing (e.g. Napster and BitTorrent), or for running your own servers.
Also remember that the connection is shared - if you saturate the link (watching TV over the Internet, for example) it will slow down for everyone else! We currently have two Internet links, and can add up to 2 more if required, so this is less of a problem whan it once was.