A SCHEME to deliver wireless broadband to Exmoor which may involve installing as many as 50 masts in the National Park 'must be supported' according to a local MP.

MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset Ian Liddell-Grainger said he is bracing himself for the 'almost inevitable' outcry from conservationists once the proposals were finalised and published.

The project is a joint effort from Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks being run by a public-private partnership of six local authorities called Connecting Devon and Somerset which aims to deliver next generation broadband to areas where the market has failed to invest.

Worcester-based company Airband will be the delivery partner for the scheme which will connect 5,800 homes and business in the two National Parks.

This is in addition to the existing phase 1 rollout which is on track to deliver superfast broadband to around 90% of homes and businesses across Devon and Somerset by the end of 2016.

Mr Liddell-Grainger believes the project offers the only realistic chance of bringing local communications up to the standard as the rest of the country.

"As usual in these cases I expect the majority of complaints to come from people who don't live in the park and who don't therefore have to cope with the daily frustration and inconvenience of substandard communications," he said.

"We always hear the strident voices of those who want to preserve Exmoor in aspic. But Exmoor is not some vast rural heritage centre run for the benefit of tourists, it’s a living, working community and it deserves and needs precisely the same access to modern communications as the rest of the country.

“The real danger is that unless we can provide that access we shall see Exmoor-based businesses moving out to where they can get a decent broadband service and taking jobs with them.”

Conventional cable-based systems cannot cope with the challenges of delivering high-speed broadband to many of Exmoor’s remote villages, hamlets and farms, leaving hundreds of users struggling with a second-rate service.

“Close to my constituency home there are two 300-foot high radio transmitters. I can just imagine the consternation there was when they were put up in the 1930s yet now no-one gives them a second glance.

“The Airband masts will, for the most part, have a far less intrusive effect on the Exmoor landscape and I know every effort will be made to minimise their impact.

“This is a unique opportunity for Exmoor and one which must be seized and embraced.”

A spokesman for Exmoor National Park said: "This is a joint project by Exmoor and Dartmoor national parks and we welcome Mr Liddell-Grainger's support.

 

Perhaps if they want to avoid accusations of ruining the aesthetics of Exmoor the authorities could look at installing something artistic like the pylons have been proposed for Iceland (see embedded tweet), what do you think?