hello

Can be read here, in case you’ve missed it.

with an interview with Fra Cooke, chair of Cumbria’s Hub coordinators!

Miles Mandelson has been blogging about the terrific progress being made at Great Asby.

The last of the mesh boxes have been installed and a 220-metre long trench has been dug for the armoured mains cable and the first fibre optic ducting to the Goodlie Hill wireless node. Read all about it here. Inspirational stuff!

Meanwhile, Carol Bowe, from Vale of Mowbray Community Broadband in North Yorkshire, has written a wonderful account of her community’s campaign to get better broadband. She did the research, surveyed the village, and is now on the brink of getting connected: her How To Be A Broadband Champion is a must-read.

And finally, over on Fibrevolution, Lindsey Annison has been blogging about the King’s Fund’s International Congress on Telehealth and Telecare. Click here to watch the sessions live.

As Lindsey argues, telehealth and telecare technologies could transform people’s quality of life, especially in remote areas. But communities will need to have their superfast broadband infrastructure in place first. Lindsey reckons that the typical measures of cost-effectiveness used to assess telehealth and telecare technology fail to capture the true value and benefits of these kinds of services: “government and local authorities must look at more than just cash projections and profit forecasts“.

For those who’d like to know more, a quick guide to telehealth and telecare can be read here. The WSD Action Network is an brilliant online resource for research into telecare, telehealth and the management of long-term conditions. The King’s Fund’s website is an excellent all-round resource for health-related issues.

Name: Lindsey Annison

Age: Old enough to know better!

Parish: Warcop

Occupation/Professional experience: Freelance Internet marketer, proofreader, copywriter, author of 5 books, broadband consultant, campaigner and evangelist.

You live in Cumbria because?

Only place I could afford a house when I returned from 10 years travelling.

Your idea of happiness?

My own island connected directly to one of the undersea fibres.

Your idea of misery?

Much longer hearing BT et al conning the great British public that BT will give you a true broadband connection using public money.

When and why did you first use the Internet?

1994 because someone gave me a modem at the Big Green Gathering and said I just needed a computer and phone line to discover a whole new world I would love. They were right, I was hooked from day one and ran up a £1600 phone bill that first quarter - at least now we have FRIACO so it’s flat rate!

What characters in history do you most dislike and why?

My belief is that everyone has a purpose so I don’t dislike anyone particularly. They have all had their place in the fabric of the past and lessons to teach us in the present and future.

Why did you become a broadband champion?

I was pretty much one of the first back in 1994/95- we were quite an exclusive group in those days! Having acquired a computer, connected my modem, and started an online business, some nice person in the US educated me about T1 lines and I realised broadband was, and would be, as vital as air. For all of us. I was a little ahead of the curve, but I started the Association of Broadband Communities (which became CBN, now INCA) and then the Access to Broadband Campaign, and will bore the pants of anyone willing to listen about broadband - I suspect I am obsessed!

If not yourself, who would you be?

No-one, I’m OK with me (which I know is not what a female is supposed to say!)

What would you use a 100meg symmetrical connection for?

Everything I currently cannot even dream of doing, even 15 years down the line. True broadband permits simultaneous voice, video and data, and I would hammer it quite happily exploring the boundaries of communicating with all three!

Your heroes in real life?

I am pretty much anti-celebrity, so my heroes are all everyday folk, like my dad, Chris Conder and a host of other people, none of whom, sadly, you will know.

What has been the world’s greatest invention?

The internal combustion engine, without which so much would never have been possible. Plus, I’m a vehicle nut and have a 1966 7.5 ton Magirus Deutz ex-German Civil Defence wireless command post, two motorbikes and 3 cars.

What’s your favourite place in Cumbria, and why?

Coming down Stainmore on the A66, seeing the whole of the Eden Valley spread out in front of me, and knowing I am home.

Today, BT announced the winners of its Race To Infinity. Barrow-in-Furness fell just short, coming 20th. BT will upgrade the winners to FTTC by 2012.

Cumbria County Council announced six community events throughout the county to enable you to have your say in person on the Council’s proposed priorities and budget options. They will be held in:

Allerdale - Tuesday, 11 January Christchurch, Cockermouth 7-9pm

Eden - Wednesday, 12 January Evergreen Hall, Penrith 7-9pm

South Lakeland - Thursday, 13 January County Council Offices, Kendal 7-9pm

Carlisle - Tuesday, 18 January Richard Rose Central Academy, Carlisle 7-9pm

Barrow - Wednesday, 19 January Forum 28, Barrow-in-Furness 7-9pm

Copeland - Thursday, 20 January Egremont Market Hall, Egremont 7-9pm

If you can’t make it,  you can still let the Council know what you think on their website forum here.

And finally, Lindsey Annison makes her New Year predictions - well worth reading!