Next Generation broadband access & Project Management Consultancy
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Next Generation broadband access & Project Management Consultancy |
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Broadband Case-Studies ... The Mirasol Partnership ongoing activity from 2002Provision of Consultancy Services on Broadband Issues, Market Failure, ICT Benchmarking, Next Generation Broadband Access. Provision of Consultancy Services in Project and Programme Management, Risk Assessment, Performance Measurement/Metrics, Process Maturity Assessment, Multimedia Presentations, Remote Working, IT Strategy and Review. Client: British Government SW Regional Development Agency and DTI (dBERR) Title: Programme Manager/Project Manager Project Title: SW Broadband Fund Programme The success of this strategically important programme has helped to shape policy making at both Regional and National (UK Govt.) level in its declared aim of making the UK the leading Country in the G7 in terms of broadband access and availability. The bid developed for the SW Broadband Fund formed a substantial part of the DTI’s (Department of Trade and Industry) £30 million Programme. The projects we managed in the South West were unique, innovative and ground-breaking. They were all delivered on time, under budget and delivery. In all cases outputs exceeded expectations. The ideas and concepts involved were new and had to be ‘sold’ to a wide variety of partners with differing degrees of technical knowledge and understanding. Marketing and Education programmes were developed for these target audiences and in all cases, concentration on benefits bore greatest results. Project Title: Buckfastleigh Rural Community Network
After extensive evaluation of alternative supply models, a Mixed Technology Approach using 3.5, 5.8 and 2.4 Wireless was selected as being relatively cheap, readily available, less intrusive (National Park land) and it utilised available skill sets. Connection to the internet was provided by South West Grid for Learning Fibre Backhaul. This was the first time that commercial and domestic internet traffic was allowed over public infrastructure, and was influential in shaping early discussions on Public Sector Aggregation. The project also developed workable value propositions for Community Access and provided a series of supporting business, community, health and education Programmes. http://www.broadband-buckfastleigh.org Plymouth University were commissioned to carry out a full ethnographic study on the impact of communications technology on a small rural community. This 3 year study now nears completion. In all cases, outputs far exceeded expectations, the ‘Wave’ experience centre that was opened to support the project and community had more than 2,000 registrations and inductions in the first year. At the end of the funding cycle, sufficient local demand had been created for a full commercial service to be provided. Project Title: Wiltshire Outreach Project We oversaw the management of this project where the key deliverables were planned around the provision of rural Broadband Experience Centres both the Community and Business sectors and clusters. The project’s strategic aims were to stimulate economic development and to contribute to community regeneration through improved life-chances, building market demand and critical mass by aggregating services meeting service demand through the provision of local Networks This demanding project drew on the skills of a diverse group of individuals and organisation, from private sector suppliers, business development agencies, local and regional and national government, learning and skills agencies and community members. It was my job to manage these relationships in order to:
During the initiation stages of the project we undertook in-depth research into current applications, technologies – rural businesses and communities. Having identified 6 Access Centres in rural Wiltshire where Broadband backhaul was currently available we then evaluated technologies and implemented 3 Local Networks based on Access Centres. Rural Community Access using Wireless and Satellite solutions were established to provide local access to deprived community areas and to promote and give access to online life-long learning opportunities. Fundamental to this was to provide local people with the opportunity to acquire e-business skills increasing their employment potential. It was important to create a ‘basket of services’ that would be available in each of the Access Centres. As well as high speed (2 – 10Mb) Broadband connectivity with online resources, we ensured that there would be a business setting with workstations, café, and administrative support. This was particularly important in the Corsham Centre which supported a thriving cluster of creative media professionals. This project was hailed as an exemplar by the Minister for eCommerce as well as the Head of UK-Online. The lessons learned, examples of best practice and demonstrable benefit in this ‘Path-Finder’ project were seen as crucial in the formation of the Smartplaces project. This new project was able secure the remit and funding to take what we had achieved to deliver to the wider community. Project Title: Broadbandshow
21 Broadband demonstrators totalling over £1million were commissioned from over 100 applications representing the broad range of interests in the 2 sectors. These content demonstrators were also made available on a specially constructed website and DVDs were produced for wider UK distribution. Project Title: Informative Action We were responsible for the development and on-going management of the web portal ConnectingSW.net. This was seen as an important resource for anyone involved or interested in the continuing development of Broadband and ICT in the South West of England.
Project Title: British Government Broadband Activity and Research
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We oversaw the management of this rural community network.
Following discussions with British Telecommunications (BT) and undertaking
research into market failure and areas of deprivation, we determined that small
towns (less than 5000) were unlikely to gain broadband access in the foreseeable
future. Buckfastleigh was chosen as a representative small town where we could
develop workable and affordable access strategies, foster community involvement
through the provision of training, access to services and the development of
public and commercial services and programmes.
Buckfastleigh is often cited as an exemplar project by
Ministers and MPs and as a community model. Following a proactive dissemination
campaign, the ideas and concepts developed have been ‘sold-on’ and adapted by
other communities throughout the UK. A primary output for this project was that
there would be full disclosure. Full details about the project, plans,
programmes, technical solutions and research were published on a website, as
well as an extensive round of presentations and forum.
We oversaw the management of this unique broadband content
project with a focus on 2 of the most important business sectors in the South
West, Tourism and Advanced Engineering. The project’s aim was to commission
content demonstrators utilising, developing and marketing the talents of the
South West Creative Media Sector. This content was then demonstrated through
facilitated ‘Broadband Experience’ road-shows, Conferences and Seminar
Programmes 
Its aim was to raise awareness, to stimulate debate and to
share knowledge. The informative action project also delivered its messages
through workshop & seminar programmes, meetings with strategic partners such as
OFCOM, Local & Regional Government, Academic Institutes, Business Support &
Skills Agencies and Commercial Organisations