Category: Information Hub

Technical aspects around IT

Wessex Internet – Full Fibre Price Reductions

Wessex Internet have just bucked the price hike trends of the bigger broadband providers by announcing a price drop for most of their Full Fibre packages.

  • Packages have been rationalised with Upload speeds now half that of download, which is fast.
  • Full Fibre Lite is unaffected for speed and price being the entry-level package.
  • All Packages have a £49.00 Activation Fee.

Check out https://www.wessexinternet.com/for-home/

Here is a comparison of the new against the old:

Home PackageOldNewsaving
Full Fibre 900£84.00/m£79.00/m£5.00/m
Full Fibre 500c.f., FF350, was £59.00/m£55.00/m£4.00/m & Faster
Full Fibre 350Was £59.00/mDiscontinuedA. Speed up to new FF500 (£4.00/m)
B. Slow down to new FF250 (£19.50/m)
Full Fibre 250c.f., FF100, was £44.00/m£39.50/m£4.50/m
Full Fibre 100£44.00/mDiscontinuedSpeed up to new FF250 (£4.50/m)
Full Fibre Lite£29.00/m£29.00/mNo change

Digital Champions

Digital Champions and how this army of volunteers is helping people all around Dorset to improve their digital skills.

We have a Digital Champion in our area; please feel free to drop in and see him:

Dan Lamkin
Every 4th Monday
16:00 to 18:00
Blandford Library

Superfast Dorset, Dorset Council 01258 484363

dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Facebook.com/DorsetCouncilUK
Twitter.com/DorsetCouncilUK
Instagram.com/DorsetCouncilUK

To receive the latest news from Dorset Council by email, visit dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/e-newsletter

Alternative Broadband Services

Be advised that BT is now offering BT Infinity for Stourpaine. Five years on!

It has a 25% Welcome Discount, which I have checked applies even if you have “Unlimited Broadband” (not fibre) already.

Visit: http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/broadband-packages/#packages

We do have an alternative using wessexinternet (wireless): https://www.wessexinternet.com/superfast-home-broadband/?pp=content
wessexinternet offer VoIP (Vonage Phone), which could replace your BT (or other) landline.

The choice (at last) is there but you should consider, upload and download speeds, latency, tied services (Landline, current email provider) against the cost (or saving) for each service.

A message from Dorset Police

logoYou may well have read in the media about the successful international operation led by the FBI that had taken control of the GameOver Zeus botnet, a network of captured computers used to steal millions of pounds from individuals and small businesses around the world. An infected computer can also suffer a secondary attack by a piece of malware referred to as CryptoLocker which results is a victims files all being encrypted. Once encrypted a message appears seeking payment of a ransom if the user wants to access their files again. This encryption cannot be broken without the password (or key) held by criminals.

Dorset Police is strongly advising computer owners, who may not even realise they have the malware, to take steps now to remove the infection and protect themselves from future attacks. It is estimated that the criminals will probably be up and running again in about two weeks.

Whilst, it is hoped that the owners of infected systems will be advised that they have of the malware by their ISP, Dorset Police strongly recommends that computers users go to:

https://www.cert.gov.uk/resources/alerts/nca-alert-two-week-opportunity-for-uk-to-reduce-threat-from-powerful-computer-attack/

or

https://www.getsafeonline.org/nca/

and follow the instructions given to check for and remove the malware.

This warning is not intended to cause you panic but we cannot over-stress the importance of taking these steps immediately.

And remember, if you don’t make an effort to clean up malware from your own computer, you may become a victim or at the very least your computer will become part of the problem.

A/DCI P Little
Public Protection
Dorset Police

Broadband gone the way of the Flooding

From: info@northdorsetbroadband.co.uk

Dear Supporter,
Better Broadband for North Dorset
The Trailway Broadband Project.

Over the last nine months we have struggled to make sense of the contradictory messages coming from BDUK and DEFRA.

In February, there was a fundamental interpretation of one of the three basic criteria required to access the Rural Community Broadband Fund. We were one of six projects that had developed projects in such a way that we would have been eligible to access this fund. The changes announced by the RCBF team meant that, in order to qualify, we would have had to reduce the area covered by the project to the extent that there was no longer a sound business case.

We have taken the issue up to ministerial and Secretary of State level. Regrettably, in spite of considerable efforts to repair the damage, it is now clear that we will not be able to access RCBF funds. This applies to five of the other projects.

Rather than continuing to struggle on, we have decided to admit defeat.

This does not mean that you will miss out on improved broadband. The DCC programme, Superfast Dorset will cover all of the Trailway project area. Interestingly, our area will get greater coverage than the rest of rural Dorset.

We would very much like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your work and support which got the project to within a whisker of succeeding.

On behalf of all the team

Scott Norman
Chair of the Trailway Broadband Project and of DT11 Community Partnership