3-C BUILDS A WIRELESS BRIDGE
ACROSS CRAGG VALE

Linda Clegg and her neighbour Derek Birdsall in Cragg Vale were happily using 3-C Broadband for 15 months. In September last year, Linda upgraded to the 1Mbps service.

Shortly after, BT decided to reroute the telephone line supplying Linda's house. This led to a longer phone line with the result that Linda's Broadband no longer worked. BT were contacted, but they said Broadband was no longer available to the Cleggs' and refused to do anything. BT also terminated another nearby 3-C customer's Broadband on similar grounds.

Brian Marsden (left) of 3-C's Support Team devised a plan to transmit Wireless Broadband from a customer on the opposite hill, half a mile away as the crow flies. A 3-C member there agreed to be a Wireless Host to Linda and Derek.

One weekend, Brian and his team made their way up to the further reaches of Cragg Vale. They were met there by Linda's husband Nigel who drove them in their 4 by 4 down the rough track leading to the Cleggs' home.

The Support Team of John Frederiksen, Pete Keal, Brian and Nigel installed a uni-directional aerial and two Wireless Access Points at Nigel and Linda's house.

The following weekend, the team worked at the Wireless Host's house installing another uni-directional aerial and a Wireless Access Point to transmit Wireless Broadband across the valley.

After the second aerial was installed and the cabling connected up we searched on the computer for the Wireless equipment on the other side of the valley. We found it immediately - the connection was made. The installation had gone very well and the teamwork was fantastic.

Linda Clegg told 3-C News: "We're thrilled to have had our broadband re-instated by 3-C. When BT rerouted the phone line we thought it was no longer possible to have broadband here - that's certainly what they told us. I don't know of any other broadband provider who would have offered us this service. We're really grateful to all the team who worked so hard, and of course also to the 3-C members who are hosting our connection."