A Dorset communications company that specialises in connecting hard-to-reach areas to the internet has expanded its service in the Swanage area.
Unlike conventional fibre links, Juice Broadband uses a microwave signal from the mast at Nine Barrow Down in Purbeck. Now, with increased height on the transmitter, it can offer even more customers a service, including in the Harmans Cross area.
Connected: the seafront restaurant Gee White’s in Swanage
“Line of sight”
Ricki Hill, communications manager for Juice Broadband, said:
“All you need is line of sight with the mast and a small dish about 40 centimetres in diameter that points towards the tower.
“Quite a lot of rural areas have very poor internet connections and we’ve helped a lot of people in the Swanage area get connected.”
The signal is dependent on having line of sight with the mast
“Top notch”
Among the businesses they have assisted are traders who take part in Swanage Carnival, allowing them to get a signal for bank card transactions.
Another business that has used the service is the popular Shell Bay Restaurant in Studland that had struggled with slow internet for many years.
Jamie Farrar, the owner, said:
“It is top notch. They delivered a solution for our business that others had promised but could never deliver.”
Shell Bay Restaurant
Everyday activities taken for granted
Everyday activities that most now take for granted, like Zoom calls, movie watching, and online gaming, are not universally available in places like Purbeck.
That was one reason why the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport chose this area for its controversial 5G trials.
There was a major upgrade to the service in Worth Matravers and there are now 5G transmitters floating off the Jurassic Coast to enable signals to be obtained in previously inaccessible places.
View from the mast at Nine Barrow Down looking towards Studland
Unable to watch movies or run business
Quite a few rural areas have broadband as low as ten megabits download speed – meaning householders are unable to watch movies or run a business.
Juice says it can provide up to a 50 megabit download and 20 megabit upload in Swanage.
The connection does not need any phone lines and can be connected usually in around ten days from the contract being signed. The firm also offer VoIP telephones for both home and business use which run over the same connection.
A map of the areas the microwave service can reach
“Personal local service”
The additional service reaching Harmans Cross provides access to campsites in the area like Woodyhyde, allowing them to add internet access to the range of services offered to visitors.
Ricki said:
“We are a small company, but we have got a pretty hefty infrastructure for the size of the business and we pride ourselves on providing that personal local service.”
Additonal height on the mast means more areas across Purbeck can be reached
