| bassac, August, 2000 | |
|
hot red bricks
-A 'development success' without kowtowing to donors? |
|
Stephanie Davis interviews one of the founders, Nigel Stewart.
Will you explain a bit about the project and the technology behind it?
Basically, each flat gets a fast, 'always open' connection to the internet for a fee of £3 each week. We've installed a high capacity connection on the estate (a "leased line") and for the fee any resident can connect through this. We've created an intranet (an internal online community) so that we can all communicate with each other, as well as being able to access information and communicate with the outside world on the internet. The leasing of this line costs about £5000 a year. With a minimum of thirty people paying £3 weekly, and doing the installation ourselves, we'd cover the cost in two years.
Where did the idea come from?
I was promoting the cost effectiveness of internet access through a leased line in my work. I realised that a housing estate was very similar to a business in terms of the numbers of people sharing the connection. A similar set-up could really reduce costs and improve life for residents. Using a leased line rather than a modem also gets rid of the paranoia of running up your phone bilil
"... what would have cost the government hundreds of thousands of pounds is being done by people who are seriously disadvantaged..." (New Start Magazine)
How did it all happen then?
We couldn't sell the idea before people could see what we were on about. We decided to connect up two computers in two separate flats. Then we told people about it down the pub. Now, two years later, we've ninety flats connected and we're looking to get all three hundred residents hooked up soon. We hope to do that using a planned network with a twenty- year guarantee, and remove all hassle from the authorities. When we replace the leased line with a radio network, we can create high-speed connections to other neighbourhood networks in the area.
And where did the money come from?
We had seen broken promises of grants and wanted to do this independently. We wanted to create a sustainable and replicable development, so we had to keep the development do-gooders at bay, who seem to insist that it must all be free for users. We didn't see how that could be sustainable or replicable. Far better an affordable charge for a desirable service. A few residents made the initial outlay for the hardware and then the residents with technical experience led the installation. Individuals paid for their own PCs with savings or by borrowing off friends. Many bought second hand PCs from Recycle IT. Some used Credit Union loans.
What are the main benefits?
The ability to communicate with anyone and everyone on the estate 24/7 has been popular. As well as developing new communities of interest, people can talk when they wouldn't have otherwise: someone who was mugged was able to find support at 02:00. She could find someone who was willing to help in minutes, without waking anyone up. Last orders for vegetables is another way we are make the most of bulk buying; we order together and get big discounts. People are delighted with the high-speed communications within the estate, in comparison with the Internet. Locally made videos, and even video-phone using the free software NetMeeting, work well in the neighbourhood.
The idea of bulk buying and sharing speaks of communal living. Is this what you have in mind?
This is about awareness of a group, the others in the neighbourhood, but it isn't really about ideal communal living; it is more about individual freedom. People can buy any PC they want, and have e-arguments with their neighbours and the authorities if they choose. They can be more involved locally, and follow individual interests globally. It's their network and their choice.
How could other communities use this model?
I'd recommend going for it, and to focus on the network of connections within their neighbourhood, both people and technology. If they see the benefits of the network, people are very good at finding the means to connect to it. The other thing is that what we've done would have been a lot easier if the thirty people could have joined up initially and started saving in a credit union.
More information on www.overmet.net
Contact:
Recycle IT
Kate Zamir
T: 0958 770725
E: katez@redbricks.org.uk
or
T: 01582 492436