The Round Britain Cyber Race
RoundBritainCyberRace.com
from UK Net Challenge - UKNetChallenge.com

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The Round Britain Cyber Race (referred to herein as RBCR) is the UK's first community based Internet challenge.

Crews (teams) in relatively high density housing, build Internet connected sustainable neighbourhood Intranets (vessels for cyberspace). In tangible terms, these vessels consist of servers, software, switches, with internal and external connectivity by copper / fibre-optic / infrared / laser and radio. Crews choose connectivity methods based on location, budgets and objectives.

Each crew is a group of regularly saving neighbours who are committed to managing the development of their own information infrastructure with the assistance of supplier partners. They have defined their neighbourhood and developed initial network plans and outline budgets.

The RBCR occurs between these crews and is to last over a period of 18 - 24 months (to be decided) during which crews may earn credit within a range of assessed modules including:

• Levels of connectivity - An assessed measure of the quality and quantity of connectivity and the form it takes within the neighbourhood.
• Services offered - An assessment of the use of technology to offer services (e.g.: email, virtual neighbourhood watch, interactive entertainment)
• Community development - An assessment of how the vessel has aided the social and financial development of the community (e.g.: through use of "etailing" to market local businesses, within the neighbourhood and through vessel portal)
• Development of sustainable best value living - An assessment of how the vessel has aided the environmental, social and financial sustainability of the community (e.g.: through improved information on the natural, built and socio-economic environments, and more effective delivery of sustainable solutions.)

These modules allow for ongoing competition within the RBCR and allow partners to market specific products to RBCR participants. For example, within the services module, an option may be to offer a community map with road and street layout, linked to information, some of which is input by neighbours. A GIS information / software partner would therefore be interested in marketing their services for this module. The overall prize for the RBCR would be awarded to the vessel with the highest overall score. Vessels who excel in any given module would also be offered prizes. Other modules may, for example, centre on innovation, where communities are given credit for organic development of new knowledge management and communications technologies within themselves. These technologies could be traded and pooled amongst participants during the Challenge, using a main RBCR web site. This web site provides news of developments during the Challenge for the public and a showcase for supplier partners. The domain "RoundBritainCyberRace.com", and the associated ".net" and ".org" domains, have been secured.

As the business plans of the crews are built around a 5 year capital payment plan for infrastructure with a 20 year lifetime, if charges for users are unchanged, funds become available for network upgrades and for a "rolling development fund" managed by the participants. Neighbourhoods may find that their interests are best served by encouraging adjoining neighbourhoods to communicate online, before upgrading their own internal networks.

The RBCR will be covered extensively in online and offline media as an "fly on the wall" project. This gives high coverage to vessels, sponsors and related individuals in the best mainstream media. As such, for partners, a profitable branding and product awareness channel is opened. Since vessels themselves will choose which technologies, providers and software products they use, partners also have a useful "proof of concept" field in which there is demonstrable evidence that product/service X is better, proven from independent (vessel) choice.

Having shown their ability to create their own, high quality information infrastructure, each crew is provided with the full list of supplier partners, from which they can make their own unique vessel and choose their own course in the Round Britain Cyber Race.

Developing Relationships

The RBCR creates new relationships amongst neighbours; new business relationships with communities; new relationships in the use of the technologies and services of the supplier partners; and new relationships between people and their environments.

It is important therefore to assess and qualify each participant (community or supplier partner) in order to judge viability for participation and compatibility with RBCR objectives. A set of criterion have therefore been laid out as RCC (Race Compatibility Criteria):

• RCC 1 - Community Entrance Requirements: To participate in the RBCR as a crew, community X must meet the following criteria and planning requirements:
  • Population: 30+ immediate residents
  • Costs: Crews make regular payment of planned costs into designated accounts. Between £3 and £7 per week over 5 years is likely, depending on location, intended services, and business plan. The use of a Community Business structure, credit unions and / or community bank accounts may be appropriate.
  • Objectives: Crews set targets prior to participation based on geography, users, costs and planned returns. Crews must provide an outline business plan, with basic market research and socio-economic information from their neighbourhood.
  • Permissions: Crews provide letters of support from landlords and other appropriate authorities, ensuring the co-operation of these authorities with the development of the neighbourhood networks.

• RCC 2 - Partner Requirements: Partners in RBCR must be able to provide and engage in the following manner:
  • Staff ensure the technical feasibility of proposed solution outlines.
  • Staff explain relative merits of company X's offering to crews
  • Partners supply named contacts for provision, installation or engagement
  • Partners ensure appropriate costs included in each crew's business plan
  • Partners provide affordable financing package with each crew, e.g. a 5year zero interest lease purchase.
  • Partners provide progress reports for the management of the development of RBCR to RBCR HQ
  • Partners engage in agreed initial and ongoing development based on each community's plan

• RCC 3 - Co-Operative Requirements: Co-operative requirements must be enforced and in place (assessed by RBCR) to ensure compatible engagement between all concerned parties during the course of RBCR.
  • Crews and partners agree intellectual property rights and privacy policies
  • Crews provide a publicly available business plan for their project to the RBCR web site
  • Crews provide regular progress reports to the RBCR web site
  • Crews provide agreed technical, financial, marketing and tenancy data in digital format to any partner who requests it
  • Crews secure finance, and identify and satisfy any associative needs, e.g.: training, management, technical or maintenance support needs

These three criteria (RCC1, 2 and 3) are designed to ensure the calibre of participants and smooth co-operation between all concerned parties.

When participants have satisfied these criteria, the Round Britain Cyber Race may begin…