New generation games consoles as well as tablets and smart phones all have features that require broadband to work but many homes in Norfolk and Waveney are missing out because they are in internet ‘not spots’.  ThinkingWISP may be able to help.

“Broadband is the new batteries, easy to overlook but something you need in order to get the most from many of the most popular devices. Many homes in Norfolk and Suffolk risk missing out because they have insufficient internet speed.  Local internet provider – ThinkingWISP – can help by delivering fast, reliable broadband wirelessly to homes in internet ‘not spots’,” said Jon Clemo at Norfolk Rural Community Council, one of the organisations behind ThinkingWISP.

The new generation games consoles  – the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 – have increased capacity for online gaming – where multiple gamers from around the world play each other over the internet.  According to the 2013 State of Online Gaming Report, released by Spil Games, there are now 700 million online gamers worldwide and it is one of the most popular online activities, just behind watching videos online.  The report also showed that the pastime was attracting an increasingly diverse range of people and ages – with 46% of online gamers being woman.

Steve Temple from InTouch Systems – who deliver ThinkingWISP in partnership with the Norfolk Rural Community Council and AF Affinity (a subsidiary of Anglia Farmers) – said: “The way people play computer games has changed from playing on your own to a much more inclusive experience playing multiplayer games with friends and others from around the world.

“In order to enjoy online gaming to its full potential, with a smooth and instantaneous connection, a reliable internet service, with a low ping speed, is compulsory. Due to the intricate way modern games consoles work, regular updates are also required and fast internet speeds are necessary to do this quickly and efficiently as well as to download games.

“Many homes simply do not receive the necessary internet speed required by modern games consoles.  However ThinkingWISP can help by delivering a reliable connection across much of Norfolk and Waveney. ”

ThinkingWISP beams radio waves from a transmitter at Norwich Airport to masts at Aylsham and Wymondham (which was installed just two months ago). Transmitters on the mast and repeater stations then broadcast the signal in all directions, which is picked up by customers using small aerials attached to their property.

Unlike systems using copper cables, the signal doesn’t degrade with distance, providing high quality, fast broadband to homes and businesses wherever they are within the service area. The service uses very low contention rates (the number of people who share the same bandwidth) to ensure customers receive a consistent, high speed service.

Four service packages are available ranging from 3mb ‘Home’ to 10mb ‘Business Plus’, with prices starting from £15.99 per month. The service comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. The system relies on ‘line of sight’ to the transmitter and ThinkingWISP will confirm that customers will be able to receive wireless broadband before installation.

For more information call 01603 558001.

A ten-fold increase in coverage area has marked a successful second anniversary for ThinkingWISP.

More homes and businesses than ever before are now benefiting from ThinkingWISP’s wireless technology.

The service was first launched in the Aylsham area in November 2011.Now after two years, the area covered by the service has extended from a 10km radius around Aylsham to a 100km radius covering much of north, mid and south Norfolk, and into Waveney.

Last month, ThinkginWISP installed a new mast at Wymondham which saw its service extend into Attleborough, Wymondham, Hethersett and Long Stratton.

ThinkingWISP is also celebrating its second anniversary by joining forces with another local initiative – Norwich-based Mustard TV – and will be sponsoring the features channel.

Norfolk RCC Chief Executive Jon Clemo said: “The first two years of ThinkingWISP have been successful, benefiting many rural homes and businesses. We hope to continue to expand the service over the coming months so that more communities will be able to access reliable rural broadband.

“We’re also delighted to be working with Mustard TV. We believe that Mustard TV shares many of the ideals of ThinkingWISP as we’re both committed to providing a high quality service with a local twist.”

More homes and businesses can benefit from fast, local broadband now that ThinkingWISP has installed a new mast in Wymondham, Norfolk.

The area covered by the new mast, which includes Attleborough, Wymondham, Hethersett and Long Stratton, is shown below:

Anyone who has already contacted ThinkingWISP to express an interest in accessing faster local broadband for a home or business in the area covered by the new mast will be contacted shortly.

Rural communities have continued to suffer a raw deal in the ‘piecemeal’ roll-out of the broadband project across the UK, leading rural network ACRE has said.

ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) spoke out in the wake of criticism of the Government’s handling of the Rural Broadband Programme by the influential Commons Public Accounts Committee.

The Committee says the Department for Culture, Media and Sport ‘mismanaged’ the project by awarding all of the rural broadband projects so far to BT, which will ultimately benefit from £1.2bn of public funding.

But ACRE says the burning issue for rural communities and businesses is as fundamental as whether they will get broadband or not. Chief executive Janice Banks said: “Many local councils have published maps for the rural broadband programme, which is meant to extend superfast coverage to 90% of the premises in the UK.

“But despite an earlier pledge from the Secretary of State Maria Miller, the information provided by some councils is so limited and inconsistent it is impossible for people to tell whether their homes and businesses are included or not.

“This confusion ties the hands of innovative communities who want to come up with their own broadband solutions. No one will invest in a plan that could be overtaken by the BT roll-out.”

ThinkingWISP, is delivering a viable community alternative now. With download speeds of 3mb-10mb available, ThinkingWISP can make a huge difference to homes and businesses in Norfolk and Waveney – from downloading documents and filling in online tax returns more quickly to streaming video online without buffering delays.  To find out if you could benefit call 01603 558001 or discover more on this website.

 

 

Current broadband plans will be too late to help rural businesses, according to a new report, ‘Let’s Get Digital’, by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). A recent government spending review pushed back the broadband roll out deadline by two years, to 2017, when 95% of properties will receive the service – something the CBI say  our rural businesses cannot wait for. Homes and businesses in rural ‘not spots’ across much of Norfolk and Waveney can get the broadband speeds they need now with ThinkingWISP. This uses a small aerial to connect wirelessly to the internet, avoiding the speed and service restrictions of traditional solutions.

ThinkingWISP customer Fergus Anderson had our service installed at his home in Runham, said: “I used to get a very slow and unreliable broadband service of just 1.4mb/s through copper wires.  I swapped to ThinkingWISP for virtually the same price as I was paying my previous supplier and got four times the broadband speed (8mb/s). “I decided to install ThinkingWISP because I live in a rural location, 5-8km from my internet exchange, and my perception is that the conventional internet providers won’t be improving my service any time soon. I suspect that there are a lot of members in this position and I would recommend ThinkingWISP to them.” Fergus, who runs agricultural fencing supplier Farmbits, said: “Access to suitable broadband speeds is becoming increasingly important to  doing business in rural areas – whether filling in forms online or accessing paperless billing. “Farmbits has a policy of storing all of our data on a cloud based system so that it can be accessed from multiple locations, but only if there is good broadband access. With ThinkingWISP I can now access my cloud based system from home.”

ThinkingWISP offers a range of broadband packages, with speeds up to 10 Mbit/s. The service comes with a 30 day money back guarantee.

If you live in areas Norfolk and Suffolk and suffer from poor broadband call us today  01603 558001 or click here to register.

When we started ThinkingWISP it was about solving a problem we saw our communities facing.

Norfolk RCC, InTouch Systems and Anglia Farmers had all been participating in many different meetings talking about the importance of broadband, the technical problems of broadband in rural areas, and the potential benefits. However, at the time there wasn’t anything actually happing to help people on the ground.

We decided to do something that made a real difference to people’s lives and ThinkingWISP was born.

We believe this is at the core of what it means to be a Social Enterprise – seeing a social problem and taking action to do something about it.

That’s while we are proud to be at the Festival of Social Enterprise at the Forum, Norwich on Tuesday the 10^th September.

Come along and say hi and remember you can still get ThinkingWISP broadband with 2 months free.

ThinkingWISP will be at the Green Build Event, the regions biggest green lifestyle event, at Felbrigg Hall on the 7^th and 8^th September.

We believe that online technology offers a fantastic opportunity to reduce our impact on the environment, particularly in rural areas.

• The use of services online can help reduce the need to travel, saving time, costs and limiting the need to use polluting cars.
• Ordering products online and having them delivered or using collective purchasing can lower the number of vehicles on the road reducing both emissions and congestion
• Communications technology can allow us to work from home, again reducing the need to travel and helping improve quality of life.

However, all of this requires high quality broadband in the first place and that’s where ThinkingWISP comes in to provide fast, local broadband.

Come along and say hi and don’t forget you can still get 2 months free broadband when you join ThinkingWISP.

More details about the event can be found here http://www.northnorfolk.org/greenbuild/default.asp

 

We’re offering new customers 2 months free broadband when they join ThinkingWISP but hurry the offer only runs until 16th September.

ThinkingWISP connects homes and businesses to fast, reliable broadband through a network of masts. As it’s wireless, you could benefit even if your current internet is slow because of where you live.

ThinkingWISP offers a range of broadband packages, with speeds up to 10 Mbit/s. The service comes with a 30 day money back guarantee.

Call 01603 558001 now and quote ‘offer1’ or click here to complete the client registration form

*Terms and conditions apply, offer ends 16th September. Offer relates to standard packages only and excludes optional extras. Offer is subject to a signed contract, availability, standard installation and on-going connection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Register your interest in ThinkingWISP at the Royal Norfolk Show and get six months on our HomePlus broadband package for the price of our Home package – just £15.99 a month!*

Come and see us at Stand 355, Avenue 12, 26th to 27th June.

See what home plus gives you by clicking here

*Usual price £22.99/month. Offer is subject to a signed contract, availability, standard installation and ongoing
connection. HomePlus gives you: 8 Mbit/s download 1 Mbit/s upload 30GB monthly usage.

We will be offering FREE WiFi at the Royal Norfolk Show 26th and 27th June. Just another example of how ThinkingWISP helps you.

Search for the ThinkingWISP network at the show for free WiFi
access* and come along and meet us at stand 355 avenue 12.

*Terms and Conditions apply