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Self-Funding
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How to self-fund your project
Looking for grant funding for broadband in 2007 is really rather a waste of time. Most Govt and local govt departments assume the job is done. They are wrong, but it doesn't make finding the money to prove them wrong any easier.
There are routes to circumvent the issue by applying creativity to the issue. Ask your Regional Develoipment Agency for instance if they need case studies on how local elderly people are being cared for by broadband, or case studies of business benefits from broadband - you may find some dosh.
However, there are better ways by involving your community.
Each business or individual connected in your community through an OPLAN (Open Public Local Access Network) or CAN (community access network) will inevitably save money, if you support them, educate them into how to make the most of their connection, and help each other out. For some businesses, this can mean a bottom line saving of anything up to £10k a year. (See Case Studies in the JFDI Community Broadband:Wennington book for details of business savings in rural Lancashire of £6000 + per year per business.
Whether this is using VoIP/Skype etc to cut down on phone costs, or by being able to schedule online instead of face-to-face meetings using video conferencing, reducing print costs from hard copy brochures, or reducing procurement and supplier costs, all of these are costs that businesses can see very clearly. Individuals can see similar savings to their household budgets with a little education about shopping online for best deals, reducing phone bills with VoIP and Skype, saving bank charges with internet banking etc etc.
THEREFORE, it is possible to go to your users and encourage them to put some of those savings into their own network, rather than into the pockets of the telcos - BT etc.
There is yet another route. Prior to starting up a CAN, go to all those interested and ask them to sign a document stating that they will be willing to buy the service at £x for x years from the community provider. These documents can then be taken to apply for a loan - you have contracted customers. It is easy then to deduct certain monies from those who were willing to sign up prior to the service being existent, and therefore give them a better deal than had the risk been undertaken purely by a community group alone without the written support of the community.
There are routes to circumvent the issue by applying creativity to the issue. Ask your Regional Develoipment Agency for instance if they need case studies on how local elderly people are being cared for by broadband, or case studies of business benefits from broadband - you may find some dosh.
However, there are better ways by involving your community.
Each business or individual connected in your community through an OPLAN (Open Public Local Access Network) or CAN (community access network) will inevitably save money, if you support them, educate them into how to make the most of their connection, and help each other out. For some businesses, this can mean a bottom line saving of anything up to £10k a year. (See Case Studies in the JFDI Community Broadband:Wennington book for details of business savings in rural Lancashire of £6000 + per year per business.
Whether this is using VoIP/Skype etc to cut down on phone costs, or by being able to schedule online instead of face-to-face meetings using video conferencing, reducing print costs from hard copy brochures, or reducing procurement and supplier costs, all of these are costs that businesses can see very clearly. Individuals can see similar savings to their household budgets with a little education about shopping online for best deals, reducing phone bills with VoIP and Skype, saving bank charges with internet banking etc etc.
THEREFORE, it is possible to go to your users and encourage them to put some of those savings into their own network, rather than into the pockets of the telcos - BT etc.
There is yet another route. Prior to starting up a CAN, go to all those interested and ask them to sign a document stating that they will be willing to buy the service at £x for x years from the community provider. These documents can then be taken to apply for a loan - you have contracted customers. It is easy then to deduct certain monies from those who were willing to sign up prior to the service being existent, and therefore give them a better deal than had the risk been undertaken purely by a community group alone without the written support of the community.
