Member Article

Tech entrepreneur creates Internet Bliss for Rotherham Village

A South Yorkshire-based tech entrepreneur is aiming to consign slow internet speeds to the history books in a Rotherham village after successfully developing a new high speed broadband service to support his local neighbourhood.

For residents of Treeton, slow internet speeds meant downloading an iTunes song could take more than twenty minutes at a time, whilst streaming live broadcasts or getting involved with online gaming was practically impossible. It was a problem which proved to be inconvenient at best for the 3,000+ residents living in the Rotherham village, but for web developer Chris Foulstone, the effect of the slow internet connection was proving to be devastating for his growing business.

Following the collapse of Digital Region in 2014, Chris realised it could be many years before Treeton received the high speed internet connections promised by the project and was left with no other option but to relocate his business – sharing office space with Holbrook-based HA Hosting, which operates a data centre in the city.

During the time Chris spent working at the data centre, he began researching alternatives and following discussions with the owners, he realised it may be possible to give residents and businesses in Treeton a chance to access superfast broadband for the first time.

Drawing on his technical expertise and knowledge, Chris pioneered an idea to bring the superfast broadband speeds enjoyed in many areas of South Yorkshire to Treeton. The idea was a simple one: build a direct link from the data centre, which could be shared wirelessly, allowing the superfast broadband speeds to be achieved.

For the past twelve months Chris has spent time developing his idea. He has invested profits from his web development company into building a new mast in Treeton, which connects to the data centre and following a successful trial, he has launched Bliss Internet.

Available exclusively to residents and businesses living in Treeton, Bliss has already secured more than 200 customers, a figure which is growing by approximately ten new users each week. The result of Chris’ innovative work has seen broadband speeds increase tenfold for Treeton residents and if the venture proves to be a success, Chris believes the service could be rolled out to other remote areas where superfast broadband connections can’t currently be accessed.

To provide additional stability to the new network, Chris and HA Hosting have also successfully installed the first fibre optic line in Treeton, which provides additional stability to the growing network.

Chris Foulstone, founder, Bliss Internet said:

“Superfast broadband speeds are something which many of us take for granted, but in areas which aren’t connected it can often be a very frustrating experience. The slow speeds were impacting on my own business and it meant that it was virtually impossible to work from Treeton.

“When I temporarily relocated my business to HA Hosting, I realised that with a little technical expertise and a bit of imagination, the problems could be solved and everyone in the community would benefit.

“During my time working there we regularly discussed the idea of creating a superfast broadband link to Treeton. HA Hosting helped me realise that the theory could become a reality and the technical problems associated with the outdated phone network, which is usually used to deliver internet connectivity, could be easily overcome.

“The result is a genuine first which has not only meant that I’m able to continue running my business in Treeton, but we’ve created a solution where everyone in the village benefits. The solution we’ve developed is something which could be replicated in other areas which aren’t connected to the UK’s superfast broadband network and delivered at a fraction of the cost of upgrading the existing phone network. Through our work with HA Hosting, we were even able to add a new fibre connection to Treeton, meaning that the end result is a powerful connection which is providing superfast broadband for the first time.”

Rory Delahoyde, Director, HA Hosting said:

“Bliss Internet has already proved to be a welcome addition to many people living in Treeton, who can now access superfast broadband for the first time. When Chris first discussed the idea with us, we looked at the physical barriers which were preventing the high speeds to be achieved in Treeton, and realised that the problems could be overcome by allowing the internet signal to be transmitted wirelessly.

“To provide additional stability to the system, we arranged for a dedicated fibre line between our data centre and Chris’ Treeton offices to be installed, giving the network additional capacity and stability. Work was completed within just five months and following several months of rigorous testing, Bliss Internet has been successfully launched.

“Although initiatives such as Digital Region ultimately failed in terms of connecting South Yorkshire to superfast broadband, the work Chris has undertaken illustrates that overcoming such problems can be achieved and at a fraction of the cost of a major infrastructure upgrade.”

Bliss Internet delivers superfast broadband to Treeton by transmitting a high speed internet signal wirelessly from the data centre, which connects to a receiver in Treeton. Using a special box, the signal is then distributed to residents living the area.

The signal is supported by a fibre optic connection which connects the signal received at HA Hosting’s Data Centre directly to Impelling’s Treeton office. The combination of Fibre and wireless means that all areas of Treeton can access both download and upload speeds of 30mbps. In contrast, the maximum speed which can be received by residents in Treeton using the copper cables which supply the phone network is just 0.3mbps.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by HA Hosting .