Following the success of the Catterick Village wireless broadband project, a company has been launched Internet services across North Yorkshire. Business Correspondent Jonathan Jones logged on to find out more.

IN Ancient times beacon fires where used to help rural communities communicate in times of trouble.

Today, satellite technology does the same job, especially in North Yorkshire where a new company has been established to duplicate those links using wireless broadband technology.

Village Beacon Limited is the name of the company providing wireless broadband services to isolated communities in North Yorkshire.

The Village Beacon service is provided by Belgian company Aramiska, from its data centre on the Continent.

It's from there that the broadband signal is bounced off its satellite orbiting high above the earth, and into businesses and homes across North Yorkshire.

The service was launched earlier this month by Lord Ronaldshay from Aske, the private estate and home to the Marquess and Marchioness of Zetland, at the Fire Beacon, just outside Richmond on the Hurgill Road.

Phil Upton is the sales and marketing manager for the Village Beacon project, which is based in the Estate Office at Aske. He said: "Village Beacon has been created to satisfy the demand for broadband solutions in areas where more traditional BT ASDL services cannot be implemented.

"We go into rural communities and carry out feasibility studies, finding out how much interest there is in broadband services.

"The problem for many such communities is that BT won't upgrade their exchanges to provide broadband until demand reaches a certain trigger point, because of the cost of doing so."

He added: "Village Beacon can provide broadband services through alternative means to telephone lines.

"For instance, in Catterick Village, a wireless broadband infrastructure, comprising of a satellite dish, which allows a broadband signal to be beamed into homes in the area, has been implemented.

"We plan to do a similar thing for villages around North Yorkshire, providing them with broadband Internet access, as opposed to the traditional service via a telephone line."

He added: "Village Beacon also plans to offer a range of products, including rural community portals, interactive websites for home users, and business intranets.

"We can manage and supply the broadband provision to the community or work in partnership as a supplier to the community via a group such as a charitable trust."

Mr Upton was keen to stress the importance of broadband Internet services to rural communities.

He said: "Broadband is essential for so many reasons.

More people want to download bigger files, children want to do their homework and businesses need to have high performance communication facilities.

"That is what Village Beacon has been established to do."

He added: "One business that is already utilising the service is Ian Dyer Cricket Books, an online seller of cricket related books, based in Gilling West.

"Michael Gauntlett, owner of the business, has been using a traditional dial-up connection for his Internet services, but has now moved over to a wireless system.

"It means he can access the Internet from anywhere in North Yorkshire, via his laptop computer."

Mr Upton said: "Belgian company Aramiska provides the services for Village Beacon.

The incredible thing is that every time someone uses the Village Beacon service in North Yorkshire, the signal goes on a 44,000 mile round trip, being beamed, via the Aramiska satellite orbiting the earth, to the data centre in Belgium, and from there into the home or business in North Yorkshire.

"And all that happens in an instant, with no time lag on the service."

Broadband services have been identified by regional development agency One NorthEast as key in the regeneration of rural communities, particularly those hit hard by foot and mouth disease.

For more information about Village Beacon, log on to www.VillageBeacon. net, email info@VillageBeacon. net, or telephone 08707 606 314.