stanhoe.org

You can find broadband providers via a postcode search at comparison websites such as simplifydigital, Broadband Checker and Broadband Choices.

As of June 2009, these three sources show the fixed-line broadband providers available in Stanhoe as:

• AOL
• BT
• Eclipse Internet
• madasafish
• Orange
• plusnet
• Post Office
• Sky
• TalkTalk
• Virgin

Some of these deals require you to sign up for phone calls, mobile phone service, or TV (in the case of Sky). Note that every comparison website is likely to show a slightly different range of providers.

Our page on facilities for visitors carries information about BT FON and BT Openzone wireless internet access points around Stanhoe.

Mobile broadband is not an option in Stanhoe at the moment, because the 3G mobile phone coverage needed is not available in this area.

That said, a mobile broadband “dongle” (photo) works fine here as long as you are content with modem-like speeds (40 kbit/s or so). Since a 3G signal is not available, the dongle will connect using the 2G (“GPRS”) network. Vodafone is probably the best network around Stanhoe.

Don’t confuse mobile broadband with wireless broadband, which often refers simply to a short-range wireless link from the phone socket to your PC or laptop (though, confusingly, wireless broadband can also refer to technologies such as WiMAX).

Tariam provides satellite broadband, but this is very expensive.

Dialup is an old-fashioned way to reach the Internet, but handy when broadband goes wrong — as long as you still have a suitable modem. Freezone Internet is one of many companies providing pay-by-the-minute dialup access via an 0845 number.

Across the UK, BT is rolling out new technology to improve the phone network and broadband speeds. Unfortunately, as of 2011 none of this has appeared anywhere near Stanhoe.

Next Generation Broadband (NGB) is BT’s generic name for super-fast broadband based on optical fibre. According to BT, by the end of 2011 enough exchanges should have been upgraded to provide NGB to 80 percent of UK homes and businesses.

BT markets NGB to consumers as Infinity, a “fibre to the cabinet” service giving download speeds of up to 40 Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 10 Mbit/s. Unfortunately Infinity is unlikely to come to Docking for a few years yet.

If you believe better broadband can help fight rural isolation in Norfolk, sign the petition run by the East of England Development Agency’s EREBUS project, and visit the fasterfuture website set up by King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council.