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The Broadband Britain Challenge National Awards Event... an evening to celebrate and publicly recognise “the best of the best” and to bring like-minded people together to exchange ideas.
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Congratulations to all of the National Champions and Challengers!
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EDUCATION
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Champion: Semple Piggot Rochez - is the foremost provider of Internet supported law training programmes and has established the world's first online law degree programmes for students reading for the University of London's LLB and LLM (external) degrees. The law school (www.spr-law.com) makes extensive use of ADSL Broadband to provide advanced electronic support mechanisms and sophisticated website technology in order to provide law programmes of the highest quality to a global community of students and practitioners.
www.spr-law.com
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Challenger: David Wortley for Mass Mitec - organises and manages virtual conferences and seminars over the web to students across the world, providing the opportunity to share global knowledge. He also gives a voice to disadvantaged people and does all of this from a converted barn next to his home - thanks to Broadband.
www.massmitec.co.uk
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EDUCATION - SCHOOLS
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Champion: The Belfast Model School for Girls - is an all-ability 11-18 yrs school located in North Belfast. New Broadband or web-based courses include the Thomas Telford on-line; Key Stage 3 IT course; E-pals in industry programme; paperless exams (a CCEA pilot). Also, they were the trainers for NOF training on-line (Learning On-Line).
www.modelschoolforgirls.org.uk
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VOLUNTARY
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Champion: Democratic Dialogue - is a Think-Tank based in Belfast that's dedicated to the continuing challenge of a political accommodation in Northern Ireland, and to the social and economic issues that have been neglected during the troubles. Their membership consists of interested individuals, politicians, government officials, academia, community and voluntary groups, women's groups, ethnic minorities, students and business people. They use Broadband to do research, find partners to work with, and allow access to their own work at any time.
www.democraticdialogue.org
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Challenger: Western Counties Amateur Swimming Association - is the regional organisation that promotes swimming, diving, water polo, open water, masters, disabled and synchronised swimming in the West of England. Broadband connections helped them launch one of the most innovative sports websites in the UK to communicate daily and cost effectively with their membership - 26,500 swimmers, coaches, teachers, volunteers and parents in 184 Clubs across the region.
www.swimwest.org
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Challenger: CSV Media Clubhouse - is a UK Online Centre that offers unlimited access to the Internet for members, combined with learning opportunities in ICT and Digital Media Tools. Membership of the Clubhouse is open to the whole community, with very low cost membership fees (free in many cases), members use the facilities for Internet browsing, research for college/university/school, and more importantly for many members, keeping in touch with friends and family around the world.
www.csvmediaclubhousemiddlesbrough.org.uk
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PUBLIC SECTOR
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Champion: Highland and Islands Arts Journal - uses Broadband to provide both support and information to the arts community in its area. Both artists and their audiences are being served by a web site that has saved valuable time for those administering the arts. This has allowed more and more time to be spent bringing new and ambitious arts projects to the fore. They now receive over 700 unique visitors to their website every day - quite an achievement for a small organisation in an area with one of the lowest population densities in Europe!
www.hi-arts.co.uk
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Challenger: Derwentside Council - uses Broadband to connect up all types of people in the community, education and business. It provides Broadband to all Community Centre's in the Derwentside area to councillor's and employee's homes as well as foster parents or children and the elderly. It also provides Broadband to local businesses as well as all of the Primary and Secondary schools in the Gateshead area.
www.derwentside.gov.uk
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Challenger: The People's Network - forms part of the Hillingdon Grid for Learning (HGfL), and connects to the Internet via the London Grid for Learning (LGfL). This new network includes all primary and secondary schools, youth & leisure centres (inc. swimming pools), theatres, art centres and all libraries in Hillingdon. Additionally all their libraries benefit from having the UK Online Centre branding.
www.hillingdon.gov.uk/education/library/libmap.php
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BUSINESS
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Champion: Tyne Tees Television - hosts the only fully bi-lingual British Sign Language site in the world - signpostbsl.com. They use Broadband to stream BSL translation so that deaf people, whose first language is BSL, can receive regional news, information and entertainment in their native language. It also helps them publicise their BSL translation business. The website lists UK TV programmes which are broadcast with BSL access, provides a pilot Sign-A-Day service for those wanting to learn BSL, broadcasts TTTV signed news over the Internet, carries children's games, deaf news and also is experimenting with an animated cartoon cat.
www.signpostbsl.com
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Challenger: The Rowett Insurance Broking Group - with five offices in Cornwall and Devon were one of the first businesses in Cornwall to commit to Broadband technology. Rowett recognises the vital role sophisticated communications play in the success of their business. They also make considerable use of email, and Broadband will allow them to further improve the way they work and the service they offer to clients and insurers who come from many parts of the UK.
www.rowett-insurance.co.uk
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Challenger: Spero Communications - have created a unique, fully interactive Broadband-enabled Web-TV environment that provides access to a broad spectrum of bespoke, 3D online channels. 'BigTime TV' is designed as a one-stop-source to cater for all individual members' entertainment and lifestyle interests and acts as a catalyst for the creation of a self-perpetuating Broadband community. Broadband has enabled Spero to offer consumers a content-rich Web-TV environment that will give members high quality, original entertainment, whilst promoting and giving voice to those at the cutting edge in design, music, film, fashion and the arts.
www.sperocom.co.uk
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LARGE CORPORATIONS
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Champion: Nestor Healthcare Group - is the UK's largest independent provider of healthcare personnel and services to the UK's health and social care market. Their products and services include supplying domiciliary care to the elderly and vulnerable, temporary and permanent staff recruitment for the NHS, private hospitals and nursing homes, out-of-hours doctor services and medical services to prisons and police forces. They deliver these products and services from a network of over 300 locations throughout the UK. Nestor uses BT's IPStream ADSL product, in conjunction with BT Central, to connect most of the local offices. These connections provide access to critical shared systems; including databases of care workers, nurses and doctors, client information, worker scheduling, contract maintenance, email, Intranet and Internet access.
www.nestorplc.co.uk
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YOUTH
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Champion: Daniel Rajkumar - has found that Broadband enables him to communicate with thousands of people all over the world, and, combined with his education has allowed him to create a small business straight out of University. He now works with freelance translators all over the world via email, instant messenger and video conferencing. The main benefit is the reduction in phone bills, - he no longer needs to dial up and has have even started to use Voice over IP, which will replace telephones soon! Obviously these savings in cost contribute to a greater profit margin!
www.web-translations.co.uk
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Challenger: Tim Davies - uses Broadband to run his own web-design business, designing database driven websites for local community and statuatory sector organisations, as well as having designed and now maintaining the technology and content behind the local borough councils 'YouthBeat.net' youth website. He is also involved in campaigning for childrens' rights and participation, working with organisations ranging from the National Youth Agency, to the governments Children and Young Peoples Unit.
www.obscurity.org.uk
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Challenger (with special mention): Jenny Worrall - uses Broadband in many different ways. She uses it for school-work and research, to stay in contact with friends over MSN, to stream music and to design websites and graphics. Broadband has allowed Jenny to extend her web design capabilities. She was a finalist in the ITBeat web design competition at the start of 2003 and since then has developed her skills to become a webmaster of the popular Clioonline and Popbliss networks. The judges were especially impressed by Jenny’s accomplishments given her young age — she’s only 14.
www.triple8unofficial.com
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HOME USER
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Champion: Muzanya-Danie Sisya - says that after coming from a near life threatening situation, in which he almost died, he has used Broadband for various tasks including consultations, quicker downloads of various information, search engines and has recovered quickly whilst waiting to get on the long NHS waiting list. He is now able to walk, without using crutches, after being told by doctors that he would never walk unaided!
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Challenger: Patrick Lidstone - has found that Broadband allows him to access his 'Automatic Home' from wherever he happens to be, whenever he wants. For example, if his girlfriend forgets to set the video recorder and they go out for the evening, or if he happens to be away for work and sees a programme that looks interesting in the newspaper, he can log on via any web browser (even from his mobile phone) and set it to record.
http://patrick.lidstone.net/ha
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Challenger: Ruth Warnett - uses Broadband to continually update her husband´s website. This is an agency for sending international musicians around the world to work on cruise ships and in hotels worldwide, so the jobs section, the classified ads section needs attention on a daily basis. She extended the site by attaching an online store selling music related gifts and apparel, which thanks to Broadband, is open 24 hours.
www.keysignature.co.uk
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REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
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Champion: actnow - is a ground-breaking initiative which brings ADSL broadband Internet technology to Cornwall for the first time. ActNow has been launched as a result of a unique partnership between Cornwall Enterprise, Objective One Office, BT, South West Regional Development Agency, Cornwall College, Cornwall County Council and Business Link. ActNow offers businesses a choice of subsidised packages ranging from a line connection only to integrated business solutions through to complete networked solutions. All packages come complete with unlimited FREE advice and support through their specialist Information Communications Technology (ICT) advisors. ActNow offers Cornish businesses a unique opportunity to adopt this revolutionary technology.
www.actnowcornwall.co.uk
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Challenger: Caerphilly County Borough - based in a traditional Welsh valleys community, this partnership was supported by the Corus Regeneration Fund. Faced with a situation where the effects of the closure of traditional steel and coal employers was still casting a shadow over people’s lives, Caerphilly set about reversing the low broadband internet usage situation to enable people to use new technology to improve their lives and prospects. They started from a position of about 25% coverage and have built up to around 85% coverage (and continue to work towards achieving 100% coverage). The Council has entered into a unique partnership with BT and the WDA where they have managed to upgrade local exchanges before they hit trigger level based on a joint commitment to demand stimulation and without any public sector investment in infrastructure.
www.bisnet.co.uk
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REGIONAL INFLUENCER
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Champion: BBCi - understand that although the Internet is a global medium, the people who use it usually are more interested in what's happening locally. This organisation has been able to create 42 regional websites that use Broadband to get really close to the people who use the service and enable them to get the news they want and to exchange views and information too.
www.bbc.co.uk/broadband
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Challenger: Ray Hatley (Brighton Argus/Sussex Innovation Centre) - is a freelance technology writer who has been writing articles in his local paper - the Argus - based in Brighton, that have both explained and promoted the new Broadband technology in such a way as to appeal to a very wide range of readers. The judges commented that he puts the case for Broadband access with such power and insight that readers lose their inhibitions about the subject and are eager to see what they can do through the technology. He also provides lots of useful links so that readers can find out more.
www.sinc.co.uk
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Challenger: Tomos Livingstone (Western Mail Cardiff) - is another writer who has been writing articles of great clarity and honesty for his readers in Wales… articles that have defined the Information Age and shown how Broadband has been affecting communities and individuals in Wales. As he's writing for an audience that has quite a low take up of Internet access, his articles have the power to change the situation for the better.
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk
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Challenger: Seb Ramsey (Manchester Evening News) - is someone who reports on business in the North West and uses real people and situations to illustrate all aspects of the Internet revolution. The judges cited one article in particular that told the story of how a well-established fleet car business adopted Broadband to monitor movements of cars across the country in real time. The judges thought that this article, written with great insight and power, did a lot to prove that Broadband had real benefits for both business and individuals.
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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LOCAL CAMPAIGNER
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Champion: Pete Berry (Broadband4Grimsby) - is currently running campaigns for 15 exchanges. He's created an excellent web site that's a great source of information about Broadband's benefits for his local community and has already set his sights on a wider audience by taking on campaigns for even more exchanges. The judges commented on our challenger's commitment not just to his own use of Broadband but to bringing the benefits of the technology into the heart of his community.
www.broadband4grimsby.co.uk
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Challenger: Colin Devonport (Broadband for Shildon) - is someone who set up a local competition to raise awareness of Broadband and offered people an X-Box as a prize. He set up an impressive website and actively campaigned in his local area using BT posters and leaflets. The judges commented on how well our challenger communicated his enthusiasm and energy through his web site.
www.shildon.net
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Challenger: George Hill (Broadband Banwell) - is running campaigns for four exchanges and has been using both his web site and personal appearances and meetings in his local community to generate interest in Broadband. The judges were impressed by how quickly he managed to get two of the exchanges to the trigger point… and how he's broadening his ambitions to further exchanges so that his community can make the most of the Broadband opportunity.
www.broadbandbanwell.co.uk
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Challenger: Les Cashin (The Peebles Broadband Action Group) - has been campaigning to ensure the people of Peebles and the surrounding area can benefit from Broadband. She's anxious to use the technology to open up new business opportunities in an area where the decline of both farming and the cloth industry have brought hardship, and give workers who commute to Edinburgh and Glasgow every day the chance to work from home with ease and confidence.
www.peebles.info/broadband
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