No Fibre Internet Access In Shinness (cont)
I hope you are all enjoying the festive season.
I've been feeling a little guilty that I've known that people have been anxious to hear of any progress in the internet petition, but there's been a lot of information to sort through and understand, and then just before Christmas I was sidetracked a little by discovering that an organisation called Community Broadband Scotland (CBS) had already contacted a number of residents earlier this year with a questionnaire about broadband, of which I didn't receive a copy, and therefore had no knowledge of, probably because my name is withheld from the public edition of the voting register, and anyway they'd used an old copy of it to get the names and addresses they had contacted.  When I discovered this, I was just about to put a questionnaire of my own around the neighbourhood to obtain a clearer picture of the sort of speeds people are getting, but I've been promised a summary of anonymous figures from the previous one, so, rather than risk confusing people further with another, I've decided against that, at least for the moment.
However, disappointingly, it has since turned out that CBS are a seperate project from the one currently bringing FTTC to the Lairg Exchange, although both are being run by Highland & Island Enterprise, and their project is longer term and will not help us soon enough.
Accordingly, as I originally offered and as forwarded below, I have reverted to my original intention, and completed a petition in the name of the community, and earlier today have sent it off.  In order to be sure that the facts and figures concerning the community as well as the gist of it are likely to be acceptably worded, I've been keeping in touch with Jeff Norrie so that there was another reputable local opinion to keep me on track.  Feel free to read the petition online at the link in the mail forwarded below.  I hope you will find that it meets your concerns and expectations for it, and that it expresses adequately the disappointment, even disgust, with which the community views the current broadband service here.
Regards, best wishes for the season, and here's hoping that Santa's listening ...
Charles Macfarlane
>	-----Original Message-----
>	From:	C E Macfarlane [email address]
>	Sent:	29 December 2016 17:43
>	To:	Alastair Nicolson [email address]
>	Cc:	Gail Ross [email address], Paul Monaghan [email address], Jeff Norrie [email address]
>	Subject:	FTTC At Lairg Exchange, but not Shinness
>	
>	CC Gail Ross MSP, Paul Monaghan MP, Jeff Norrie
>	
>	Dear Mr Nicolson,
>	
>	I understand that you are lead for the current DSSB project 
>	which is bringing FTTC to subscribers in Scotland.
>	
>	Accordingly, I am writing to you to express the great 
>	disappointment and concern that is felt in the Shinness 
>	neighbourhood at being omitted from the proposed roll-out of 
>	FTTC at the Lairg Exchange, to the extent that a survey of 
>	local premises received a comfortable majority, almost 
>	two-thirds, in support of petitioning for inclusion.  In the 
>	website linked below that I have created to support this 
>	submission, we argue that our community needs this upgrade in 
>	technology as much or more than the centre of Lairg, that to 
>	include us would be technically feasible, would meet a number 
>	of government standards, and that it ought to be done as soon 
>	as possible.  I trust that you will give our arguments the 
>	close attention that they deserve, and look favourably on our case.
>		http://www.macfh.co.uk/Shinness/FTTCSubmission/FTTCSubmission.html
>	
>	Regards and best wishes for the season,
>	C E Macfarlane.