This section of the web deals with communications by land lines, radio and satellite that can be accessed in the Senni Valley
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Public phones: Heol Senni (discontinued), Defynnog & Sennybridge
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Mobile phone coverage is variable.
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Broadband Internet access
- Wired broadband internet access is available in many parts of the Senni Valley. The Sennybridge Exchange was enabled for broadband connections on 20/04/2005. Unfortunately, the speeds are the slowest that broadband can offer of only 500 Kbps download. BT have installed fibre-optic network resources in the Sennybridge Exchange and laid cables to Heol Senni. Unfortunately, there are no connections to customer premises as yet.
- Microwave broadband and phone connections
In November 2017.Dyfed IT, (which was taken over by Voneus Ltd in January 2021), installed microwave-based internet access in the Crai valley and Senni valley in July 2018. This provides 30 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload services. The installation costs were partly funded by Access Broadband Cymru. - Satellite broadband has been installed by some people as a temporary solution for the poor broadband service available here.
- BigBlu have a service which enables consumers to access satellite broadband at download speeds of up to 20 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 2 Mbps. These are provided through either SES or Tooway.
- Installation has to follow planning requirements. The main requirement is that the large dish should be hidden from adjacent roads, where possible. Public service grants are offered to install satellite broadband in Wales, but no satellite broadband services are available here that can satisfy the requirements for a grant: an odd situation that politicians need to address.
- Installation involves erecting a 75cm eliptical dish facing the Astra 2F satellite, which is at 23.7° elevation and azimuth (true) 141.8° (roughly South-East). A cable connects the dish to a satellite router followed by a standard broadband router, both of which are inside the house.
- The webmaster used satellite broadband for four years from 2014 to 2018. Before that, In the upper part of the Senni Valley telephone broadband services could only receive data at less than 500 Kbps. His satellite broadband service was installed on 11/12/2014 by the Astra Broadband Group who charged £579.98 for the cost of the satellite dish, cables, routers and installation. There was also a setup fee of £29.99 for EuropaSat. Installation took about four hours.
- All the local equipment was owned by the webmaster who was able to recover some of the initial costs by selling the dish and routers on eBay, when faster broadband services became available in 2018.
- The monthly rolling cost of using the 'SES XL' satellite broadband service is £35.99, providing up to 17 GB download and 3 GB upload per month, at download speeds of up to 20 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 2 Mbps. Other tariffs and charges are available.
- The webmaster's experience was positive and the connection was stable. Downloads and uploads were as advertized. The only problems were that on two days, heavy snow clouds, with dense snow falling across the line of sight for the satellite, prevented the dish from receiving or sending any data. For that reason, a wired broadband service was been retained at that time. Heavy rain clouds and downpours also reduced the communication speeds. The Sky TV satellite service was not affected by the snow, even though it uses satellites adjacent to those used by EuropaSat. Sky transmits on different communication frequencies.
- Web browsing was 1 -3 seconds slower than using wired broadband, although pages and data were presented quickly once the web request had been processed at the satellite receiving station, which is in Belgium.
- Sending and receiving levels could be monitored continuously in a web page from the satellite router in the house. The telephone support services at EuropaSat were exceptionally good.
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thinkbroadband and 'ADSL in the UK' have other useful information.
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Information technology (IT) resources
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The Sennybridge Resource Centre is in the Maescar Community Hall in Sennybridge and has computing resources and IT training.
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Computer services are available free, in all Powys libraries.
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Edited 20/02/2022