Broadband Changed My Life !!

Derek first started using computers way back in 1969, in the steel works at Moss Bay, when computers were the size of your living room and floppy discs were as big as a car wheel!

Computers then were big, noisy and cumbersome - designed for business, without even a thought for use at home. Nowadays, most homes have at least one Personal Computer, with many accessing the internet through traditional dial-up connections using a modem.

Up until Christmas, Derek had limited himself to accessing the Internet at home in the evenings and weekends only. Using a Pay-As-You-Go dialup service, which was costing him approximately £5 a week or £20 a month - to have used it during the day would have cost him nearly four times as much. This frustrated both Derek and Margaret, his wife, as they had to wait until the evenings to go online and, when they were online, the phone was engaged so they could not make or receive phone calls.

Following a visit to the Oval Centre in Salterbeck, Derek took some advice from Jonathan and within two weeks was up and running on a super-fast Broadband Internet connection , which he was able to set-up and make work himself.

For just £17.99 a month with no Pay-As-You-Go charges (an immediate saving of nearly £25 a year), Derek had up and running a super fast Internet connection which he could use any time of the day – no more waiting until after 6pm.

As if that wasn’t enough Derek was amazed to hear friends and family comment on how they could now call him up and get through straight away as he was no longer tying up the phone all evening whilst checking his emails as Broadband allows you to use your phone AND be on the Internet at the same time!

Of having Broadband at home, Derek says “Previously, I used to think of something in the morning that I wanted to look up on the Internet but by the time it was evening and I could use it, I had forgotten what it was I was supposed to be looking up! Now I have Broadband, I can go straight onto the World Wide Web - morning, noon and night!” 

Initially sceptical about having to pay out the fixed price of £17.99 a month, Derek now recons that his increased use of the Internet with Broadband is saving him nearly £50 a month as he now is able to spend double the time online at no extra cost and use it at any time of the day.

“Being online with Broadband is more relaxing" adds Derek, "I no longer have to keep one eye on the clock, worrying about the cost of my time online. I can take as long as I like and really enjoy the freedom of surfing the net thanks to broadband – it has changed my life!!” 

Derek Thompson has been the Councillor for the Moss Bay Ward since May 2003. The Moss Bay Ward includes Moss Bay, Salterbeck, Brierydale and lower Westfield. If you have any general concerns you wish Derek to take up on your behalf, you can contact him via email: derek@derekthompson.wanadoo.co.uk

Jonathan Sargeant is the Broadband Development Officer for Salterbeck and is employed by Impact Housing to provide impartial technical help and advice to the residents of Salterbeck, Workington on all aspects of computing including basic training for absolute beginners right through to more advanced courses including web design and PC maintenance. You can contact Jonathan at the Oval Centre on 01946 834 713 or by email: jonathans@salterbeck.org.uk