Basic IT for Parish Council

esuhl

downshifter wrote: »

Tethering! That's a good idea, now why didn't I think of that! I'll have to see how that can be costed so we can still apply for the funding.

I think that some mobile contracts say you can't use tethering -- or you can only use a fraction of your overall data limit for tethering each month.

Just thought it might be worth checking if there are any tethering-specific terms to any of the deals you might be looking at.

tyllwyd

downshifter wrote: »

... I would love to set up some little drop-in training sessions, lots of locals don't use the internet. I'll need to work on councillors first however, so they can be ambassadors for this idea. Several years down the line I fear!
....

Would those drop-in sessions absolutely have to be in the village hall? I wonder if there is somewhere local like a school, back room of a pub, cafe which already has internet available and would be willing to host sessions?

paddyrg

esuhl wrote: »

I think that some mobile contracts say you can't use tethering -- or you can only use a fraction of your overall data limit for tethering each month.

Just thought it might be worth checking if there are any tethering-specific terms to any of the deals you might be looking at.

Absolutely this, all networks have specific limitations/surcharges which you need to know in advance. Three are probably your best bet

NiftyDigits

paddyrg wrote: »

Absolutely this, all networks have specific limitations/surcharges which you need to know in advance. Three are probably your best bet

Erm.......no.

Robin9

downshifter wrote: »

The phone wire won't be possible either, far too expensive I'm afraid for very occasional net use.

DS

Have you got a quote for a landline or just assuming it will be too expensive?

As a Parish Council I assume you need competitive quotes?

bluesnake

For me the big questions are: how many simultaneous users do you envisage that will use this service? What are they going to use it for Skype, emails etc. How big are the premises that you want covered, many rooms?

here are coverage maps for various mobile providers
https://recombu.com/mobile/article/mobile-phone-signal-strength-checker_M18215.html

Have to say my gut tells me that often the cheapest route is a phone line. My surfing record (not downloads, not youtube, not films, not music etc) for part of one day looking on Rightmove was 2.5Gig.

Considering a photo is 3+meg and 30 from a wedding is well over a gig, plus if there is a 'short' video from the ceremony which could easily be 500meg from most common phones, and someone could share the whole ceremony on Dropbox which could be gigs. Just one person watching could obliterate a sim.

While wifi routers can often handle multiple connections, they do have a limit. Cheaper ones tend to be able to deal with fewer people attached.

agrinnall

bluesnake wrote: »

Considering a photo is 3+meg and 30 from a wedding is well over a gig...

Not unless basic arithmetic has changed since I was doing this sort of sum at primary school 50 years ago .

However, I agree with you that it would be sensible to investigate phone line options before settling on a mobile route that may well not provide what is needed.

RumRat

I'm guessing that the village hall is used for more than just the PC meetings?
Why not get some other users that may be interested to chip in, or increase the hire charge by a couple of quid to cover the cost.
Someone could run some basic PC lessons and you could allow those deprived of a pc in the village access at a fee.