By Beth Doherty
Twitter:@bethdmedia / @new_valleynews
Instagram: @bethdohertymedia / @newvalleynews

 

Stretching from Salisbury to Shaftesbury, and scattered with little rural villages, the Chalke Valley is an unlikely leader in technology. But it will be the first rural area in the UK to receive 5G speeds.

After making the apparently common mistake of confusing Broad Chalke with Bower Chalke, I finally found the little Village Hall where the members of Ch4lke Mobile, a new mobile phone network providing coverage to England’s largest ‘not-spot’, work their magic.

Simon, top, James (right) and John

About five years ago, the Chalke Valley area was promised five masts to give mobile phone coverage in the area. When the masts never turned up, local residents Simon Rockman, a technology journalist, John Ibbotson, a doctor of computer science, and James Body, chair of the parish council, took matters into their own hands.

Having spent 22 years in the army and designing communication systems for Truphone, James, a technical architect, found himself in a good position to do something about the lack of signal. Although experimental, Ch4lke Mobile runs with cells attached to chimneys that can connect homes to a network capable of broadband-like speeds.

“Individual mobile network masts are difficult and expensive, and in our area, they do not give enough money back, so the operators aren’t keen.

“To reduce the cost of deployment we created a neutral host. Our technology doesn’t use big telephone masts, we are in an area of outstanding natural beauty, so the small cells dotted around the area do not infringe on that beauty as a mast would.”

The team behind Ch4lke mobile have a set of incredible minds, all bringing a diverse skill-set to keep the talent within the community, from the electrical engineers to the technician who installs the boxes.

“Usually with these things comes a backlash, but we are yet to discover any element of protest – there’s so much support from the local community who want it to happen,” said James.

An example is local B&B owner Sue Lee, who believes the mobile coverage will have a positive impact on her business.

“Customers were being put off by the lack of mobile signal at Greenbank B&B, but nowadays being able to make calls is essential, so Ch4lke Mobile has had a really positive impact on my business,” she said.

Sue Lee from the Greenbank B&B

Ch4lke Mobile are doing the big networks a favour, “by providing the facilities locally, we are relieving the operators of responsibility to provide coverage,” said James.

“When the network is fully up and running, you’ll pay your provider for your call as usual, and then they will pay us, so we aren’t stealing any of their customers,” he added.

“We are using the latest generation software radios that allow you to run 4G and 5G together. Usually, you can only run one,” Simon stressed.
Asking the Ch4lke mobile team if they have had any backlash regarding the implementation of a 5G network, given the recent controversy in the media, they debunked any rumours that the network is dangerous.

“The radiation hazard comes from handsets – your mobile phone – not with 5G. There has been a lot of testing and limits have been set up; the 5G radiation is 5% of 10% of anything you need to worry about,” Simon said.

“A lot of people don’t understand what 5G is about, they think it is just faster speeds, but it is about flexibility, the ability to minimise power, allowing you to build batteries that can last for 10 years,” said Dr John Ibbotson.

He told me about the future of 5G. “The internet of things is lots of small devices like fridges, or sensors, or cow collars. 5G can cater for lots of small devices, so if you have sensors in crop fields, they can tell you what areas need fertilising and farmers can only fertilise those areas instead of the whole field, saving them money and time.”

The initial trial of the network boxes was a success and allowed the team to enter a competition by the Rural Connected Community. Ch4lke Mobile won, giving them £2.5 million of government funding to roll out the network boxes across the whole of Chalke Valley.

The money allows the network to move out of the experimental stage, providing full coverage, capable of 5G speeds from Oddstock to Shaftesbury, “so you’ll never drop a call,” said James.

“We want to offer the government an alternative to a shared network. There will always be gaps where the big networks can’t cover, and our boxes offer a solution to that,” he added. The network are now looking for other locals who want coverage in their area. “If you want to be involved, get in touch,” James and his team urge.

In a time like the present, with lockdowns and friends and family at a distance, Ch4lke Mobile’s determination to connect people seems more important than ever.