Video ring to unite islanders: Orkney Island Council and videoconferencing

The Ring of Brodgar stone circle on mainland Orkney
The Ring of Brodgar stone circle on mainland Orkney (published with original article)

First published in Government Computing, September 2002

Orkney Island Council is the smallest full-service local authority in the UK, a unitary body that governs just 20,000 people on 17 inhabited islands.

It is also a place where they love the internet. A council survey last summer, which gathered responses from over 1,000 households, found that 44% had internet access with another 6% planning to go online by the end of 2002. The national equivalent last summer, according to Oftel, was 39%.

So it may come as a surprise that the council is planning to concentrate on video-conferencing, rather than its web-site, in providing electronic access to social services, housing and health.
Continue reading “Video ring to unite islanders: Orkney Island Council and videoconferencing”

Smallest post office gets net

A new network could transform the fortunes of rural post offices. SA Mathieson visits Britain’s tiniest post office to find out more

Visiting the smallest post office in Britain, in a beautiful part of the Highlands, was great fun. This was in the days when Royal Mail was calling itself Consignia, a thankfully brief period in its history.
Continue reading “Smallest post office gets net”