Published below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the Marlborough Area Development Trust Community WiFi, along with their answers.
To see the Answer to a Question just click the [+] below the individual Question.
If you have a new question just email us at wifi at marlborougharea.org and we will answer you directly if we can, and we will also add your question to the list if appropriate.
Q: Who are the Marlborough Area Development Trust ?
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A: the Development Trust is a non-profit-making voluntary organisation that carries out work to ensure that the Marlborough Area is a vibrant, successful and pleasant place to live, work and visit; both now and in the future.
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A: a widely available, free public WiFi system had previously been identified by the Development Trust as an infrastructure project that would:
- Support the local economy,
- Enable a range of new services for residents, tourists, and local businesses,
- Create a more modern image for the Area, encouraging business growth.
The Trust has therefore developed the Community WiFi System to allow local businesses and other organisations to provide their own free WiFi service within their premises at very low cost, where their service is part of an overall, common system, that can be easily used throughout the Marlborough Area.
Q: What defines the Marlborough Area?
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A: 
The Marlborough Area is not only the town itself but extends to include many of the surrounding villages as indicated in the schematic to the right and shown in more detail here.
Q: I have been thinking about offering WiFi to my customers - why should I adopt the Development Trust system?
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A: the Development Trust Community WiFi system provides a comprehensive capability and because we are a not-for-profit organisation it is delivered at very low cost.
The Trust also take care of all the technical details, providing on-going monitoring of the system performance and support, so that you can just get on with running your business.
The system is particularly attractive to businesses that need extensive coverage since the wireless 'meshing' technology allows multiple Repeater units to be deployed to extend the coverage footprint to as wide an area as is needed.
You would also be contributing to this important community project that supports the whole local economy and makes the Marlborough Area a more attractive place to visit and do business.
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A: the usual way that a DIY WiFi system is set up is to connect to your local systems and by using a WEP key to control the WiFi access -perhaps getting a 'friend' to do this for you.
Hopefully the 'friend' has taken care to ensure that anyone connecting via the WiFi cannot access your local systems and get access to your private information.
Equally important is to ensure that when two or more users access via WiFi they cannot access each other's laptop/smartphone which would compromise their security.
In addition unless you are happy for anyone to have perpetual access to your systems you should also routinely change your WEP key, and this can become a significant administrative burden.
A DIY system will also simply connect a single WiFi access point to your existing broadband modem so this 'dictated positioning' may not give you coverage throughout your premises - especially if your business is an inn for example, and you need to provide coverage to all the bedrooms and outside seating areas/gardens.
The Development Trust system addresses all the above issues, but most importantly your 'private' system doesn't do anything to support the local community - whereas the Development Trust Community WiFi creates a common system throughout the Marlborough Area making it easier for visitors and residents to get on-line wherever they are - making the Marlborough Area a more attractive place to visit and do business.
All the Community WiFi information pages:
WiFi Passport Vouchers: click here for details about the annual WiFi Passport Vouchers.
