A WROUGHTON man has launched a campaign to get his area connected to Broadband services.

John Forster-Heatlie, 51, of Thorney Park, is trying to get high-speed internet access through a satellite company because the telephone exchanges in Wroughton and Chiseldon have not yet been ADSL enabled to support Broadband.

BT has set 'trigger' levels in areas which show how many residents need to be interested in Broadband before it is commercially viable for the company to adapt exchanges.

But a trigger level for Wroughton and Chiseldon has not even been set up, so residents are still a long way off getting Broadband via BT.

The service is also available via cable companies, but John says his home, and other areas ,are not covered by NTL.

The only other option is receiving the service via satellite and John says he knows companies that would be willing to install a system if 100 people express an interest.

John, who is a civil servant, said: "In the past three years, I and my friends have been watching the broadband revolution unfold, yet Wroughton and Chiseldon have been missed out of this roll-out programme.

"Anything up to 10 times in an evening on TV, we have BT Broadband adverts pumped at us, every Thursday in the Evening Advertiser we have the Evolution column telling us how great broadband is, yet we can not even get it.

"If BT cannot supply us with ADSL enabled exchanges, then it is time to look at alternatives, and this is on offer using wireless technology.

"If all those people that have registered their interest at BT or their current internet service providers would get in touch with me then I will do my best to fight for a wireless connection, to give Wroughton, Chiseldon and areas within 15 kilometres of the villages a twenty-four-seven broadband connection."

Email John at wroughtonbb@bigfoot.com