9 October 2012 — Cambium Networks and Herefordshire-based allpay Broadband have won the ‘rural leadership and community development’ award at the NextGen Challenge 2012. The win recognizes the partnership’s commitment to delivering broadband to rural communities across the Diocese of Hereford, through a unique and pioneering partnership that saw the region’s churches play a crucial role in the future of its broadband accessibility.

The NextGen Challenge Awards are designed to give companies the opportunity to highlight achievements in developing and deploying better broadband, showcasing the best in next generation digital access infrastructure innovation.

“We’re delighted to have won this award in partnership with allpay Broadband as it demonstrates our commitment to the UK’s digital infrastructure and tackling rural broadband head-on,” comments Graham Bolton, Regional Sales Manager at Cambium Networks. “Residents and business owners across Herefordshire can now access a super-fast, highly reliable internet service that connects them to the rest of the world.”

With the support of the Chancellor of the Diocese, the creation of an innovative Common Licence scheme enabled antennae hardware to be fitted onto church towers across the entire region. The first of its kind in the UK, the Licence created a streamlined planning and application process for every church in the area and has provided access to over 400 churches and thousands of residents throughout the Diocese of Hereford.

Entrepreneur, and owner of allpay Limited, Tony Killeen, adds: “This is a great step forward for the residents of Herefordshire, both now and for the future. Winning this award reflects our investment in our local community and demonstrates how we successfully overcame the challenge of providing fast and reliable broadband across our rural environment.”

For more information, please visit www.nextgenevents.co.uk, or to view customer testimonials please go to www.allpaybroadband.com/testimonials.