When the news came that Hospital Radio Bedside would have to vacate our studios in the lockdown of March 2020 we hit a technical problem.
Like many radio stations across the UK we have some great equipment which enables our presenters to present programmes from home if needed – our only problem was our broadband connection wasn’t up to the job! HRBs original internet lines were installed underground many years ago but, whilst the station had been just about able to struggle along in the modern world, the cost of upgrading the infrastructure with any of the national broadband suppliers was just not financially possible. Now, in an unexpected lockdown, this ‘niggle’ had become a major issue. Our existing line just wasn’t fast enough and there seemed no options at all. I’d heard about Juice Broadband, a local Internet Service Provider based in Poole, gave them a call and they were confident they could help.
Within a very short period Juice Broadband had installed the wireless dish at our studio and we had truly superfast broadband – 20x faster than before! The change has been truly revolutionary for HRB. Our presenters can now not only present programmes from home if needed, they can also create additional shows at home for times they wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend the studio – meaning more great shows for our listeners. And the benefits don’t stop there. Juice Broadband have also converted our existing analogue phone lines to ‘Digital using VoIP’ (all the calls are sent over our broadband) which has the effect of better quality, lowering our call costs too.
Claire Simpson, Operations Director at Juice Broadband explains more, “Our Fibre to the Mast (FTTM) network uses Microwave Radio technology to deliver broadband to customer premises. It was the ideal solution for HRB, combining robust and reliable connectivity with Superfast speeds. It’s a pleasure to work with HRB and to learn what a difference our product has made to the complex task of running a radio station, especially during the lockdowns’
Thanks indeed to Claire and the team at Juice Broadband for the amazing help and support they have given to Hospital Radio Bedside.
By Andy Marlor