Changing times; yesterday morning here at Fordhollow we were lucky if we could see a broadband download speed of 1Mbps. By midday we had a download speed of 30Mbps! We have had to cope with the broadband oddities of living far from an exchange at the end of a copper wire snaking through the countryside, battered by trees, looped from pole to pole.

As of yesterday we have the benefit of an initiative in both the Exmoor and Dartmoor national parks to increase cover of fast broadband to the many homes and farms tucked away in the valleys of the moor. Enter AirBand whose system is by radio signal. With a line of sight to one of the aerials installed in farms and churches and other such places, you have the chance of a good outcome.

And so it has proved. The next task is to get cover throughout the house bearing in mind the stone and cob farmhouse walls were built to withstand the moorland weather, not to aid radio signals around the dwelling.