Access to the Internet at home for your children
Some parents find it hard to get Broadband Internet access at their home. Yet, they know that it is important that their children can go online at home for their schoolwork. Some may find Broadband charges too expensive, beyond the means of hard-pressed families. For others, the Internet is an unknown, causing worries about the time their children spend on the Internet. Finally, many families are unable to get service from BT because they either have a bad credit rating, no credit rating, or their property has been blacklisted because of a previous tenant.
So what are the options? Here are a few ideas that might help you find a solution that's right for you.
Package deals
You may already have signed up to Sky or Virgin Media for your television and telephone needs. You may find that adding Broadband will be relatively inexpensive and in some cases could even be free.
Plug in dongles
If you don't want to wire up your house with Broadband, you can wire up the computer instead. Many mobile phone providers can provide a gadget known as a "dongle" that plugs into the computer and allows Internet access. These are available under a contract or on a Pay As You Go basis. The e-Learning Foundation has teamed up with T-Mobile to offer schools a one year 3G mobile deal for just over £10 a month so ask your school if they are working with us and can access this deal.
Wired up cities
Some towns and cities are planning to create a "wireless cloud" for all the residents to connect to the Internet through. Under this arrangement all the families would have wireless access without the need for a BT line and a separate contract. Parents are advised to check with their school and Local Authority to see if such a project is planned in their town.
Hot Spots
Although this does not solve your problem of Internet access at home, you could find out where the free "Hotspots" are in your area where you and your children can get free access to the Internet. These may include local libraries, community centres and youth centres.
Free offers
From time to time the e-Learning Foundation is able to negotiate free or heavily discounted deals for Broadband at home. These are always offered through schools so please check with your school to see if they are an affiliated member of our network and hence eligible for these deals.
We hope that this helps you find the right solution for your family. If you discover better solutions do let us know by email so that we can share the information.