Tired of the World Wide Wait?

If you are a voluntary and community organisation, please participate in our Internet Access Survey. It will only take about 3-4 minutes to complete and will help NICVA to negotiate an introductory broadband offer for the sector in Northern Ireland.

What is Broadband

Broadband is a method of connecting to the internet that enables the user to send and receive information at high speed. It has many benefits over the conventional ‘dial up’ mechanism of connecting to the internet since it can do all the things a dial up can do, but is much faster and easier to access.

It can enhance the speed and efficiency of your organisation, as well as giving you greater access to information and the opportunities offered by websites which are more and more sophisticated.

NICVA conducted a survey earlier this year to examine how charities are using the internet and NICVA’s website. 63% of respondents said they use the internet ‘all the time’ in their job, making it crucial that they convert to broadband in order to save time and money.

Benefits of broadband

• Speed. A broadband connection is up to ten times faster than a conventional dial up, which means that you can send and receive more and larger amounts of information very quickly. For example, you could download a consultation document from a government website in a matter of seconds or email a photograph taken with a digital camera almost immediately.
• Predictable costs. It is charged at a fixed monthly fee, so you can stay online or send as many emails as you like, and it won’t cost you any extra. This would enable a charity to register for events online, fill in online surveys, even engage in e-consultation, without having to worry about it adding to their phone bill.
• Virtually instant access. A broadband connection is permanently switched on, so you can send an email or look at the internet spontaneously. This is unlike a dial up which takes time as it dials through your telephone line, and then often has to repeat the process if the connection fails. Broadband would allow you to keep an eye on your email inbox easily throughout the day.
• A separate connection. Because broadband runs on a dedicated connection, it won’t tie up your phone line.
• Future developments. Many new services are being developed for broadband users, which will mean those with a dial up connection will get left behind.

Read the responses to the survey of NICVA’s website