Customer Stories

A resident, a business owner, a volunteer and an investor - all working towards a stronger, more resilient Weardale 

Upper Weardale is one of England’s most beautiful valleys, stretching from Killhope down through St John’s Chapel and Ireshopeburn. It’s a place where rural life, farming, tourism and small businesses all depend on staying connected - yet until recently, the valley’s digital infrastructure was holding it back. 

One of the people helping change that is Mike Orr. A resident, a business owner, an early volunteer and an investor in B4RN, Mike has seen first‑hand how vital reliable connectivity is for rural communities. 

He moved to Weardale five years ago, bringing with him a digital business that supports real estate agents in the United States. “I can run it from anywhere as long as I get decent internet,” he said. “But the speeds here made that incredibly difficult.” 

His household of six - spread across a large Regency‑period home built around 1820 with thick stone walls - relied on three separate internet connections just to cope with everyday use. “We didn’t want to have all our eggs in one basket,” Mike said, “but they were all slow.” 

Storm Arwen: a turning point for rural resilience 

The valley’s vulnerability became clear during Storm Arwen. Power was out for ten days. Internet was down for thirteen. Mike had to relocate to a hotel simply to keep his business running. 

“It wasn’t just inconvenient,” he said. “It stopped everything. No power, no internet, no way to work. It showed how exposed rural communities are when infrastructure fails.” 

That experience shaped his determination to bring full fibre to Weardale. “I wrote to B4RN years ago asking them to come,” he said. “When I found out they were finally arriving, I was overjoyed.” 

Connectivity before B4RN: slow, fragile and limiting 

Before B4RN, typical speeds in the valley hovered around 25 to 30Mbps, with uploads often under 8Mbps. For Mike’s business - which downloads and processes large data files daily - interruptions meant starting again from scratch. 

“Some downloads take two hours,” he said. “If it fails, you go right back to the beginning. It creates a backlog very quickly.” 

Even everyday life was affected. Streaming, gaming, video calls, smart devices - all struggled under the load of multiple users and thick stone walls. 

Why B4RN: reliability, resilience and room to grow 

Mike’s decision to support B4RN was driven by three things: 

1. Reliability

   B4RN’s full fibre network is designed to stay live even during power outages. For rural communities, that matters. 

   “If I had generator power and B4RN’s connection, I could keep the business going,” Mike said. “That’s a huge difference.” 

2. Capacity

   Gigabit speeds allow Mike to scale his business. He is already trialling an AI assistant that connects to his database and answers client questions. 

   “With faster speeds, I can support thousands of users instead of a handful,” he said. “It opens up possibilities I simply couldn’t consider before.” 

3. Cost‑effectiveness

   B4RN’s pricing means Mike can consolidate connections and still give family members their own accounts if needed. 

   “It simplifies everything,” he said. “And it’s far better value for the speed - everyone can have their own if they like!” 

Volunteering: neighbours helping neighbours 

Mike was one of the early volunteers in St John’s Chapel, knocking on doors, explaining the project and helping residents understand how modern life depends on connectivity. 

He met people who didn’t use computers, people who relied on paper, and people who didn’t realise their TV, phone or heating systems were already digital. He was surprised by what he calls ‘digital apathy’, especially as connectivity powers almost everything nowadays but people still put it to the bottom of the pile. 

A valley ready for the future 

With Phase 1 approved and work scheduled to begin soon, Mike sees B4RN as a long‑term investment in Weardale’s resilience. 

It will support farms adopting digital tools, tourism businesses offering better connectivity, families working and learning from home, and emergency hubs that need reliable communication during outages. 

Thanks to exceptional engagement from residents, landowners and volunteers, Weardale has become one of B4RN’s fastest projects to progress through its development stage. 

So much so, a further phase is already being tabled, which is set to include hundreds more residents and businesses who’ll be able to embrace gigabit capability.  

Final word: a network that strengthens rural life 

For Mike, B4RN is more than faster broadband. It’s continuity, stability and opportunity. 

“It means I can keep my business running, even in a storm. It means my family can stay connected. It means I can control costs. It means the valley can grow. That’s why I backed it.” 

His advice to other rural communities is simple: “If you get the chance to bring full fibre to your area, grab it. It’s one of the most important things you can do for the future.”