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THE GOING UNDERGROUND Campaign group visited MS3 Networks Headquarters in Hessle this afternoon. We gave them a taste of their own medicine by marking their driveway with strange cryptic markings (one of their signs that a hole will follow and then a pole). On the serious side, campaigners announced that household boycott pledges had reached 1,061 representing a huge majority of homes in the town. Councillor Steve Gallant had the forms with him as evidence but didn’t hand those over, rather a letter that stated:
As there are only about 2,000 people on the Electoral Register for Hedon, these 1061 households represent a huge majority of the total homes in the town. There are many streets where every house has signed so we ask you to save money and exclude those from your plans. (A list can be provided).
The ten-year boycott is not just of MS3 (or whoever might eventually manage the network they are currently building) but also the internet service providers (ISPs) that intend to use poles. The Going Underground boycott has published the list of these blacklisted ISPs and quite aptly presented this list affixed to a mini-pole which was handed to MS3 staff.
See “Broadband Poles Row” at the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-67152297.
MS3 NETWORKS and their contracted pole-planters from Welch Civils have determined they will completely disregard Hedon and Preston residents’ persistent and clear message: “We don’t want your telegraph poles!” Communities elsewhere should be under no illusion – MS3 doesn’t do community engagement! “You will get poles!” is their position.
After six days of defiance, the pole-planters got onto the Shields Road estate on Tuesday.
“Bully pole-planting MS3 Networks planted five #telegraphpoles in Shields Road on Tuesday, October 17 after six days of defiance by residents and campaigners, costing the company thousands of pounds and delaying pole-planting elsewhere. The stalemate was only broken via a police escort. The local and #NationalCampaign continues.”
Going Underground Campaign Group
Residents are profoundly upset at the change in the attitude of Humberside Police who have moved from a position of impartiality to one of easing the pole-planting lorry onto the estate inch by inch using threats of arrest and impounding cars.
The pole-planters now plan to obtain permits to dig holes and plant poles all over Hedon. This is a costly attempt (permits cost!) by the pole-planters to thwart campaigners who will not know where and when the diggers and pole-planters will arrive next. So the call is now issued to local residents to be our eyes and ears. Let us know what is happening in your neighbourhood. Those on Facebook should keep the campaign Facebook Group informed – we do know it is actively monitored by many local residents – and the pole-planters seem to monitor it too.
Residents should continue to go about and exercise their legal rights to cross the road safely and park according to the highway code. The disruption the pole-planters are bringing to our communities of Hedon and Preston is serving as a warning to communities elsewhere of what to expect when MS3 and their ilk arrive. ‘Get organised now, don’t leave it too late’ is the message to other communities that face their pole battles.
Throughout this article, broadband provision hasn’t been mentioned yet. But what is extremely clear, is that MS3 Networks has NOTHING to do with broadband provision, their claims about bringing cheaper broadband to local people are just marketing ploys. The MS3 Networks role effectively ends after the hugely profitable laying down of the telegraph pole network.
Attention now turns to the ‘partners’ of MS3 i.e. those who hope to utilise the telegraph pole network and are also the subjects of the ten-year boycott. When the first pole was installed in Hedon, then that boycott became active. Campaigners will inform MS3’s partners that they are on the blacklist until poles are removed.
The Going Underground campaign is only six weeks old today (born out of the September 7th protest), and there is a long way yet to go!
If you think you can help in our campaign to stop and delay the MS3 poles coming to Hedon and Preston or get involved in our national campaign to change the law, then contact rayduffill@hedonblog.co.uk with your name address and best way to contact you i.e. telephone and/or email.
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