Wi-Failed : Double-Feature Coming Soon!

The accounts of Swindon's drunken dalliance with the money black-hole Digital City (they promised to bring us all free wi-fi and unlock a money-making machine and, well, it didn't happen, but they did spend all their money, but on what exactly?) will soon be published.

Get. The. Popcorn.

Superfast Wi-Fi Cover Is Here

That's right! After ages of waiting, the ultimate flack cover for the pesky business deal that went south is now here.

It'll resemble the first deal in nearly no respects, but because of it's flexible ability to be spun in any direction required, this non-feature will never be noticed (subject to beta testing). That's right, don't delay, call today and order your superfast broadband flack cover!

Wi-Failed : Digital City Boss Paid £82,000 of Our Money

The boss of Swindon Borough Council-funded Digital City was paid £82,000 for 'coaching fees' during his tenure. The news is in today's Swindon Advertiser, a link to come later.

The company was set up to provide Borough-wide Wi-Fi access through an initial £400,000 loan from Swindon Borough Council.

The company failed to meet a single target and is dead in the water.

Swindon Centric Says ; Disgusting, shameful. To paraphrase a previously used line, if you stand on the top of the David Murray John Building (where Digital City were given free offices by Swindon Borough Council), on a clear day you can see a democratic council.

Wi-Failed : Were Things Wrapped Up?

Did Swindon Borough Council know more about the Wi-Failed scheme (and how much danger the project, and the £400,000 of public money) were in? New details have emerged today of the botched attempt to bring free wi-fi to everywhere and everyone in the Borough.

A month before a Scrutiny meeting in March this year, a councillor was briefed on the current state of Digital City.

Swindon Centric Says ; How much, and in what depth, was the state of Digital City's finances and the frozen roll-out plan discussed, and what elements of this did not reach the Scrutiny meeting the following month?

We want our money back, getting someone else to give you £400,000 (that is not the original £400,000) is not 'recovering the money', it's 'attempting to recover your political integrity'.

Wi-Failed ; Council Leader Admits, The Money's Gone

Yes, that's right, click here.

Swindon Centric Says ; Armchair Auditors across town, you know who you are, raise a glass tonight.

PS - Being vigilant, thorough and questioning isn't being politically opportunistic - it's democratically necessary.

Wi-Failed ; Death Held Off For Truth To Come Forth

Pages Councillor Perkins?

The automatic striking off of Swindon's wi-fi company (taken £400,000 of our money and showing us precious little for it) would have allowed answers to questions to be buried for ever.

Mr Richard Symonds has written and objected to the striking off, which will now be postponed until the end of February.

Swindon Centric Says ; Coming soon, those long-overdue Digital City accounts (and where that money went and what it was spent on)... Maybe?

Isn't it great what the written word can, and may yet, achieve?

Wi-Failed : Closest To Accountability We Got (So Far?)

Cast your mind back to March last year, and to a sparse House of Commons chamber, then MP for Swindon South, Anne Snelgrove, raised the questions about the wi-fi scheme for Swindon that's now dead. Her words are as relevant now as they were nearly 18 months ago.

Swindon Centric Says ; Justin Tomlinson and Robert Buckland, MPs for Swindon North and South, what are you waiting for?

Where's the questions, concern and accountability from them?

Wi-Failed ; Death Of The Digital City

The company Swindon Borough Council residents funded to the tune of £400,000, is in the process of being wound-up. Click on the above image for a bigger version of the winding-up order from Companies House.

Swindon Centric Says ; Cue spinning that this was all part of the plan and a 'potential investor' is soon to announce...

No flowers.

Wi-Failed ; Company Founder Declares Bankruptcy

The twists in Swindon's dalliance into publicly-funded wi-fi takes a further twist with today's news that former Digital City (the company charged with rolling out a wi-fi mesh throughout Swindon Borough using public money) Director Rikki Hunt filed for bankruptcy on 8th of March this year.

Swindon Centric Says ; Millions of questions for Councillor Garry Perkins, the Director of Digital City now and at that time. Did he know and when did he know it? And the other 999,998 questions he should answer as well...

A Wi-Fi Bolt-On

Digital City has agreed with local house builder Bower Mapson to bundle the Home User package for free, when you purchase one of their houses. This was reported in a 'news in brief' column from the Swindon Advertiser on Wednesday 19th of May, but isn't able to be sourced online from either Digital City, or Bower Mapson.

Maybe their wi-fi signal is patchy?

Swindon Centric Says ; If you're planning on spending £200,000 on a new pad, maybe a saving of £9.99 a month for a year will just swing the deal.

The Audacity of Nope

The Audit Commission has decided that nothing has been done legally wrong in Swindon Borough Council's decision to give £450,000 of your money, free office space, and incalculable council time to a business venture being executed by a firm with no previous experience and only 13 paying customers.

There are no laws against "naviety, incompetence and negligence", shame.

Swindon Centric Says ; Swindon Borough Council : your investor in paper lifeboat manufacturing, for a better Swindon.

Wi-Fi Grace & Favour?

Swindon Centric heard a rumour yesterday, that Digital City's offices in the David Murray John building are provided, allegedly, free (the building of course being Swindon Borough Council owned).

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Swindon Centric Says ; They say on a clear day you can see Highworth, and on a really clear day, a paying customer.

The Case of the Disappeared Directors & The Offshore Owner

The news from tonight's scrutiny committee is the deferral of the loan decision on the wi-fi until the next meeting.

The reason being that the committee isn't clearly satisfied as to who the other two directors of Digital City are. The third being Rikki Hunt.

The main shareholder of Digital City is listed as aQovia Limited, based on the Isle of Man, instead of the aQovia UK Ltd, registered in the UK.

Again this mistake is being spun as 'minor', just a matter of forgetting to add on the 'UK' to paperwork.

Swindon Centric Says ; Are 'minor errors' acceptable when the large gamble of public money sits on the table? What hope for this venture when the people doing the admin can't even fill out the forms correctly?

Today's Wi-Fi Cliffhanger Is...

No sooner had the previous post gone up, then Swindon Centric read this on the Talk Swindon website.

Swindon Centric Says ; Some other revelations concerning everyone's favourite ropey business venture coming later it seems.

Stay tuned!

The Bluh Doctrine on Wi-Fi

The election kick-off has no-doubt had an effect on discussion about the wi-fi, but the comments today by Councillor Des Moffat, Labour Western Ward, (and those of Councillor Wright from yesterday) feel like they've been keeping most of their powder dry for a while.

In Councillor Moffat's account of the cabinet meeting, the politicising of the scheme was criticised again by Councillor Bluh. Despite the obvious politicising by the Conservatives and even by Digital City, who still have the following blurb on their website.

"We want to see a flowering of this all over the country." - Caroline Spelman, Shadow secretary of state for communities and local government.

It's reassuring that individual councillors are putting up accounts of cabinet meetings, since the minutes we should be able to rely on are misleading.

Councillor Bluh seems to have developed his very own Bush-style doctrine on the wi-fi, with the Conservative party South Swindon Prospective Parliamentary Candidate standing a fair distance from his comments.

Swindon Centric Says ; - You're either with us, or you're against us on the wi-fi - (to skew a quote) Mr Bluh seems to believe there is no middle-ground, which is ironic as that's exactly the part of the electorate he needs to attract if he is to win his seat again.

P.S. - Winning his seat, in Dorcan, just became slightly higher in profile after this. Oh, the irony in the competitor's name too.

Swindon's Community Money Thrown Into The Air For Wi-Fi

Councillor Bob Wright, Labour Central Ward, has given details about exactly where the £450,000 for the wi-fi came from.

According to his entry on the Swindon Labour website, it came from money meant for, 'wider community use" , and not for 'a single person or project'.

Swindon Centric Says ; 'The loan was authorised through a Town Centre regeneration approval note', writes Mr Wright, a highly questionable classification considering recent telecoms news that BT are to install a fibre-optic system for broadband in Swindon. The use of public money on 'regeneration' of telecoms, which is being industry led anyway, is highly questionable : much like the rest of the wi-fi process and project.