A new website has just been created to promote satellite broadband across the region. The site is asking for feedback and registration of interest in the system, an innovative hybrid of satellite and modem access, which is roughly comparable to traditional ADSL in price.

The site has been launched in conjunction with my own business, Wensum.net. Visit Norfolk Satellite for details and to register your interest without obligation.

For those of you looking to try a new ISP with 0845 local call-rate access, may I suggest http://www.sparkdial.co.uk ? No subscription fees, you get free email & webmail and it works with 128k ISDN as well as modem up to 56k.

Is it local?  Yes! Perhaps the first Fakenham-based ISP service to go online. Customers of Fakenham retailer Compute UK ordering an internet-ready PC can also request the service to be pre-installed as an option.

Commercial break over!

As it's holiday time, perhaps you'll spare a few minutes to get involved in FakenhamWeb - your community site.  Post your views on the forum, sell all your unwanted socks and aftershave in our Classifieds page. Submit your favourite local websites to the free Links page.

Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year from Steve, the webmaster.

Local Exchange Trading Schemes are local community-based mutual aid networks in which people exchange all kinds of goods and services with one another, without the need for money. Greg, a poster on our forum, asked if anybody in our area would be interested in this kind of scheme.

If this sounds like something you'd like to be involved with, or simply take advantage of, take a look at the FakenhamWeb Forum and post your area of interest and contact details, or mail the webmaster.

A traffic accident near Colkirk on Sunday 1st December, involving a red Saab 900 and a red Fiat Uno, resulted in the tragic death of a lady from the Dereham area.  Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident and the driving behaviour of the two vehicles immediately preceding the collision.

Contact Sgt Mark Murphy in Swaffham on 01953 424242.

Latest figures from BT's site indicate that the number of people in the Fakenham exchange area who have registered their interest in broadband net access is currently at 47.  A slight improvement, but we're only a tenth of the way there - the trigger level is 450!

Visit http://www.bt.com/broadband/ to add your registration for the 01328 exchange list.

Country Life magazine has just placed our town in the top ten "best places to live in Britain"!  A magazine spokesman commented that Fakenham rated highly on all indicators for the computerised league table.

House prices, crime rate and local amenities, as well as  local character, quality of produce, sporting and outdoor opportunities, weather and historical or cultural buildings were all factors in the decision.

Nothing we didn't already know eh?

Click "More & Comments" for the full top ten and links to the story elsewhere on the web.