In partnership with BT and OneLondon, our ongoing Connectivity project is aimed at bringing the benefits of broadband technology to a wider audience.

Q. How do you introduce people from disadvantaged communities to the advantages of the Internet?

A. We began by testing a theory - that many people don’t buy into broadband because they simply don’t understand what it is and what it can do for them.

A series of discussions with different sectors of the community confirmed our suspicion.

Beginning in South London, we staged a “live” pilot presentation designed to demonstrate the potential of broadband Internet.

Result?

What followed surprised even us – and we’re professional optimists.

An immediate conversion of almost 100%. And this included a high proportion of sceptics who had insisted they would “never use the Internet”.

Tired but happy, our team eventually caught a taxi home at 10.30pm. Such was the demand for ‘sign-ups’ following the presentation.

Riding on its initial success, the Connectivity presentation is now scheduled to run at venues throughout Greater London, spanning the “digital divide” for audiences of up to 200 people.