The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Caledonian Exchange, 19A Canning Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EG.
Connectivity
Projects funded by Connecting Scotland experienced a variety of outcomes: Some projects found connectivity support essential as many of their users could not afford their own broadband and would not have been able to benefit from a loaned device without connectivity. In some cases, people asked to borrow connectivity alone, as they had devices but no access to the internet in their home. Other projects purchased connectivity, but found that most people only required a device and the MiFis remained underutilised.
There are different options of lending connectivity, the most straight forward being via a dongle or MiFi, a small, chargeable device with a SIM card that provides wireless internet access to a whole household. This allows you to have the option of loaning just connectivity, and for multiple people in the household to benefit from it at the same time. Another option is to provide LTE enabled devices (i.e. devices which, through a directly inserted SIM, can access mobile WiFi). These devices have the advantage of also providing internet access outside the home via the device, however, it means that only one person can use the connectivity at a time.
You can purchase data-only SIM cards for dongles or devices and pay for them monthly - speak to different providers and find out what your options are, if there are deals for charities, and if you'll have the option to suspend or block a SIM in case of loss or theft. Your provider will also be able to add security features to your SIMs, automatically blocking adult or gambling content (as was the case with the SIMs issued via Connecting Scotland).
If you cannot loan connectivity, but would still like to support people facing barriers to internet access you can request free SIM cards via these schemes:
You can also raise awareness of broadband and mobile social tariffs, which are cheaper than standard broadband packages and available to people receiving benefits. You can find out more about social tariffs by visiting the Ofcom website.