To commend her efforts to ease the #datadrought, co-founder and volunteer of the Better Internet for Rural, Regional and Remote (BIRRR) group, Kristy Sparrow was nominated for several gongs in the 2016 Queensland Regional Achievement and Community Awards.
Last week, she was named as a finalist in the Innovation and Leadership Award and People’s Choice.
The BIRRR group was founded in October 2014 and Kristy had no idea it was going to get such an immense response.
“My kids were on distance education school camp and I found ten spare minutes to discuss with my friend Kylie why our data seemed to disappearing on our mobile broadband plan,” Kristy said.
“We decided to set up a Facebook group to see if others were faced with similar frustrations,”
“It just snowballed from there.”
In just under two years, the group has grown to have over 7,500 members.
“We never thought it would grow to this extent,” Kristy said.
“However, it highlights the frustrations faced by people in the rural, remote and regional Australia by how it has grown so quickly.”
The admin team has grown to five women and they have several other volunteers that assist with website articles, technical information and more.
“It is not something I have ever done by myself, I have always had the support and assistance of the fantastic BIRRR volunteers who all bring their own unique specialties to the team,” Kristy said.
Dedicated to the group, Kristy loves what she does but gets irritated that she had to step up.
“I do get satisfaction from helping others but at the same time it is frustrating that a group of volunteers had to stand up and develop a system to assist,” Kristy said.
“Service providers, NBN and the government really need to start providing better customer services and information.”
For Kristy, BIRRR has started to become a full time job and she is known to spend up to 50 hours a week volunteering her services.
“Some days I can spend all day on BIRRR related tasks and I have to be mindful to take time for myself and my family,” Kristy said.
“I would hate to think people are being ripped on an expensive low data plans or have no connection just because they don’t have the right facts.”
An open group where members can share, BIRRR has developed its own Facebook internet community.
“What I love about BIRRR is that we have developed a community where people can come for information and any member can offer advice and support to help with troubleshooting,” Kristy said.
Kristy and her team work tirelessly with contacts in NBN, Telstra, Skymuster and other service providers along with government departments to promote and lobby the #datadrought. Kristy’s determination and passion is part of what keeps her going.
“I suppose I like to keep motivated as I like to think out of the box and find solutions to other people’s problems,” Kristy said.
“I am passionate about people being able to access the tools they need live in a remote area, one of those tools is access to the digital world.”
“Sitting back and whinging about it rarely does much, I’d rather dive in head first and see what can be done to solve the issues.
As the BIRRR group grows and expands, Kristy has some big plans for the future.
“Long term, BIRRR will continue to address the telecommunication issues faced by people who live and work in rural and remote Australia,” Kristy said.
“We will continue our advisory, support and lobbying in an attempt to overcome the #datadrought.”
“There is a need in rural, remote and regional Australia for an independent group to offer advice and support as it is a difficult jungle of bush telecommunications that people need to navigate through.”
“We are currently looking at crowdfunding to extend our lobbying and support and looking at setting up BIRRR as a registered entity.”
While she works towards the future, Kristy encourages everyone to look at their internet plans and ask questions.
“Don’t be stuck with a provider simply because you have used them for years,” Kristy said.
“Join our BIRRR Facebook group, ask for help, talk to your neighbours about their internet, shop around.
The QRACA winners will be announced on October 21. To vote for Kristy, head to the Queensland Regional Achievement and Community Awards (@QLDRACA) Facebook page.