Martin and I (Mark David Hatwood) recently met with the SFB Team and BT to review the latest feedback on the rollout plans for Superfast Fibre Broadband (SFB) on the Roseland. The news is good, and overall great progress has and is still being made to hit the new 95{c8c3b3d140ed11cb7662417ff7b2dc686ffa9c2daf0848ac14f76e68f36d0c20} coverage target and maybe exceed it in the future – watch this space!
On top of being certain in achieving this 95{c8c3b3d140ed11cb7662417ff7b2dc686ffa9c2daf0848ac14f76e68f36d0c20} goal we are still working hard in seeking to achieve viable solutions for the other ‘5{c8c3b3d140ed11cb7662417ff7b2dc686ffa9c2daf0848ac14f76e68f36d0c20}ers’ who are still outside and at the margins of the current SFB footprint for the Roseland.
To this end we will be hosting a meeting in May for those ‘5{c8c3b3d140ed11cb7662417ff7b2dc686ffa9c2daf0848ac14f76e68f36d0c20}ers’ and if you believe you fit into this category then please email: mark@roselandonline.co.uk (PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY THOSE WHO EMAIL MARK WILL RECEIVE AN INVITE TO THIS SPECIAL MEETING) and we will reply by sending you a personal invite to attend this meeting where the SFB team, BT and various other supplier/service providers will demonstrate how this is realistic goal can that be achieved using available alternative technologies…
Read this article further and attached spreadsheet by clicking here: http://roselandonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Superfast-April2014-Update.pdf
Just to clarify, Richard, it is my experience (and many others) that upgrading to Superfast is less expensive than an old broadband package many had signed up to when the technology was at its infancy. There are Superfast packages out there for less than £10 month and BT are even offering up to 38mbs for just £7.50 for six months then £15 for a 12 month contract, so I wouldn’t assume yours is more expensive.
Also, the Fibre technology (as I believe) doesn’t use the same routes as the normal broadband, so if anything it should become quicker once the lines are freed up by those upgrading to Superfast. I would check with your provider that they haven’t got an issue, or choose a different one.
The comments above may be true…Ie that Superfast broadband is working in Tregony but what I find intensley annoying is that we existing customers having been promised high speed broadband 4 years or more ago ( before we were encouraged to upgrade at huge expense) are now being treated like cash cows while receiving worse and worse service. Being located less than 500 metres from the nearest exchange cabinet at the bottom of the village one would assume that the download speeds would be at least average ( about 12 mb/s) but they have never been as good as that, and since the new superfast has started up this last few months the speed has dropped even further down to a miserable 2 mb/sec. If I were a cynic , I might be inclined to suggest that maybe someone is deliberately slowing down the existing service to drive more customers to sign up for their new hugely expensive superfast scheme, which is already having issues with capacity and slower download speeds than promised and will inevitably end up just like us now having to pay (because there is no alternative) for an ever worsening service.
It is correct that a limited number of providers have chosen to offer service using FTTP thus far. This their commercial decision, and they are free to access FTTP service in the same way and at the same price as they can access FTTC services.
This customer’s ISP has misinformed them, and I would be interested to know which ISP this is, because this looks like misselling.
I am really disappointed to see this feedback, because we have made significant investment in delivering FTTP to Tregony, meaning that customers there can access the fastest broadband speeds. We have made this available on an open access basis, meaning that any provider can use the network on the same basis. The fact that both BT’s consumer businesses have made the investment to offer services on this infrastructure, despite the fact that it is currently only available to 250k customers nationally, should surely be a matter for commendation, not criticism. The fact that other ISPs are waiting for the volume to build before they invest is a matter for them, but if they are going to defame BT to excuse themselves then we will take a robust view of that.
Unfortunately the roll out of superfast broadband is not quite the triumph it seems. Only BT (and Plusnet, a BT subsidiary) customers can actually access this service from the Tregony exchange. No other ISP has “chosen” to provide the service, making it a monopoly. I am assured by the Superfast team that this is a commercial decision by other providers, although my own ISP has said that BT will not allow them space on the exchange. I recently spoke to someone who lives in Camborne, and they said they had to switch to BT to access Superfast, as no other company provided the service. I am really annoyed that this was not made clear when we were told Superfast was available in our area.
I think you are doing a fantastic job, but I’m not convinced that BT are going to live up to their promises and commitments. They’re probably doing their best, but what they say and what we expect to get could be two different things.
1) The deadline for all households in the Cornwall Superfast area is fast approaching, yet many of the easy cases haven’t been installed yet and most of the difficult cases still haven’t reached planning stage.
2) Many of the already installed Fibre broadband users are finding that speeds are no better than ADSL2, which normally goes to around 17Mb/sec
3) Many phone lines and broadband connections are suffering severe problems, such as outages, speed issues etc – partly due to the re-wiring mayhem. Some areas were disconnected for no good reason
4) We’re told by BT that Cornwall was the first to do trials and that we are at the leading edge, such as new solutions to EO problems. But, in reality, most other parts of the country are progressing with their installations at a faster pace. For example, Bradley Stoke in South Gloucester has also been told they are the first. I wonder what other areas of the country are being given the same information. Maybe we’re all equal first – but it makes me wonder if we’re being giving the full truth.
I really think that your enthusiasm and hard work have been very significant to getting Superfast Broadband into the Roseland, but in reality I don’t see us getting any better treatment than anywhere else, despite the rhetoric. Is BT giving us the run around, in the face of slipping targets and missed deadlines?
Here’s the webpage about Bradley Stoke…sounds like it came out of the same pages as ours on Roseland Online!!!
http://www.bradleystokejournal.co.uk/2014/03/01/superfast-broadband-upgrade-exchange-only-subscribers-wait-longer/
“As you know, ‘exchange only’ (EO) lines are more complicated and, in order to install the new fibre in the most cost-effective way, as part of the council’s project we need to re-arrange the existing copper network in those areas, to make it possible to install new copper cabinets and new fibre-enabled cabinets. Installing two new structures requires more planning, surveying and civil work. The EO lines will then be connected to the exchange via these new street cabinets, which will hugely improve speeds. This is a significant engineering task which will take time to plan and deploy. We are the first project in the south of the country to use this solution which, once completed, will provide a long-term solution to the historically problematic EO lines situation in Bradley Stoke.
Surveying of the EO lines is ongoing. The surveying includes planning the network, surveying underground ducts and deciding where the new copper and fibre-enabled street cabinets will go. As part of this surveying we are assessing the number of EO lines in Bradley Stoke, of which we believe there to be a considerable number.
Currently it is anticipated that the first EO line cabinets will be installed in Bradley Stoke in Autumn 2014, but this is subject to the results of the planning and surveying work that still needs to be carried out.”