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[stevebrass]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38051066

[c6em]

At long last we don't have to listen to the pro EU moaning about public funds being used and how it all has to be fully investigated and approved by them as lord and master over us all etc.
We just get on and do it
Another advantage of Brexit.....

Admin edit -  Language toned down, this isnt a political forum.  Seen too many people fall out over Brexit as it is :/

[ejs]

Except that we haven't left the EU yet, so unless you want this money to be spent after 2+ years if/when we leave, I expect it'll still be subject to the current rules.

[Bowdon]

Hopefully this investment will at least hurry things along.

For a small island it seems to take a long time to upgrade technology.

Get ready for superfast internet: £1 billion investment could bring 'full-fibre' and 5G broadband to families across the UK

[niemand]

This won't do anything to bring fibre to the entire UK.

It may further exacerbate the rather odd situation of there being proportionally far more rural FTTP than urban though.

[Chrysalis]

more funding for villages.

cities been left further behind, whats new?

[JGO]

WHAT ADVANTAGE DOES INCREASED SPEED GIVE ? 

If it does the job already it seems to me it is just a status symbol which will be more critical to maintain. 

[Black Sheep]

He knows ^^^^

[Chrysalis]

The advantage is the consistency and stability.  No "up to" dependent on distance, quality of copper etc. No crosstalk issues.

[waltergmw]

Gentlefolk,

May I, as B4RN's first shareholder, please offer a different opinion.

Particularly in rural areas, true symmetric point-to-point fibre buried underground to avoid e.g. poles being snapped in half by the breeze earlier this week at LA2 8HY is probably far more reliable.
(That situation might well become even worse when both fibre and twisted pairs are strung from the same poles, unless you have seriously multi-skilled linesmen.)

Most don't consider it as a status symbol but rather a vital necessity to escape from the ADSL straitjacket of a download throughput of around 0.2 Mbps download only.
Furthermore doing the job properly once means that area is already able to accept several thousand 5G pico-cells mounted in every property as well as far more 2G, 3G and 4G cells before then.
Those who have driven along the A65 will be only too familiar with almost zero mobile coverage for miles upon end.

VERY thankfully I am not alone with these thoughts either.

http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/opinion/2478346/philip-hammonds-autumn-statement-digital-infrastructure-plans-need-a-serious-rethink

Kind regards.
Walter

[niemand]

Hmm.

Make no doubt about it - the UK is in really bad broadband and mobile shape, and the two are inextricably linked. Even against the rest of Europe, the UK is way behind the majority. Despite all the advertising and BS, much of the country including cities, towns and rural areas lack the basics of broadband and have no access to 3G mobile, let alone 4G.

The average broadband speed in London is one third of that in Paris for example, and if you drive the A14, A12, A1 or take the Norwich to London train, for example, the service is patchy at best. And just try getting 4G in London. Best of luck with that!

Much of this is provably false. While I appreciate the zeal Peter Cochrane needs to stick to the facts else he sounds like a zealot and the valid points he makes get lost amongst the hyperbole.

[waltergmw]

@ Ignitionnet,

My apologies if I offend. Perhaps this piece might meet with acceptance if not approval.

https://groupeintellex.com/2016/11/16/fibre-mobile/

kind regards,
Walter

[niemand]

Not offended in the slightest, just questioning Mr Cochrane when he presents as facts things that aren't true.

5G is an interesting one. Verizon seem to think a cell every kilometre is fine, this using 28 GHz and 39 GHz bands.

The first commercially available 5G modem uses the 28 GHz band.

https://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/qualcomm-snapdragon-x50-5g-modem-infographic.pdf

These are a bit dry but might be useful:

http://faculty.poly.edu/~tsr/Publications/ICC_2013_28.pdf
http://wireless.engineering.nyu.edu/static-homepage/tech-reports/Characterization-of-the-28-GHz-Millimeter-Wave.pdf

Your link has one major problem that doesn't meet my acceptance or approval:

Estimates vary but complete coverage of the UK’s 24million hectares and property (outside and indoors) could, in theory, need between 5 to 7 million small base stations requiring high capacity fibre optic connections.

Most base stations right now don't have fibre optic connections. They use point-to-point line of sight microwave radio as backhaul to an aggregation mast that has a fibre backhaul.

Existing street furniture has great potential to host smaller cells, as it both has existing backhaul and in many cases power supply. Alongside this cable companies can certainly build 5G transceivers into their CPE and backhaul them using their DOCSIS networks without impacting on their customers' own broadband.

While 5G itself as used by the x50 might be able to offer 5 Gb download speeds what do you reckon the odds are of every cell being provisioned with that kind of backhaul straight away?

Copper, be it twisted pair or coax, has one huge advantage over fibre in this regard. It can both backhaul and carry power for 5G femtocells. Hybrid networks will be more than capable of backhauling earlier 5G deployments and will in time evolve to full fibre. There will be no need for cable to do so for a while as symmetrical 10Gb is perfectly possible over the hybrid fibre coaxial network. Twisted pair doesn't have the same lifespan but Fttdp will be acceptable for a while, and the shorter fibre run provides an opportunity for power injection without too much attenuation.

[ejs]

Couldn't you just use wi-fi rather than have your own 5G cell in your house?

[Weaver]

I appreciate Walter's point about the low-maintenance, predictability, weather-proofness and level playing field that fibre offers. Much as I enjoy meeting our local BT engineers who are always great especially when they see that I'm truly taking a genuine interest, it does seem like a waste of a lot of human effort having to constantly run around trying to mend copper faster than it can break before the next lightning storm of the year wreaks havoc with CPE.

(Reminds me, I still haven't arranged lightning insurance for kit. Scary. Tried to get it done a while ago and got nowhere. Overwhelmed, got lost with it. Probably need a broker.)