I certainly have the same question as @sotonsam has asked in regards to when to expect it in my area. I was going to create a topic here a few weeks ago but I thought I would chip now in as it's relevant.
According to Connecting Britain with ultrafast Gfast technology (
https://www.homeandbusiness.openreach.co.uk/docs/default-source/default-document-library/gfast-factsheet-16102017.pdf?sfvrsn=66d7b160_2) on page 3 it says:
"It typically takes us about three months to plan and build Gfast services in a new location."Though, considering the amount of variables when it comes to rolling out, it could take longer since they may need to re-shell the cabinet before they can bolt the pod on, run additional links to the exchange or there may be issues in relation to the space available to place the pod (in which case, I cannot be sure of the resolution since I do not know if they use standalone pods).
Just like with @sotonsam, it has been showing as "planned" on my cabinet. In fact, it has been since last month with the clean range virtually maxed out and the impacted still looking quite nice (still estimated above 260/26 DS/US impacted). The line is under 200m (it's almost direct from the cabinet) though I am most concerned about the aluminium present which may present high attenuation at the very high freqencies which are utilised with G.fast. Not every cabinet has it planned in this area from what I can see, but the ones which are planned have yet to see a G.fast pod since none of them - at present - have one. Some cabinets may even need a re-shell to accomodate the pod.
I have tried to contact the Openreach Fibre Enquiries email for information regarding the rollout in my area, but without success (seems like they do not respond to emails there, or at least in my case).
I have also contacted two ISPs so far to see if they could query for additional information: Pulse8 and uno.
The former does not currently offer G.fast, so they said they cannot query about availability yet. But seeing as TalkTalk Business have started trialing it and will have a commercial launch this summer (see
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/04/isp-talktalk-business-confirm-330mbps-uk-g-fast-broadband-trial.html) then I can see resellers such as Pulse8 having access to this technology pretty soon (or rather I should say that I have been told that Pulse8 should be trialing it in a few months).
The latter currently has an ongoing pilot, though they have basically stated that there is no way for them to get any information from Openreach regarding the rollout above what the checker says or what they publish on their own site.
I have even contacted someone (would rather not give out the name) at thinkbroadband to see if they could query Openreach for information in this area, but they stated that their focus is on FTTC/FTTP (and currently not G.fast) in areas where ADSL-based services were previously the best service. I can respect and understand this.
So I am at a dead end for getting any additional information for my cabinet currently.
@sotonsam: in reference to your situation, as @Ronski has said, the estimates for G.fast are a bit hit and miss. From what I can gather, until the pod is installed with lines connected and collecting data then the estimates may be very wild. The situation was and is true with FTTC (VDSL) also.
My questions for you, @sotonsam, are:
- Do any of the cabinets in your area have a G.fast pod installed?
- Do you have access to your router (line) statistics?
I apologise that I have not uploaded or linked any images of a G.fast pod. But I do not have any that I have taken myself and I do not want to hotlink or upload without the permission of the photographer. A quick Google will show you what a pod looks like just in case you have not seen one before.
Having access to your line statistics from your router (specficially attenuation) should be able to guage the approximate distance from the cabinet. It won't give you exact figures since that is impossible with the many variables that need to be taken into account. Or you could wait until the pod is enabled on your cabinet and order to find out the actual speeds.