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[waltergmw]

Gentlefolk,

There are some good warm words here for some Surrey residents:-

http://www.btplc.com/news/articles/showarticle.cfm?articleid=%7B908d390e-2896-4daa-86ab-669e7488634e%7D

but perhaps the devil is in the detail of the caveats at the bottom. Notably not everyone will get SFB and there are budgetary constraints.
Taking Ewhurst as an example:-

1.   BT have been struggling even to get a quad core fibre tube through blocked ducts

2.  At the most there are likely to be around 100 of the 1000 properties who are on such poor lines that they can't get a VDSL service and they are located on 5 different distribution spines, some of which are of aluminium alloy and copper cables buried directly in the verges without ducts

Can anybody realistically forecast that BT will be eagerly mobilising their staff, even once they have invented and developed a possibly restricted solution for them ?

Kind regards,
Walter

[Black Sheep]

No, I cant.

This was always going to be the problem on the 'Direct in ground' cables, especially the rural routes. It's been a long while since I've seen the pricing structure, but our contractors used to charge around £40 per metre for digging in tarmac, I think this drops to £25 in soft (Grass etc). Whatever it is, it adds up to a lot of cash.

As a business model, I don't know where this type of scenario stands with regard to recouperating ones losses over a period of time. Captain Picard will be receiving an OBE, by the time Ewhurst allow BT to cream some profit. 

Of course, these are just my owh thoughts, I don't know if there is indeed some fantastic 'Duct-laying digging machine' waiting to be trialled somewhere ?? 

[smurfuk]

Dunno, all I can say is that on my village estate BT have dug up almost the whole of the cables "laid in the ground" by the developer, over the years, in 1 or a couple of metre at-a-time chunks to deal with reported faults, for almost the whole of the 600+ metres between me and the cab. Miraculously I get a VDSL2 38/7.2 service - partially I suspect because most villagers don't trust BT as a result as far as they could "pick them up and throw them"; mind you that was after 8 separate digs and new internal wiring and 2 years of a part-time phone service; and finally when they lost the plot the best bit, and only segment, of local loop laid in a duct across my garden. (One Engineer did try to impress me by saying it cost £850 per hole - I offered to give up the day job!).

So Ewhurst might be a piece of cake  . Oh and the fault by the way was in the opposite direction to their digs, where they had carried out an earlier repair to my neighbours line.

[Black Sheep]

I shan't try and impress you, but I will say that each 'ground hole' dug by our contractors is £450. Not £850, as you seem to be misunderstood.

Plus, I doubt very much that 600mtrs of UG cable has been 'dug up' metre by metre !!!. Yet again, another urban myth that is completely ubsunstantiated, and evidence free.

I can clarify our 'Dig' policy if required, which is not repairing 'Metre by metre'.

[burakkucat]

Perhaps it is time to invest in some shares in Walter's Proposed Ewhurst Fibre Ring (similar to the B4RN project) and be done with it? 

[Black Sheep]

Perhaps it is time to invest in some shares in Walter's Proposed Ewhurst Fibre Ring (similar to the B4RN project) and be done with it? 

Ha ha ...... if a Zillionaire company like BT won't 'invest', I don't think I'll be throwing my hard-earned pennies Ewhursts' way !!

Enjoy the great views, and surrounding wildlife guys, but 1/2 Meg is yer lot !!  Sorry Walter.

[waltergmw]

@ BS,

Thank you enormously for those kind words of comfort (and which I shall not take personally) !

Suffice it to say that, come hell or high water, be it some flavour of wireless or some other technology, the worthy residents of Ewhurst WILL NOT sit on their posteriors waiting for their Imperial Lordships of Newgate Street to generate another load of smoke and mirrors without providing adequate broadband services ! Their quite disgraceful behaviour last time really is the last time they will do so in this area.

Just for interest you might like to walk as I have done up to the windmills above Caton or even just to Quernmore to observe what the local worthies are doing so efficiently which will produce services over vast fells and valleys far in excess of anything being provided anywhere in the UK. (Yes it is symmetric P2P fibre and NOT GPON).

But please don't take this as a personal affront. We may all be obliged to DIY one day !

Kindest regards,
Walter