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[Alex Atkin UK]

@kitz. I apologise for being so specific, but recently the sensible comments came from those I mentioned of course many others will appreciate the mammoth task. I was just wanting to support the view that OR are not rubbish but are very effective in rolling this out.

Apologies again to any I might of offended.

Wait, am I being accused of making sensible comments?  That's gotta be a first for me.

[Chrysalis]

As unhappy as I am I do recognise Openreach cannot be everywhere at the same time and as Carl stated there is cities including the 11th biggest in the country that have no openreach FTTP plans.

[GigabitEthernet]

Curious why say Farnham isn’t covered, yet Haslemere is

[highpriest]

The really depressing thing about every story like this is the piling in from people who think nothing is happening if they, personally, aren't benefiting, and that they should somehow have priority.

It's disappointment knowing that one might be waiting another FIVE years before something decent comes to your area. I've been on 80/20 FTTC for 9 years now (I think I went from 40/10 to 80/20 in 2012!). I could be stuck on the same speeds/tech for another 5, making it 14 years in total. Which is a lifetime in technology terms.

What's more irritating is the fact that accurate information is so hard to come by. Announcements are made in typically cryptic format and Openreach never respond to any queries. It's always a boilerplate "we cannot comment on specific rollout plans" type thing. Don't we have a right to know when we might get a technology that can improve the way we use the internet? Is it so unnatural to be jealous/upset that you have been left behind? I live in a small historic city not too far from Salisbury, which has blanket FTTP coverage. Not exactly out in the sticks.

Also you have 2 gigabit circuits at your home so comments like this can come across as really hurtful/smug.

Even funnier when you've people who are in villages and have Virgin Media but think it absurd they aren't on the immediate list. Not in a major urban conurbation, have access to ultrafast so way better off than people stuck on ADSL or FTTC, but they simply must be a priority over both.

I can't get VM. I get (just) full speeds on 80/20 but that could change. In the 9 years we've had 80/20, the way we use the internet has exploded and we are finding it limiting now. The prospect of being stuck on ancient tech for another 5 years is a real problem for some.

Egocentrism.

It really isn't.

[highpriest]

Also, Winchester is on the PDF but the exchange name is listed as Whiteley so that appears to be an error. And indeed, the map supports that (areas around Whiteley exchange have gone yellow).

https://api.superfastmaps.co.uk/fibrecities/2.0/

Ah well.

[sdawson35]

You are being optimistic there.  I have a friend in Texas and his parents have only just gotten FTTC at 13Mbit.  They also claim "unlimited" but in the small print it says they have a data cap and charge $10/50GB for going over it - while not mentioning what that cap even is.

Also if you followed Louis Rossman you'd have seen how bang in the middle of New York is a lottery which service you can get, the abysmal useless one he couldn't even livestream from, or the superfast fibre.

Japan is even crazier, have you seen how small their apartments are?  THAT'S why its so easy for them, their population density is insane but its like living in a cardboard box.

The grass may appear greener on the other side of the fence, but only because someone painted it and it hasn't rained yet. 

Hockley is not small (well 26000+ may not qualify ?) It lies between 2 other towns of similar size   - both on the roadmap (you need to go through Hockley to get to either of these and there is fibre as a recent housing estate at the end of my road has FTTP  - the fibre is ducted in the footpath outside of my house).

My local exchange is over subscribed and there are no plans (unless joe public is prepared to pay for the upgrade)

I'm not having a "pop" at the guys on the ground (the real people) but the politics and bureaucracy that is in effect.

I have spent 34 years plus dealing with B.T/Openreach/VMB/Colt/Verizon et al - The engineers for the most part are very good and generally dont cause any cause for complaint.
 

[Black Sheep]

If this helps in any way (I doubt it - but hey ho) .... my own area isn't on any plans to be upgraded up to 2026.
That's as it stands at the minute though. As I've mooted many time before, the FTTP roll-out is a forever changing animal and if the funds and resources are increased again, then the chances are more Exchanges will come into scope ??

I think folk need to try and appreciate the scale and size of not only the engineering tasks itself in providing a complete new infrastructure nationwide ... but also the decision making that goes hand in hand with that !!

We're all football managers of course and could do better than Gaz Southgate .... it's the same here, a few folk are budding FTSE100 Chairmen without one idea of what goes into creating a FTTP network. Just because 'my town is bigger than your town' doesn't mean it's a given you should get FTTP first.

Far wiser people than me have pointed out how some of the decision making is probably made (all guesswork, unless there's a OR board director amongst us ??), based around current speeds etc etc.

But there's far more factors at play including head-end capacity, spine capacity, historic fault volumes ..... surely if you were CEO and had made a commitment to the government who are part subsidising this build, that you will deliver 'x' amount of THP by 'x' date ... then would you not then check which Exchanges are going to be practical to build within that time-frame. Or would you use the chicken-bones on the table approach to see what they tell you to do next ??

There's always going to be winners and losers however it's divvied up ... I'm in the latter at present and on a 55Mbps connection. I'll survive.

[niemand]

My approach to getting FTTP was a bit extreme but did come with a house included.

Thought I'd add a bit of whimsy to try and calm things. 100% get people's disappointment but still relatively early days in the grand scheme and, of course, unlike in the past many others are building. FTTC it was wait as neither the cable company or other networks were being built. Now VMO2 and others are throwing billions at both new network and upgrades.

[highpriest]

If this helps in any way (I doubt it - but hey ho) .... my own area isn't on any plans to be upgraded up to 2026.
That's as it stands at the minute though. As I've mooted many time before, the FTTP roll-out is a forever changing animal and if the funds and resources are increased again, then the chances are more Exchanges will come into scope ??

Indeed. We live in hope.

I think folk need to try and appreciate the scale and size of not only the engineering tasks itself in providing a complete new infrastructure nationwide ... but also the decision making that goes hand in hand with that !!

I understand to an extent, hence why better transparency around the decision making would help a great deal. The government's plan/target is to deliver gigabit capable broadband to 85% of premises by 2025. The remaining 15% are, the way I understood it, hard to reach areas making it economically challenging. It now looks like that date has already slipped and vast areas are not even included in the plan for 2026!

Just because 'my town is bigger than your town' doesn't mean it's a given you should get FTTP first.

That's not what I'm saying at all. But to get excluded with no explanation whatsoever stings.

Appreciate the response, BS.

[Alex Atkin UK]

I can't get VM. I get (just) full speeds on 80/20 but that could change. In the 9 years we've had 80/20, the way we use the internet has exploded and we are finding it limiting now. The prospect of being stuck on ancient tech for another 5 years is a real problem for some.

You've had 80/20 for 9 years, you're VERY lucky, some peoples lines have halved in speed over that time period.

In that time I've had 40, 60, 99, 4, 80, 70, 67 and the hassle of changing ISP several times. (you should look for my saga trying to get back on Openreach after Digital Region closed down, that was not fun)

I've ended up paying for a second line to get speeds slightly faster than I had in 2013 with a single line, getting 4G to push my combined speed up to 220Mbit on a good day but with the added complexity that entails.

Now granted, I'm mostly stuck in the house 24/7 due to health issues so I have a lot of time to figure stuff out.  But there comes a point where you have to take some accountability yourself, if you need higher speeds, you pay the price and complexity to get it.  Its really hard to have any sympathy knowing all the trouble Weaver has to go to get a barely functional service.

Don't get me wrong, I'm angry, not at Openreach but at Digital Region for completely squandering their position as the first FTTC in the area, I was on their 99/35 service in 2013 and perfectly happy with it.  I'm angry at VM who posted a flyer saying they would do my area soon, only to them abandon this end of the street.  Even though I know FTTP is coming to my area now, I'm not happy they aren't being transparent.  But I'm also thankful I'm not stuck on ADSL.  Its important to keep some perspective.

[Bowdon]

Though I'm puzzled as to the order of the FTTP rollout, I think it should be added that the rate that FTTP becomes available to premises is also increasing.

[Alex Atkin UK]

The problem is we can't see the economics of it all.  What might seem a no-brainer could involve a lot more red tape with closing roads, disrupting pavements, wayleaves, blocked ducts, etc.

Also I've seen a few jobs show up on one.network in my notification e-mail, only for the links to say "the item was deleted".  Which shows just how in flux everything is.

[GigabitEthernet]

There are some bizarre decisions.

Alton yet no Farnham? No Winchester? No Farnborough?

[Black Sheep]

The problem is we can't see the economics of it all.  What might seem a no-brainer could involve a lot more red tape with closing roads, disrupting pavements, wayleaves, blocked ducts, etc.

Also I've seen a few jobs show up on one.network in my notification e-mail, only for the links to say "the item was deleted".  Which shows just how in flux everything is.

Here speaks wisdom.

The only 'bizarre decisions', are actually down to individuals own decision making - based upon how they think FTTP should be rolled out.

[j0hn]

Why is it bizarre?
If they did all the large populated areas 1st then everyone in rural areas would complain.
So they added 227 rural/semi-rural areas.
Then people complain why are these rural areas being done before x & y urban areas.
You can't please everyone.

They can't cover everywhere at the same time so someone is going to have to wait whatever happens.

As already mentioned the list of areas provided so far isn't everywhere that will be done by 2025.

Indeed. We live in hope.
I understand to an extent, hence why better transparency around the decision making would help a great deal. The government's plan/target is to deliver gigabit capable broadband to 85% of premises by 2025. The remaining 15% are, the way I understood it, hard to reach areas making it economically challenging. It now looks like that date has already slipped and vast areas are not even included in the plan for 2026!

You seem to be mixing 2 completely different things there.
The government's 85% gigabit target is not the OpenReach FTTP rollout.

That 85% target includes Virgin Media. That's 50% of the country effectively already ticked.
By the time you add OpenReach FTTP and what CityFibre will have done then that target isn't as ambitious as it sounds.

80% will be reached with commercial rollouts alone, without any government funding or intervention.
The government's target is to help with the other 5%, leaving 15% with no gigabit coverage.

Boris's target was originally 100% full fibre. Then it was watered down to 100% gigabit capable (to include Virgin).
Then it was watered down to 80%, then up to 85%