Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[gt94sss2]

You want a faster connection but you're not prepared to compromise on ISP, yet it's very clear it's going to be a long time, if ever before you can get a faster connection via A&A.

While I agree, even if FTTP speeds were already available to Weaver now, A&A don't offer the same speeds as other ISPs - currently limiting their download speeds to 160Mbps

[Weaver]

As I mentioned earlier, it’s not about speed, solely. Reliability is crucial, and top priority. That currently excludes 4G. I couldn’t care less about the 160 Mbps thing, as that’s so much faster than I need, probably 10 times faster than I need. Good point about the her guests thing. We imagined originally that we were going to do that, and I bought a lot of expensive hardware, but as it turned out, Janet doesn’t want to have to administer it, it doesn’t make any money, only costs some money, and if we change our minds and do decide to go for it we would offer guests a WLAN connected to 4G. And because that keeps them off our own LAN we don’t have any worries about security, which has already been dealt with however, and concerns about guests’ network-hogging, which would have to be dealt with by rate-limiting if we were going to have only one subnet. So we can change our minds and the lowest risk option is 4G-to-WLAN. The final thing is that guests never ask about internet connections; they all have mobile phones, there’s good 4G and if they have the wrong SIM then they can get the right SIMs locally at low cost. Perhaps they don’t ask about internet because they want to get away from all that.

I understand Black Sheep’s point and agree. I am putting up barriers in a way, but not for the sake of it. I’d be happy with say Zen, and did indeed use them for a year, but switched to AA only, rather than running both ISPs because AA had a far richer range of services and much more comprehensive support. The support I get from AA is hugely important for three reasons: firstly I have a lot of faults, which will go away in the far distant future one day; secondly I get support that is more than just ISP support as they support my Firebrick FB2900 to a fantastic extent; thirdly I’m not with-it, whereas you all are 100% compos mentis but I’m exhausted and full of pain drugs half the time, so I have huge needs which don’t apply to you.

Remember points 2 and 3: AA is more than just an ISP and I’m not ‘normal’ whereas you are. So I hope that makes sense. If I’m ever away in hospital and out of it I know that Janet can just call AA about anything and it’s always their problem, with no buck-passing. And probably I’ll ask them to supply my next WLAN hardware so I can get free config and free support too. AA is fantastic for disabled users, and for people such as me and my wife who are both telephone-phobic: can always do IRC/SMS/email instead.

You all on the other hand find download speed very very important, don’t have many faults, don’t have problems you can’t fix/diagnose yourself because of your unusually high expertise and only want ISP support and no other facilities. Don’t care about geeky things like IPv4 blocks and domain name definitions (can get latter from DNS hosting companies).

I’m now moving all my important domain names to AA after I screwed up, in a drug-addled state, and missed a renewal allowing an evildoer to grab the domain tlachd.com (iirc) for which I had to apologies to my wife in horrible embarrassment at having let her down. With AA’s domain hosting, you can never forget a renewal because they take care of it all for you and just bill you for it. It’s a bit expensive but the 100% reliability is crucial so definitely worth the money. I seem to remember that some employee of Coca-Cola screwed up a domain renewal of maybe (guessing) cocacola.de or something (I really have no idea!) and a student lad took it over. Presumably someone got the sack. Luckily my wife didn’t sack me.

One more point. You only ever ‘see’ me on my good days. When I’m not with it or in bad pain I can’t write to you all. Like earlier tonight when my neighbour came round to give me morphine at 01:00, because Janet is currently in hospital. I now feel well enough to write this post. So it might appear that I’m better than I actually am. I have this problem with some NHS people.

> is only available to properties that are connected to a fibre enabled PCP, even if that cabinet is too fast away to receive service.

Thanks, I didn’t know that. And I don’t understand PCPs clearly. I didn’t know fibre comes anywhere near them. I thought they were a copper-only thing that would go when PSTN goes, but what do I know, don’t know where I got that idea from.

[Weaver]

> Limestone in Skye?

Burakkucat is quite correct. We have a layer of limestone pavement visible right by the road, and below our house. The layer then runs under our house and up into the mountain Beinn nan Càrn. That’s where our water now comes from.


> as has been said, you don't need to do anything but wait. The R100 checker says that Heasta is in scope for faster speeds.

Many thanks for that. That’s the question I wanted an answer to in my original post and is thoroughly on topic. This thread was supposed to be confined to FTTP or politics. Wonder where the checker is, will Google it. I don’t mind waiting, have waited 20 years already. (Remember, you all are not the same shape as me. :-) )


> A&A don't offer the same speeds as other ISPs - currently limiting their download speeds to 160Mbps

That’s simply wrong. A&A will happily sell you a 1 Gbps symmetric or iirc 10 Gbps connection; it would be a leased line and cost a terrifying amount.

[aesmith]

Couple of things about the Superfast Scotland R100 program and checker.

Firstly I don't think there is any commitment that particular premises or areas will definitely be served with FTTP.  All they're promising is a "Superfast" connection, meaning one with at least a 30meg download speed.  I can see this within my local area where if I check my address it says "Your connection will be delivered after the end of 2021. Based on the current engineering schedule your address is in scope to receive its superfast connection in 2025."  However if I check an address served by our exchange but within FTTC range it tells me a Superfast connection is already available.

The second thing, and this may be me being cynical, is that I am sure there are loopholes allowing them to miss off individual premises. Checking various premises within some local exchanges I note that the R100 checker always gives the exact same date for all. That suggests to me that the date is the date of planned exchange works, and not confirmation that the actual address will be connected. I have asked a few people to clarify, but not received an answer.

So given these points I think there's a high risk that come 2025 or whatever date is promised then some people will not be connected fibre but will simply be offered 30meg satellite to tick the R100 box.

[Weaver]

That’s exactly what I feared. By that technique, the whole country is already "done" right now. No need for BTOR to spend billions then. I’d like to find out if they can be called out on this loophole.

[aesmith]

Wonder where the checker is, will Google it.

Missed that, the Superfast Scotland checker is ..
https://www.scotlandsuperfast.com/how-can-i-get-it/check-my-address/

[j0hn]

As I mentioned earlier, it’s not about speed, solely. Reliability is crucial, and top priority. That currently excludes 4G.

Why does that exclude 4G?

My 4G speeds vary quite a bit but reliability and uptime is excellent

[j0hn]

Couple of things about the Superfast Scotland R100 program and checker.

Firstly I don't think there is any commitment that particular premises or areas will definitely be served with FTTP.  All they're promising is a "Superfast" connection, meaning one with at least a 30meg download speed.  I can see this within my local area where if I check my address it says "Your connection will be delivered after the end of 2021. Based on the current engineering schedule your address is in scope to receive its superfast connection in 2025."  However if I check an address served by our exchange but within FTTC range it tells me a Superfast connection is already available.

The second thing, and this may be me being cynical, is that I am sure there are loopholes allowing them to miss off individual premises. Checking various premises within some local exchanges I note that the R100 checker always gives the exact same date for all. That suggests to me that the date is the date of planned exchange works, and not confirmation that the actual address will be connected. I have asked a few people to clarify, but not received an answer.

So given these points I think there's a high risk that come 2025 or whatever date is promised then some people will not be connected fibre but will simply be offered 30meg satellite to tick the R100 box.

Lot1 (north Scotland, Weavers area) was originally intended to be 86% FTTP is now planned to be 100% FTTP

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/09/progress-update-on-north-scotlands-r100-broadband-rollout.html

1. Precisely how many premises will be covered under LOT 1?

The contract we have signed with BT is expected to deliver to 59,276 premises. The total number of premises connected as a result of the contract may vary however due to matters beyond our control. For example if a property is demolished prior to a superfast connection being delivered it may be removed from the R100 Lot 1 (North) contract build plan.

2. What proportion of the LOT 1 deployment will be FTTP?

All of the R100 North contract build will be fibre to the premises (FTTP).

3. Is the completion date for LOT 1 still by the end of 2026?

We expect build in the R100 Lot 1 (North) contract to be completed during the financial year 2026/27.

That doesn't mean all properties will be covered. It does however mean all properties done by OpenReach will be 100% FTTP.
Lot3 is also intended to be 100% FTTP.

[Reformed]

The second thing, and this may be me being cynical, is that I am sure there are loopholes allowing them to miss off individual premises. Checking various premises within some local exchanges I note that the R100 checker always gives the exact same date for all.

Not sure if it's a loophole - R100 only mentions superfast so zero commitment to any technology. Potentially more of an oversight.

The cost of delivering FTTP to Heasta will be astronomical. The cost of delivering it just to Weaver will be huge. R100 doesn't have an unlimited amount of money and Openreach, spending as they are 250-350GBP per premises passed, are going to balk at a kilometre+ run to serve one property with presumably a similar distance to the next one. Whether R100 will have the budget to provide the level of subsidy required no idea. Weaver is going to be in that 0.3% that are most challenging, no question.

EDIT: That said it could be worse. If Weaver were a long way from other premises I'd be more concerned. If the poles are viable for fibre it's doable. It's not a kilometre and there are poles. I guess a full survey is going to need to be done - Openreach have a premises count to cover and a budget to do it with, not ubiquitous coverage.

[aesmith]

.. are going to balk at a kilometre+ run to serve one property with presumably a similar distance to the next one.

That's more or less our situation.  From the pole at the public road it's around 900m to us with a 250m or so branch to another house.  Beyond us it's another 400m to the final property.

[aesmith]

Not sure if it's a loophole - R100 only mentions superfast so zero commitment to any technology. Potentially more of an oversight.

Maybe "loophole" is the wrong word, but it would seem contradictory to advertise that something will be available in 2025 (in this case), then when 2025 comes round to just offer a a service that's already available today.

[Weaver]

Reformed is completely wrong. :-) Have a dig and find my earlier posts about my own location, with pics. There are 27 houses in our village and fibre is not to me, it’s to all 27, so that cost is divided down by 27, a not insignificant factor. I’m right on the edge of my village of Heasta (north of, not at, IV49 9BN) not separated from it.

Secondly, the whole of the Gàidhealtachd Highlands is exactly like this ie not the gallda ie. non-Gàidhealach east coast and far south. Take a close look at a detailed OS map. If they’re going to be serious and not lie about the commitment that J0hn so helpfully quoted (thank you so much J0hn!) then they have to spend what it costs because otherwise they won’t be doing anyone outside the few major towns and large villages near main roads and there would be a riot.

[Reformed]

When you note I'm talking about relative to £300 per premises passed, the cost for covering mostly terraces and semis, not so much. 27 properties is a very small area.

I actually stalked you on Streetview 

Hopefully be okay. Very much depends on cost of getting the fibre to the village in the first place as each property won't be cheap.

The £10k per property subsidy might get it there. Everything crossed.

[Weaver]

> I actually stalked you on Streetview 

Good for you! Burakkucat has done the same and we’ve talked about my location. I did the same in an old thread where I described my line.

I understand that 27 properties is a very small area but the whole of the Western Highlands and the Hebrides inner and outer are like this, Muile less so as there were ‘farms’ set up in some places and the setup isn’t quite the same. Here we don’t have farms, just ‘crofting townships’ ie small villages everywhere. Many villages are harder to reach, take our neighbours to the west, Torran - similar to us - and then Ealaghol which is a far longer run. Here in Heasta we have two hospital doctors, other NHS workers, people who work from home on horrible internet connections and connect to destinations in England, people who work at home sometimes and reach servers at smo.uhi.ac.uk here in Skye and uhi.ac.uk in Inverness and people such as my wife who runs a successful small tourism business and relies on the internet. I do five evening class courses at citylit.ac.uk in central London currently, using Zoom, connecting to Zoom servers and then on to tutors and other students all over the place.

Because of my use of Zoom I require an ultra high quality internet connection, no ES, no CRCs, no packet loss. However, I’m not sure that Zoom is mad keen on a multiple bonded line setup because of the possibility - I haven’t checked - of packet reordering. I’m assuming, but don’t know for sure, because I have been too tired/lazy to look into it, that Zoom doesn’t use TCP, so is very sensitive to errors. Since I’ve started using Zoom, I’ve increased target SNRMs to get near 100% connection quality rather than maximum sync rates. I can’t do anything much about the tutors’ internet connections, although I did once intervene and remotely rescue my Old English tutor, dying due to low SNRM. It seems Zoom even works on about 5 / 0.9 Mbps, because one line is down at the moment, due to a fault, and Zoom still works.

[Alex Atkin UK]

I think we've all stalked Weaver on Streetview.   Its such an interesting place he lives and as I recall specific instructions of how to find him were posted in a thread at one point.

I'd love to visit but as I have no car it would seem highly unlikely.