Village broadband and high-speed optic fibre

[BrookyP]

I did not know that about 4K!

I think the center to all of this is we as a village have a substandard internet provision while villages around us don't.

Is there any way the editor can set up a link on the site to the virgin page so people can express there preference direct to the company. That being rather than it being buried in threads and forgotton about.

I feel lucky to have 22mbs when those in peplins struggle on 3 or 4mbs.

Doesn't seem right in today tech hungry world

just a thought?

BP

[BrookyP]

I just saw a piece on BBC news about slow Internet in Hertfordshire and how it's affecting business. They were in travellers Lane and talking to Grant Shapps.

[Ferdie]

Is there any way the editor can set up a link on the site to the virgin page so people can express there preference direct to the company. That being rather than it being buried in threads and forgotton about.

I am all for encouraging competition, but the moderators of this site itself probably shouldn't set up a link direct to a specific provider as that could be considered direct advertising. But if individual users who are not getting any financial gain as a result wish to direct users to specific providers and how to petition for a better service, then that would clearly be of potential benefit to everyone.

[parker5]

Hi Everyone,


Does anyone know if/when the poor internet quality in BP is going to be sorted out. Im in Peplins Way and get a constant 1.35 Download, 0.52 Upload and a Ping of 23ms. Been onto Sky 4 times, which eventually got an engineer out, and as previous replies have pointed out, he changed the modem, scratched his head, rang the office and looked at at the wall for all of 10 minutes till he decided it was my alarm causing this! The problem being no microfilter on the alarm panel, I called the alarm company while he was here and they confirmed there is a filter fitted, pointed this out to the engineer and he soon left. I'm now being told by Sky that 1.7 is the highest download speed available for this area which I know not to be true as my next door neighbour gets 8!


Surely Virgin must realised as soon as they cable this area a large percentage of people will soon jump ship

[sasquartch]

You must be on standard ADSL broadband - 1.7 sounds typical for Peplins.

I have PlusNet Fibre (same as BT Infinity) and on a good day get 10Mb down and 0.7Mb up - that's in Peplins Way

The problem is that the green cabinets serving the village centre area are in Mymms and I believe up Hawkshead Road. I believe that if you live at the A1000 end of Mymms Drive 50Mb download speeds are typical.

What's needed is that more cabinets are installed bringing fibre close to the premises.

However I cant see Openreach have much incentive as there is no competition from cable - so don't hold your breath.

Maybe our MP could launch a campaign ? Im sure would be a good vote winner at least in BP.

[BrookyP]

BT are introducing Fast G (g fast?)with a view to roll out countrywide.


http://home.bt.com/news/bt-life/openreach-expands-ultrafast-fibre-plans-11364045256060


it basically uses existing copper structure to bring fibre speeds to the manhole in your street so reducing the reliance on street cabinet proximity.


There are accusations that they are "sweating" existing assetts but they wont be cabling like Virgin so this is the best hope.


Virgin have emailed me a while back to say they wont be cableing BP as its too costly-this is course may change.


With a view to your neighbour getting 8 and you 1.7 you can call BT and ask them to assess the line from the box/manhole to your house. I had continual problems and had part of the line replaced after a big fight. My line was single strand aluminium and was well past its best.



cheers BP

[slimgym]

Seems business orientated - could be a long time off and will be priced accordingly. BT leave behind difficult or costly builds for quicker, easier ones and those that have competition.

Here in Essendon, new business connections have been put in (taken 18 months!) so fibre is in the ducts and runs past our house. It's the same fibre they would use for FTTH, but a different product - Ethernet Fibre - and is £489 a month for 100MBPS (5 year contract) and probably plus VAT. I can understand the cost involved in running it, we would be prepared to pay more over a longer period to have it now - but not that much - but it's being held to ransom. They would rather make nothing than something.

Anyone can have this. Just check out bt.com go business, select broadband and you'll see it (not an advert nor a criticism of other providers as there is no competition).

It's a shame some leverage can't be placed upon them - given the copper network took taxpayer funds to install.

The only answer is pay up, wait for competition so they suddenly get interested, or move house.

Sad, but true.

[BrookyP]

fast g is a domestic/business product designed for roll out completed by 2020 as far as i know. hopefully we will all benefit.


cheers BP

[sasquartch]

Fast.G still relies on street cabinets - which is exactly the problem with the existing setup

Until there are cabinets near to your home - which is NOT the case in Peplins and other areas around the village centre Fast.G wont make any practical difference to us.

[Red-Point]

Spoke to a BT contractor working in Brookmans Avenue this morning.  They are installing Fibre to the Pole for UltraFast.  You can see the new cylindrical junction boxes on the poles being worked on.  He tells me that the area (however extensive that is) is being worked on.  A look inside the j-box shows the leaves of distribution trays similar to the picture.  Of course it could be quite a while before BT has proved the installation and is prepared to roll out Fibre to the Premises.  At least there is something to look forward to.

[BrookyP]

amazing news-nice work-will keep a look out.BP

[Red-Point]

I doubt there'll be any objections especially from the Bradmore Green end of the village 🙂

[Grant Shapps MP]

As you may know I've been campaigning for better Broadband throughout the UK via the British Infrastructure Group of MPs (BIG) www.BritishInfrastructureGroup.uk which I chair.


Closer to home, there are many locations within Welwyn Hatfield where the internet is not up to scratch. I recently held a meeting in Essendon at which 150 residents turned up, packing the village hall. Openreach, BT and the County Council (who have special funds to sort out rural broadband) were all in attendance. There is a great deal of follow-up continuing from this meeting, including providing Openreach with a far more accurate map of coverage. I am holding a similar meeting shortly in Panshanger.


Meanwhile many residents from Brookmans Park have contacted me over the years complaining about their internet. And it can be pretty random. For example, where one person might have 12Mbps download, whilst a very near neighbour may be struggling to get just 1 or 2 Mbps down.


However, following extensive discussions and meetings with Openreach, including with their Chief Executive, Openreach agreed to install a brand new (still in trial) technology to the village (and shortly to a part of Essendon where there is still much more to do beyond this). The technology is called Fibre To The Premises or FTTP.  Whereas ordinary so called super-fast broadband is fibre to the nearest cabinet, then copper to your home, FTTP is fibre all the way to your house. It doesn't even require you to maintain a traditional phone line once you have it installed.


And here is the good news. Most of Brookmans Park is being covered by FTTP in 4 phases. Phase 1 is already complete and residents who wish to be are connected. Here are the remaining three phases:


Phase 2 - this is now available, though if BT (or other provider) tell you that it isn't, please contact me. They appear not to have updated their systems in sales, but it is available.
Brookmans Avenue – Numbers 1-45 odd and 2-42 even
Bradmore Green – Numbers  17-62 residential and commercial properties


Phase 3 - end of Dec. I've checked and this is on schedule.
Bradmore Green – Numbers 1–16 and 75-98 residential and commercial properties
Bradmore Way – Numbers 1- 63 odd and 2-60 even
Pine Grove –  1-77 odd and 2-90  even
Brookmans Avenue – Numbers 47 -101 odd and 44-112 even


Phase 4 - end of January 17
Peplins Way – Numbers 1-131 odd and 2-66 even
Peplins Close – Number 1-11 odd and 2-8 even 
Moffats Lane – Numbers 1-131 odd and 2-136 even (including Park Close 1-7 odd and 2-8 even and Moffats Close 1-9 odd and 2-10 even)


The speeds available through FTTP are remarkable. Technically capable of delivering 330Mbps download and over 30Mbps upload. I've just run a speedtest and clocked over 300Mbps down and over 30Mbps up. Here is a test from this lunchtime:





Once the total roll-out is complete, Brookmans Park will likely be the fastest internet connected village in Europe.


If you find you're unable to actually order the service above, then please let me know. If you have friends, neighbours, family elsewhere in Welwyn Hatfield who are experiencing broadband problems then please ask them to get in touch with me grant@shapps.com


Grant.

[BrookyP]

Hi Grant. Is woodlands and shrublands being done.  I have constant problems. We spoke about it when you were campaigning for last elections. BP

[Grant Shapps MP]

Yes I recall our PM'ing about that too. I haven't got a date for Woodlands or Shrublands yet, but I think we should probably work to gather some detail on this from you and your neighbours. Could you drop me an email to grant@shapps.com so we can work out an action plan.


Thanks.
Grant.

[BrookyP]

We get fluctuation on speeds. And constant dropouts. Open reach are trying as we speak to work it out.  I will email ASAP regarding going forwards. I am hoping so much you can help here as my business suffers. I am down 5 days at present. Fttp would be fix rather than relying on 50 year old cable to deliver 21st century service. BP

[Pixel Crazy]

What about Bluebridge Road and Avenue

[Grant Shapps MP]

For any road not listed, please contact me grant@shapps.com ideally with a speedtest.net or similar test and I will actively work with Openreach to try to get your speeds increased.

I'm working through an active list of several hundred individual constituent addresses throughout Welwyn Hatfield and maintaining regular contact with both the residents and Openreach about progress.

[sasquartch]

Good news for me as I am in Peplins Way although part of the phase 4 .

How does this work in practice ? Will my ISP (PlusNet) contact me or should I contact them ? I have had lots of problems with broadband and currently get around 9M down (which is just about OK) but only about 0.4M up which means saving files of any size into the cloud (eg using Google Drive) almost unworkable

I would willingly give up my landline as this is mostly used by cold callers - almost all of my calls are by mobile these days.

But well done Grant, great to see your constituents benefit from your hard work.

[G Costa]

BIG THANK YOU to Grant, my teenagers' new hero.


Just managed to arrange 'Fibre To The Premises broadband (FTTP) by calling the dedicated BT sales team on 0800 587 4787.   

[sasquartch]

Just managed to arrange 'Fibre To The Premises broadband (FTTP) by calling the dedicated BT sales team on 0800 587 4787.   

How much are you paying ? Is there an installation fee ? Unlimited ?

[sasquartch]

Just spoke to PlusNet - it seems BT are the only people who can provide this

I guess I'll just have to leave PlusNet (a shame as their customer service is excellent) and start afresh as a new BT customer. Ironic as PlusNet are owned by BT :-)

[Adrian]

Just spoke to PlusNet - it seems BT are the only people who can provide this

Firstly, well done Grant.

On the above point. Where does this leave customers who are with other fibre providers tied to a contract and potentially unable to switch to BT for possibly 24 months.

I have fibre with EE having recently changed from PlusNet. The speed with EE is undeniably better for me but nowhere near fttp speeds. Is there an option to have your line upgraded to fttp (for a fee) and remain with another supplier if contractually tied.

[sasquartch]

See above, according to PlusNet it's only available from BT. Whether this will remain the case I don't know

[Grant Shapps MP]

See above, according to PlusNet it's only available from BT. Whether this will remain the case I don't know

It's one of the reasons why the British Infrastructure Group of MPs (which I chair) has been arguing for the separation of BT and Openreach. It probably is technically possible to get another provider to supply the FTTP contract, but given that BT are barely aware that it's available in Brookmans Park, convincing other providers who have yet to produce price tables for this kind of service, will be next to impossible. Will keep pushing.  We describe the market problem in detail in this Broadbad report http://britishinfrastructuregroup.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Broadbad-A-study-into-broadband-investmemnt-and-the-role-of-BT-and-Openreach.pdf

[jonS]

Been lurking on this board a year since we moved to Brookmans park. Just want to say thanks for getting FTTP sorted, awesome work


Looks like it went live a few days ago in Pine Grove and i ordered it and got a date for first and second stage install.


Some useful information:


online it is 72pounds a month (including line rental). If you pay for yearly line rental then you save a little. the max speed 300mb was 52 a month online (excluding line rental), however if you phone up now and order it you can get it for 30~ a month for the first 12 months (it is a 'deal of the month' the women told me but you can't get it online).


Also i am currently on contract with Plusnet for another year so will pay around 190 pounds to cancel my contract. If you talk to BT about thier 'switch' policy they will credit you a cancellation fee up to 300 pounds once you supply invoices.


Jon.

[James Bentall]

Yet down in Station Close, which is not included in the FTTP rollout, and there are no plans to do so in the future according to our MP, my maximum estimated speed according to BT is still 2MB or maybe as fast as 4 on a good day.


Bah Humbug


James

[Purrfect]

In Pine Grove, my normal broadband (EE via BT Openreach Infinity) shows current speeds as:
25.82 Mbps download and 8.36 Mbps upload which is perfectly adequate for all of our needs.


However, a test using my 4G mobile phone to connect the laptop to the internet (known as ‘tethering’ and normally only used when away from the house) shows nearly double those speeds: 49.36 Mbps download and 16.66 Mbps upload.


Hence, it might be worth you swapping over to 4G which is very good value these days and you can cancel your landline rental too if you’re happy to use your mobile phone for all voice calls. However, the speeds might be slower if talking at the same time as surfing and you must first check what mobile reception and 4G speeds are available in your house before signing up.


Other 4G internet devices are available from the mobile phone suppliers if you don’t want to use your mobile phone.


Even faster 5G is already in development and might be launched in a few years’ time with speeds of approx. 10Gbit/s (this might possibly slow down BT’s rollout of FTTP Internet across the country but well done Grant for achieving a partial rollout in our area which will help some residents).

[Alex]

Blessings of Christmas to all readers.
For information PlusNet is part of BT
Enjoy the warm weather

[BrookyP]

The problem with 4 g is it costs so much. Best plan is 32gb a month for about 30 quid on sim only data plan. Router is 40 quid.  We used it recently during an Internet outage. Speeds are incredible but no good for business as not secure enough or TV streaming which is very data hungry.