Learn more about Broadband

‘Broadband in the East of England and Future Plans’

 

Giles Ellerton

The next business breakfast organised by Articulate at the Swan in Lavenham  offers a chance to meet Giles Ellerton, British Telecom’s Regional Partnerships Director.  The event takes place from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday 18^th May.

This meeting is actually a continuation of a previous breakfast that was held at the BT Ad Astral Centre.  I understand that so many questions were posed during the informal part of the meeting that Giles did not actually get round to giving the talk that he had prepared.  Accordingly this 'second round' has been arranged.

Don’t worry if you were not present at the previous session.  You will have your chance to give your views on this very hot topic (particularly hot if your Broadband service remains poor!).  There will also be the chance to find out about the apparent resolution of the BT Openreach saga

To learn more and to book a place please visit www.articulatehlc.co.uk

 Price per head £15*

Bookings close on 8^th May.

 
*Please note that payments by cheque will incur a £1.50 surcharge as that is what the bank charges Articulate. BACS payments incur no surcharge.

Broadband, Smoke and Mirrors

Do not be fooled by the Government's recent announcement about Broadband for rural areas.

This is not new news, but just old news repackaged for Christmas.

No new money is being invested; we already knew about the savings that have been made possible by higher than expected take up of the service.

Also, despite the optimism of Karen Bradley, the Minister, on the radio this morning, there is still no clue about what will happen to the last, most remote, 5% of households.   95% coverage by 2020 has been promised for some time.

Governments still don't understand that you cannot fool people with this sort of announcement!

Meanwhile, Suffolk County Council continues to do 'it's best'.   Further news on the rollout should be available in the New Year.

Satellite dishes on historic buildings....more broadband blues

Satellite dish spotted on the Tower of London in 2013.  But should they have sought listed building consent?

 

 

At the time of writing there is no further news about the roll out of high speed broadband in Suffolk after September 2016.

Regular readers of the blog will know that the hold up is because of complex procurement issues raised by the EU.  These stem from the fact that our main provider British Telecom is not a state owned entity (if it were it would be exempt from the rules.)  This is a national issue and not confined to Suffolk.

I understand that there are some signs of movement but councillors have as yet have heard nothing concrete.

In the meantime an issue been raised with me by Brettenham Parish Council with regard to the offer of a satellite link for those in remote areas who cannot achieve a speed of more than 2 mps.   It seems that owing to planning constraints, if you live in a historic listed building, you cannot mount a dish on your home.   Often the equipment can be sited in the garden instead, but listed building consent (which in my experience is by no means guaranteed) is necessary if you have to attach it to the building itself.

Officers tell me that they have been in discussion with the Districts on this matter, but I do not get the impression than much progress has been made in reaching any accommodation.

The Remote Broadband Group, of which I am a member, hopes to address this issue at their next meeting.  We have asked that an officer from the Districts comes to give some firm guidance.  I have asked for this meeting to be brought forward promptly, and will update readers when I can.

Broadband update

On the Today programme this morning there was a feature about a rural community in Kent that has decided to organise its own high speed broadband service.  The village is now enjoying speeds of around 100 mps. There was no information about how this had been funded, and, since they had run fibre cable into all the houses in the village, I cannot help thinking that it must have been a rather expensive exercise.  The village is 5 miles from Sevenoaks, a rather prosperous area, and the scheme included some small business premises, so perhaps this is a clue to affordability.

Meanwhile, back in Suffolk, I have  had an update on high speed broadband progress from our first rate delivery team at SCC.

We had hoped that additional information would be available around now with regard to the deployment of the second contract, which will extend coverage to over 95% of households in the county.  The scheme has been designed by BT and agreed by our officers, but is now with central Government and the European community to ‘sign off’.  Unsurprisingly this is taking longer than expected, but is likely to be completed within weeks.  After that the website will be updated, a newsletter will be issued and local briefings for communities will be held.

In the meantime a satellite pilot scheme is underway for those who cannot obtain speeds of 2 mps.

I will comment further when I have more information, which could be as early as next week.

Broadband alert for Little Waldingfield

A message from the Better Broadband Team

We have upgraded to give fibre broadband in:

 

Little Waldingfield (Fibre to the Premises)

 

This serves premises with postcodes beginning:

 

CO10 0

CO10 9

 

-Please note that not all premises in the postcodes above are guaranteed to be served by this new cabinet; please check with your internet service provider.
-For overall progress and detailed coverage, visit the website

 

Take-up of new broadband services is key to the success of our programme.  You can  now inform local residents and businesses in this area that they can contact their Internet Service Provider to see what kind of packages they could benefit from and we will provide you with some material which you could use to do this.

Please pass the message on!

 

Regards, Suffolk Better Broadband Programme Team

broadband@suffolk.gov.uk

Still no highspeed broadband? Don't make a rash decision.

The first contract for the provision of high speed broadband for Suffolk is coming to an end, ahead of schedule and on budget.  This was the message that we heard at our meeting for members with 'remote communities' that took place this afternoon.

This was cheering for us as County Councillors, but less cheering in that many of the communities that we represent did not participate in the first round, and there is still a measure of uncertainty with regard to when the magic fibre will arrive.

All should become much clearer in around November this year when BT will be able to communicate the results of its scoping exercise for the second contract which will reach around 50,000 further premises across the county.  These are in general more remote than the c. 100,000 homes that fell under the first contract, and it will cost roughly twice per house to connect them. 

Once the second contract is complete in 2017 around 95% of the county will be covered, with only 15.000 particularly hard to reach homes still needing a high speed/fibre solution.  To some extent we are now waiting on the Government to state how this last 5% will be accommodated.  It is likely  that no one solution will be appropriate for all, and indeed much of the second contract will be delivered on a case by case 'bespoke' basis.   Additionally when the second contract is scoped later this year however it is likely that the solution for the last 5% will become clearer.

Some people in remote areas may be in despair, believing that improved broadband will never reach them.  They may be tempted to take the situation into their own hands and sign up with an expensive satellite provider.  I would suggest that, if they can bear to, they wait  to see what further information about future coverage they receive later this year.

The commitment to provide a solution to anyone in Suffolk unable to receive a signal of 2 mbps or more at the end of this year still stands, and the mechanism for arranging this will also be made public in the autumn/early winter.

Getting wired; highspeed broadband and mobile news.

A 'not spot'?

During the week I stirred myself from post-election torpor to attend a meeting of the rather exclusive group of 10 Suffolk County Councillors who have the doubtful distinction of representing the most ‘remote’ areas when it comes to high speed broadband coverage.

Completion of the ‘first contract’, which will cover 85% of homes in Suffolk, is likely during the autumn.  Work will then start on scoping out the next 85% to 95% which will be built out between the beginning of 2016 and the end of 2017.  This will reach a much larger geographical area, but, because it is more dispersed, the cost will be much higher.  The ‘cost per house passed’ in the first contract is around £300, but the second will cost double that.  Fortunately funding has been secured from central government, although SCC has to match it pound for pound.

Much of the Waldingfield area is already connected, or will be soon, and according to the map here  a certain amount of Cosford is too.  All of the other villages (yes, including you Semer!) will be part of the second contract, and more information should be available about timing in the autumn.  It will be the case however that some far flung spots will not be covered, and the council is now working on finding solutions for the last 5%.

The council is not going back on its commitment to improve the connection for those homes that are unable to receive more than 2 mps at the end of the current year.  it is estimated that 17,000 homes across the county could be in this position.  However, rather than apply for a voucher to acquire a satellite facility, householders may prefer to wait for the cheaper and faster alternative of high speed broadband, depending on how soon this is expected.

It is important to remember that simply having the capability to receive high speed broadband does not mean that it will arrive automatically on your computer.  It is necessary to contact your provider and sign a new contract which may be a little more expensive that the current one.  Take up of high speed broadband  in Suffolk has so far been very good with some 22.19% of enabled households already signed up.

At the meeting we were also given an update on the Government’s Mobile Infrastructure Programme, which aims to improve wireless availability in rural areas by eliminating ‘not spots’.  Suffolk is, apparently, likely to do well out of this scheme over the next two years.  The position locally should be much improved by the installation of new masts at Edwardstone, Hitcham and Rattlesden.  Unfortunately at present the Hitcham mast is subject to delay due to a judicial review.

High speed broadband, a clearer picture.

The latest Better Broadband newsletter is now available with information about the final stage of the 'first contract' which it seems will finish slightly ahead of schedule in September.  At this point some 85% of homes in the county will be able to receive high speed broadband.

The Better Broadband for Suffolk Site now has a much better map on which you can see how soon this service is likely to reach your home.  You can see it by clicking here. and typing your postcode into the box on the right.  The map is quite detailed and you can identify individual streets.

What is rather unfortunate is that although many places are now wired up, or will be shortly, some are not.  In some cases whole villages are excluded, and in others some streets, for whatever reason, are not included.  Being just a street, or even a house,  away from those who can receive the service must be very frustrating for people and I can understand the irritation that is sometimes expressed at parish council meetings.

Most of my District Council Ward to the North of Sudbury has been included in the first contract, but our own house in Newmans Green will not be connected until after September.  Cosford Division is another matter.  I am afraid it ranks among the ten most 'remote' areas in the county.  Some places such as Bildeston are largely connected, or will be by September, but some streets remain unlinked.  Villages to the north of Hadleigh have done well in general, but places such as Brettenham and Thorpe Morieux remain high speed free zones.

The council is now focussing on the second contract, which will bring the number of houses in Suffolk that have better broadband up to 95% from the 85% that will be connected by the end of September.  It is hoped that further news will be available shortly about the roll out of this further coverage.

Broadband rollout rolls on

I was pleased to receive news from Elmsett that newly installed high speed broadband is working well so far.

As far as I am aware no problems have been reported in Whatfield either, and there are indications that Little Waldingfield will be linked into the super fast system sooner than originally anticipated too.

In order to take advantage of the super fast speeds residents will need to purchase appropriate packages. There are a number of sites where different deals can be compared.  Simply google 'super fast broadband deals'. and take it from there.

Recently received additional government funding will mean that the County Council will be able to take super fast speeds to more than 85% of Suffolk in due course, a target of 95% now looking achieveable in time.  Everywhere will be guaranteed a minimum of 2 mps by the end of 2015, but steps are now being taken to see how even the most remote parts of the county, the final 5%, can be helped to access faster speeds.