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Fibre update
This evening I attended the latest Superfast Leicestershire Stakeholder Forum at County Hall to represent Holwell.
I’m glad to report that the county-wide project is on time and on budget. The Council budget cuts we hear so much about in the news are unlikely to affect the remainder of the broadband project – of which we’re part – because the County’s contribution to it has already been put aside.
There was no specific news for Holwell at the meeting but separately I have been reassured that our village remains in the plan for delivery this Summer (2015). We should start to see work happening between April and June with a PCP (green, copper wires cabinet) being stood in the village, followed by a DSLAM (green fibre cabinet). Then the fibre itself is laid into the village and finally everything is connected up and we go live. Be prepared, however: this last stage can itself take a few months, as we’re seeing in Ab Kettleby, where problems with the cable routing have resulted in delays.
I’ve volunteered to be a ‘Digital Champion’ for our village and will keep you updated here with firmer dates on our fibre roll-out just as soon as I get them.
Virgin & BT
No doubt you’ll have seen the recent announcement from Virgin Media, planning £3billion upgrades to its fibre network. However, the consensus already appears to be that villages like Holwell are unlikely to benefit:
Nevertheless, I’ve registered our interest and you could, too:
http://keepup.virginmedia.com/cablemystreet/register
All of which makes us more reliant on the BT project to bring fibre to Holwell, which I reported on last year. I’m going to a County Hall update on the project later this month and will share here if I have any news on when our fibre is planned to arrive.
Fibre for Holwell!
I am delighted to report that Holwell is due to get fibre broadband in Summer 2015! This means that everyone on Main Street and Nursery Lane should enjoy at least SuperFast Broadband speeds i.e. 24Mbs, which is a big, big improvement over the current situation.
The news came at my recent meeting at County Hall with the BT Project Manager for the Leicestershire Superfast project and one of the County Superfast team. BT always add the rider that it’s subject to detailed survey work and successful delivery of the engineering project. I think it’s very unlikely that the plan will change, perhaps a delay or two if some unforeseen problems are encountered.
So between now and Summer next year, two new cabinets will be installed in the village and our existing copper connections will be hooked up to one of them. When it all goes live, you’ll have to buy from BT – or a competitor ISP – a fibre broadband product to benefit; if you do nothing, your speed will not improve.
To give you an idea of costs, BT for example currently has two packages: Infinity 1 offers up to 38Mbs down/9.5Mbs up and Infinity 2 up to 76/19Mbs,
http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/upgrade-your-broadband/
These prices may increase slightly but I think represent good value for the big step-up in service. The actual speed you’ll get will depend on a number of factors, principally the length of copper from the cabinet to your home.
Personally, I am absolutely delighted with the news. Working closely on the project, I was starting to get downhearted at the prospect of us getting fibre. I know most of you are pleased, too; at the village residents’ meeting we held to share the news, 95% of you indicated you’d take up a fibre broadband product. I strongly encourage you to do so when it becomes available, because a high take-up of fibre in Holwell not only keeps us ‘on grid’ for future developments but also encourages the deployment of fibre in other villages which currently aren’t as lucky as us.
Please stay tuned for developments – although we may not see much in the short term, I’ll stay in touch with the Leicestershire Superfast team and post up here any news on our fibre work as soon as I hear anything.
Significant news!
Well, I’ve had our meeting with LCC and BT’s project manager for the Leicestershire rural broadband project and I can report that there is significant news for Holwell!
I am not going to share details here and now because there are some key messages and questions I need to get across. I know not everyone is following this blog, so it would be unhelpful and confusing if news trickled out piecemeal.
I will explain everything at our village meeting on Thursday 30th October, 7pm in the Church. Because the news is significant, please do make every attempt to represent each household.
Scalford exchange to unbundle?
At present, our exchange at Scalford is not ‘unbundled’ i.e. opened to other broadband providers. See:
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/EMSCALF
Now see the latest Leicestershire County Council newsletter page on the rural broadband project:
Note the paragraph: “This high-speed network is available on an open, wholesale basis to all communication providers, therefore offering Leicestershire households and businesses the benefit of a real choice from a highly competitive market.”
I shall hold LCC and BT to this when Scalford gets fibre next year.
Deliberately misleading?
In the Infrastructure Delivery Plan which accompanies the new Melton Local Plan Consultation on Issues and Options, there is just one solitary paragraph on Broadband:
4.35 Broadband
Access to superfast broadband can be an issue in the Borough, especially in the more remote rural areas. However, a partnership has been developed between Melton Borough Council, Leicestershire County Council, economic bodies, and voluntary and charity organisations to bring fibre broadband to as many premises in as possible. It is anticipated this will deliver high-speed fibre broadband to 96% of homes and businesses in Leicestershire by the end of March 2016.
That final sentence is misleading. Although the 96% target is correct for the whole of Leicestershire, the figure for Melton Borough is just 80% (source: LCC presentation, attached). In the context of a Melton plan, surely the 80% figure should have been given? Or does it just not read as comforting as 96%?
I have pointed this out in my response to the Local Plan Consultation.
New Melton Local Plan
I’ve just completed my input into the new Local Plan Issues and Options Consultation, initially to make the point (as I have in person at Council meetings) that all this talk about the rural economy is pointless without decent broadband out here in the countryside.
However, I reckon there’s lots more in the Plan of potential concern to us here in Holwell, such as further possible housing developments along Scalford Road, changes to village ‘envelopes’ and the way future building applications will be considered.
Despite – or maybe because – I have this sense that things are moving in certain directions regardless, I suggest you do have a look at the Plan Consultation. Please make the point about rural broadband, too. Warning: you will need a fair amount of time to complete the Consultation, there’s a lot there to consider!
http://www.meltonplan.co.uk/meeting-dates/home/issues-and-options-consultation/
And/or go to one of the Consultation events: Melton Local Plan Issues and Options Poster
Village meeting to discuss broadband
I am calling a village meeting to discuss our options for improving broadband in Holwell. I will explain the current situation regarding:
- fibre I am hopeful that my meeting with BT on 16th October will give us much more detail on its plans for us next year
- wireless We have interest from two providers already and I am speaking with a third
It would be great if the village could reach a consensus on the way forward, because with the wireless solution particularly we are much stronger if we act together.
The meeting will be held on Thursday 30th October, starting 7pm prompt in the Church. As I shall explain at the meeting, we really need as many as possible from Holwell to attend, so please make every effort yourself and spread the word to neighbours. I attach to this post (below) a pdf of the flyer which I will post through the letterbox of every house in the village, but feel free to print it off as a reminder to yourself and others.
I look forward to seeing you there!
We have a meeting with BT!
I’m delighted to report my persistence has paid off and we have a meeting with BT to discuss its plans for SFBB in our village.
This meeting is scheduled for Thursday 16th October at County Hall. I’ve forwarded a comprehensive list of what we’d like to know and the analysis of our residents’ survey.
Leicestershire County Council and the BT Project Manager for the BDUK contract will be there; I’ve asked for the Openreach Project Manager to attend as well, so hopefully we get as full a picture as we can on the plans and options for us.
I’m now going to call a village residents meeting at the end of October to discuss with you all what BT say and propose some other solutions for consideration.
Superfast Leicestershire Stakeholder Forum
I attended this meeting at County Hall yesterday evening. It is always useful to be seen & heard by the LCC officers and elected members at such events (so they don’t forget us!) and I picked up some interesting points, such as:
- the rollout of fibre in Foxton has demonstrated that community involvement has led to a higher than average take-up of SFBB. This is important to us because we in Holwell have that community involvement already and so can argue a higher than average is likely here, which may increase our chance of getting fibre;
- we are unlikely to get a 3G mobile phone signal anytime soon. While the Government-funded Mobile Infrastructure Project has identified gaps in coverage in the Melton BC area, apparently the mobile phone companies have snubbed the Government’s proposal that they share masts to improve coverage;
- I asked that LCC share a detailed timeline of how BT plans, surveys and then implements fibre in each locality, so that when it comes to Scalford next year sometime, we have an understanding of what’s going on. Not that it necessarily means we’ll influence what gets rolled out, of course…
Of direct relevance to us, I chased up my request to meet with BT to discuss our situation. This request was made on 1st September and I’m still waiting for a response; the LCC Project Manager apologised for the delay and said we should get our meeting in about a month. I’ll keep you posted!
Holwell Village 