Openreach announce nine new exchanges to gain FTTC service
The £2.5 billion spend on the commercial superfast broadband roll-out by Openreach has the goal of reaching 19 million UK premises by the end of Spring 2014 and is currently on course to hit this target.
The news today is not massive in terms of the impact on the overall figures, but for those affected it is likely to be very welcome news. Nine new exchanges are set to get fibre based broadband (FTTC) via the commercial roll-out with some 58,000 homes and businesses benefiting from the new service between September 2013 and Spring 2014 in these nine new areas.
- Great Wakering, Essex
- Holland on Sea, Essex
- Horton Bank, West Yorkshire
- Hoyland, South Yorkshire
- Ingatestone, Essex
- Jarrow, Tyne and Wear
- Kenton, Tyne and Wear
- Lower Shelton, Bedfordshire
- West Mersea, Essex
New exchanges added to Openreach fibre roll-out
Some additional good news is that further infill work will be carried out on exchanges already offering FTTC services, with cabinets covering some 78,000 premises also having a fibre twin added.
Update 6pm: We have managed to get Openreach to release the list of areas to benefit from the infill work which is as follows:
ABINGDON, ALDERSHOT, ALTON, AMERSHAM, ASTLEY BRIDGE, BARMING, BARNET, BATH KINGSMEAD, BAYSWATER, BECKENHAM, BELFAST CITY, BEXLEYHEATH, BIGGIN HILL, BINGLEY, BIRCHWOOD, BLACKFRIARS, BOTLEY, BOURNE END, BRADWELL ABBEY, BRIGG, BRIGHTON KEMPTOWN, BROOKHALL, CAMBRIDGE CENTRAL, CANVEY ISLAND, CATFORD, CHELTENHAM, CHESTER-LE-STREET, COBHAM, COODEN, COPTHORNE, CRAWLEY, CREGAGH, CROUCH END, CROYDON, CULLINGWORTH, DARTON, DAWLEY, DOVER, EARLS COURT, EASTBOURNE PEVENSEY, ECKINGTON; DERBYSHIRE, ELY, EVERSLEY, EVESHAM, FINCHLEY, FORTWILLIAM, GREAT DUNMOW, GREAT MISSENDEN, GUILDFORD, HACKNEY, HALSTEAD, HAMPSTEAD, HARDWICKE, HAREHILLS, HASLEMERE, HITCHIN, HOOK, HORBURY/ OSSETT, HUNTINGDON, KENSAL GREEN, KNOTTINGLEY, LARK LANE, LEYLAND, LICHFIELD, LORDS, LOWER HOLLOWAY, MAIDA VALE, MAIDENHEAD, MARTON, WARWICKSHIRE, MIDSOMER NORTON, MILE END, MILTON KEYNES, MIRFIELD, MITCHAM, MORTLAKE, MOTTRAM, NEWTON ABBOT, NINE ELMS, NORTH FINCHLEY, NORTH PADDINGTON, OSWESTRY, PALMERS GREEN, PIMLICO, PINNER, PLYMOUTH, PORTISHEAD, POTTERS BAR, PRIMROSE HILL, PRUDHOE, RAYLEIGH, READING CENTRAL, REDHILL, RICHMOND KEW, SEACROFT, SEVENOAKS, SLOUGH, SOUTHAMPTON, ST.NEOTS, STANLEY, MERSEYSIDE, STANMORE, STOKE BISHOP, STONEYFORD, STONY STRATFORD, STOURBRIDGE, STROUD, SUTTON CHEAM, SWINDON, SYDENHAM, TEDDINGTON, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, UPHOLLAND, UPPER HOLLOWAY, WANSTEAD, WATERLOOVILLE, WEMBLEY, WEYBRIDGE, WHITCHURCH, HAMPSHIRE, WHITELEY, WIGAN, WINDSOR, WOODLEY, GREATER MANCHESTER
Openreach FTTC Infill areas
The areas with the largest infill are Bayswater 9,790 premises, Earls Court (8,301), Mile End (4,151), Wanstead (3,081), Hackney (2,085), Cooden (1,749) and Lords (1,333).
Comments
i was going to say it be a good idea if they finish the towns/cities whose exchange they already converted to FTTc. Hereford still have places int he city centre that don't have fibre.
Not impressed at all with adding 9 more places. It is just another BT publicity exercise, nothing more. We are still dealing with mostly copper patchup VDSL. And a postcode lottery style assignment of places for new fibre cabinets.
So should we start a campaign to force BT to stop?
Ah right - a publicity exercise that doesn't bring SFBB to another 58,000 properties and infill for another 78,000. 0.5% of the country wiped from the broadband map because JNeuhoff isn't impressed with the speeds available on FTTC.
4 exchanges in Essex added to the list, but because it isn't Brightlingsea, we get a complaint. The antithesis of "I'm alright, Jack".
@WWWombat: Providing proper telecom services, including something like broadband, is something you'd expect a telecom company like BT to do anyway, there is nothing to brag about a small number of added fibre-cabinets, especially not when they are still using old copper wires for the last stretch. Nothing to be proud of!
@andrew: How about campaigning for fibre broadband. We wouldn't even mind paying for it, like is done for FTTPoD. I think many businesses would be willing to do so.
@JNeuhoff - you know 'proper' telecom services are available for your property, you just don't want to pay for them.
@Somerset: No, they are not. I checked with BT, several times. At any rate it will be a lot cheaper to eventually move our office elsewhere anyway, a number of other businesses in our area already have done so, too.
I just talked to BT again a minute ago, online, this time they said: "BT Infinity ... we are trying to upgrade the whole of the UK by the end of 2013, so hopefully there would be a date available soon."
Just shows you even BTs own sales blokes don't have a clue .... 'whole of the UK by the end of 2013' ...
Whole of the UK my left testicle. My local exchange has NO PLANS at all for installation. Which is annoying because virgin media are really going further and further downhill, more lies and fobbing off. Ive been waiting a whole year for a fix for 100Mb issues, i get around 5Mb after 4pm until 11pm
@JNeuhoff: I'd be really interested to know why you cannot order a private circuit, with service level guarantees and service level agreements, zero contention at your current location? It must be one of the few places in the UK where such a product is not available.
Oh great, so Lower Shelton with about 3,900 premises can have FTTC, but Wilstead with 3,110 cannot. Where is the break point? Wilstead is underreporting anyway, new developments are adding new lines all the time as they are built out.
It is about the cabinets not exchange size this time round
I've given up hope of ever getting FTTC on my exchange(NEDUDL)
Is NEDUDL not part of any BDUK bid area -- as this is a Market 1 so only way would we covered under BDUK
"Some additional good news is that further infill work will be carried out on exchanges already offering FTTC services, with cabinets covering some 78,000 premises also having a fibre twin added".
Being a thickie, can someone explain to me what this actually means?
thx
joe
Great, the exchanges surrounding mine all now have FTTC, admittedly one only partially. Have they forgotten about Farnworth?
My exchange now says Sept 2013, not sure how reliable that is! I have seen people working on the green cabinet at the end of my street, but I know there have been people with faults in the area so it may be related to that.