Well, perhaps not quite HERE, but on the way!
The roadworks currently in the centre of the village are to facilitate the installation of a power supply for the new BT fibre cabinet to be installed there.
The next stage will be to pull the fibre through from the exchange in Barton on the Heath before connection and testing. There isn’t any way to tell how long this process will take but the installation of power at the new cabinet location is the first visible evidence that the process in under way.
Looking at local Superfast installations that have been completed recently I’d expect to see the new service going live in the second quarter of 2018 but I’d love to be proved pessimistic.
What will the Superfast service mean to my broadband connection?
It’s all about speed. As an IT engineer I’ve helped many people in the village with their broadband connections. BT currently quote a speed range of between 5 Mb and 1.5 Mb. In practice most people are achieving around 2.5 Mb. This just about OK for email and basic web browsing but the Superfast FTTC (Fibre to To The Cabinet) service soon to be available with the potential to deliver a connection rate of about 75 Mb to those properties within 250 metres (cable length) of the box in the centre of the village. In practice this is likely to be closer to 60Mb but a HUGE increase in speed none the less. The connection speed will degrades over distance but even those up to a kilometre of the centre should achieve 30-40Mb.
The Downside? Cost. You’ll have to upgrade your service to receive the benefit of the new technology and this will cost more than the existing ADSL offering. Bear in mind that, like ADSL, many different companies will be offering Superfast packages alongside BT. Until the service is available it isn’t very easy to compare prices but I’ll post details of any special offers and deals here when they become available.
In the meantime if you have any questions about or need assistance with your broadband service or other IT matters please call 01608 650778 or drop me a line at charles@centre.co.uk
Charles Pearmain