Tough choice for UK Broadband

[vitriol]

Tough choice for UK broadband

Bet I know what we'll end up with.

[Niall]

I honestly don't understand why they even think about doing things cheaply. Will people ever learn that doing things in a lesser fashion always leads to problems in the future, making it more expensive to alter/upgrade?

There have been a lot of issued with the "new" phone system that the DWP have installed. It saved them millions and now we're having loads of problems with it, mainly due to bandwidth issues. Apparently they phoned BT business support the other week and I was stunned when they told us to "check the plugs hadn't come loose on the phones".

This is what saving you money combined with using BT, costs you.

[Rik]

Knowing the UK and Ofcom, we'll end up with FTTC in urban areas only.

[talos2]

Surely a decent WiFi system will negate the need for house to house wiring and as such be cheaper, I think the future is in wireless systems for telephony utilising the present mobile networks, upgraded of course.

[john]

Surely a decent WiFi system will negate the need for house to house wiring and as such be cheaper, I think the future is in wireless systems for telephony utilising the present mobile networks, upgraded of course.

Am I missing something here, did they not run fibre to a box outside most homes several years ago or does this have limited bandwidth compared to newer fibre technology ?

Is the quoted cost of running fibre to a box outside a home for just the homes that do not currently have them or is it to replace the existing fibre or to dig up the pavements again and run another new fibre ?

[Rik]

I don't think they've done that, John, except in some new developments, where they have to then provide a copper overlay for people to have ADSL.

[Gary]

I don't think they've done that, John, except in some new developments, where they have to then provide a copper overlay for people to have ADSL.

We live in a village and three years ago there was a massive BT development where all the overhead cables were replaced and new posts put in as well in most places, The whole village was done and all the aluminium was replaced, there are some new developments here but that was all copper wire, when the road was dug up as I remember asking if they were laying fibre to the new houses, no chance we will see super high speeds here any time to come, only chance to improve is using 21cn or LLU services 

[john]

I don't think they've done that, John, except in some new developments, where they have to then provide a copper overlay for people to have ADSL.

I was really thinking about the fibre used for Cable TV that I understood could also be used for broadband services Rik.

Wikipedia quotes :

The franchising process proceeded steadily, but the actual construction of new systems was slow, as doubts about an adequate payback from the substantial investment persisted. By the end of 1990 almost 15 million homes had been included in franchised areas, but only 828,000 of these had been passed by broadband cable and only 149,000 were actually subscribing. Thereafter, however, construction accelerated and take-up steadily improved.

The first new television channels launched for carriage on cable systems (going live in March 1984) were Sky Channel, Screensport, Music Box and TEN - the Movie Channel. Others followed, some were merged or closed down, but the range expanded. A similar flux was seen among the operators of cable systems: franchises were granted to a host of different companies, but a process of consolidation saw the growth of large multiple system operators, until by early in the 2000s virtually the whole industry was in the hands of two companies, NTL and Telewest.

(full article here)

[Gary]

I was really thinking about the fibre used for Cable TV that I understood could also be used for broadband services Rik.

Wikipedia quotes :

(full article here)

that tends to be only some exchanges and not far from the exchange as well, our exchange which is tiny has fibre for Virgin etc but about twenty houses can get it and that's it, and they are right next door to the exchange anyway, in the nearest big town to us there is no fibre laid at all according to samknows and that's a place with about 30,000 people living in it, go figure how BT work out who gets it and who does not 

[Rik]

In the case of Virgin, of course, Gary, it was NTL who decided.

[Gary]

In the case of Virgin, of course, Gary, it was NTL who decided.

And we wonder why its all such a mess, Rik 

[Rik]

It might have something to do with senior levels of Ofcom being staffed by ex-NTL bods...

[Gary]

It might have something to do with senior levels of Ofcom being staffed by ex-NTL bods...

No hope in the UK ever catching up I fear, Rik

[Inactive]

My Daughter has Virgin Cable running past her front door, laid by Diamond Cable, Virgin will not run a cable to her house, they just via NTL purchased DC and that was it as far as new installs go.

[Rik]

Ye of little faith, Gary. I hear we're going to get colour TV soon. 

[Rik]

My Daughter has Virgin Cable running past her front door

Well, it would be if it's not being used.  8)

[Gary]

Ye of little faith, Gary. I hear we're going to get colour TV soon. 

You have been to PC World again and talked to the staff again, Rik

[Rik]

They promised that I'd be able to get a video recorder too!

[Gary]

They promised that I'd be able to get a video recorder too!

That's pushing things to far, Rik. Next they will say CRT monitors are being replaced with widescreen LCD's, as if 

[Rik]

Pure science fiction, Gary.

[Gary]

Pure science fiction, Gary.

Which leads us back to BT and fibre

[Rik]

 

Did we ever leave...

[Gary]

Did we ever leave...

More a flight of fancy I think Rik, as the only fibre I can see mentions something about Bran on it

[Rik]

All this designer bran has damaged society, imo.

[Inactive]