Ewhurst and Ellens Green Broadband

I have been looking at the BT Community Fibre Programme as a potential way to improve broadband performance for those of us too far from our cabinet to achieve “superfast” speeds. The programme is open to “communities” below the BT “superfast” threshold (24 Mbps) where there are no plans already in place. It uses the “gap funding” model, where BT contribute the “commercially viable” cost and the community raise the remaining funding.

The community can opt for Fibre To The Premises (FTTP), which currently supports 40, 80, 110, 220 and 330 Mbps connections, and which provides the same fibre broadband service speeds to every home covered, whatever the line length. The 40 and 80 Mbps FTTP services typically cost the same as their Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) equivalents, but unlike FTTC you actually get the speed you pay for. Alternatively the community can choose additional FTTC cabinets (or possibly “mini cabinets”), which aim to reduce copper line lengths to the point where everyone gets at least 24 Mbps (and up to 78 Mbps). With either fibre broadband option you can choose your ISP and package in the usual way.

The next step is to compile a list of residents who are currently “below 24 Mbps” and wish to improve their broadband service to “superfast” speed. There is no commitment at this stage; BT just need the information to define the area(s) to be covered, cross check with their own and Surrey County Council (SCC) plans to ensure no overlap, and to work out the ball park costs to the community. The community then decides whether to launch a Community Fibre Partnership (choosing FTTP or FTTC) or not. If we do not continue, then we still have the hope that SCC will include some or all of us in their next phase, but in that scenario we will not have any influence over the choice of FTTP or FTTC.

If the Community project goes ahead, then of course the new service will be available to everyone in the area(s) covered, whether they register interest now or not, and whether they contribute to fund raising or not. However, if you do not register interest at this initial stage then there is a chance that your area may not be covered as a result. Even if you do not anticipate ever needing better broadband performance yourself, remember that the available broadband speed now has a significant impact on property value and saleability.

To register your interest, BT are asking for the following details:

• Name, address and postcode
• Landline phone number
• Cabinet number (find this at www.dslchecker.bt.com)
• Current download speed (Mbps, check this at www.speedtest.net)

Please use the contact form to let me know you wish to be included. I will only use these details for our attempt to improve our local fibre broadband service and to keep you informed. Whilst the BT Community Fibre Programme only applies to homes where a 24+ Mbps fibre broadband service is not already available, I will be pleased to receive details of any others interested in local FTTP, so that I can keep you informed of future developments.

Superfast Surrey have stated that the Brexit vote will not have any immediate impact on their next phase, and the BDUK process is likely to continue for the next couple of years at least. Once their “NGA white” or “target white” areas have been approved by BDUK, BT will model further deployments in these areas, and the existing 10 year contractual targets will be changed to reflect what is thought to be possible with the additional funding and claw-back. It is hoped to reach this stage later in the year.

Superfast Surrey have also now admitted that FTTP-on-Demand may not actually be available in Surrey, and have modified their advice accordingly. We are told that offering the service is a commercial decision which cannot be influenced by local government. On this basis, it is unclear why the service is apparently available to order in Wales but not England.

• search for a postcode using the search box on the map
• hover over the little tile icon (above the search box)
• select “Openreach Native FTTP Postcodes”

Note that FTTC availability in Ewhurst improved very slightly earlier this year. I helped one neighbour where Openreach had attempted but failed to install “fibre” service last year, yet were able to provide this service more recently, improving download speeds from 1 Mbps to 6 Mbps. This availability update also seems to have resolved many of the “condemned” lines, where the service was denied for no good reason, due to an “internal system fault”.

If you have a long line, and have had FTTC for some time, you may be able to improve performance slightly by updating your modem. My 3 year old model was swapped recently during a fault investigation, and although the old modem was found not be faulty, the new one is faster. Until the swap, I had to choose between favoring download, using the old Huawei modem, or faster upload, using the old ECI model. Now the new ECI modem simultaneously matches the maximum speeds I previously recorded for both upload and download. Sadly I do not have a new Huawei to compare, but in any case Openreach recommend using ECI modems in Ewhurst, to match our cabinet equipment. Note that combined modem/routers from other manufacturers are now being supplied as standard, or you can source your own in some cases. At present we are not aware of any modem performing better than the separate ECI or Huawei models supplied by Openreach, but if you have something different, it is probably best to leave it alone.

The satellite voucher scheme has been running for a while now, but in case you missed it, click here for details.

I have extracted the data for Ewhurst, Ellens Green and some adjacent postcodes from the public consultation document referred to in the last article. The results are listed below. Superfast Surrey are essentially asking us to identify any addresses which do not have access to the service (download speed) listed. They will then target further improvements at the areas most in need, subject to available funding and BDUK (and thus EU) approval. So, please send me details of any address you believe does not have access to the service listed, or is in the Parish but is not listed. If you receive this article by email, then please simply reply to the email, otherwise use the web site Contact page.

Thank you.

I have just received the following statement on the latest position from Superfast Surrey, following completion of the first stage of the OMR.

“Surrey County Council has now finished the main phase of its Superfast Surrey Broadband programme to bring fibre broadband to those areas in the county not included in commercial roll outs.

In December 2014 it was decided that before any further decisions could be made with regards to the outcome of slow speeds review, the Superfast Surrey team had to focus on the completion of the main phase of the contract and identify options for using any remaining funds to enable a decision to be made on the future scope of the programme. Options were developed that not only acknowledged Openreach’s analysis of premises with slow speeds in the Superfast Surrey deployment area but also took into account feedback from residents and businesses in the commercial rollout area that were not covered by the fibre network or who were on slow speeds.

As a result, and to ensure that Surrey County Council fully understands the extent of the remaining challenge, Surrey County Council has now embarked on an Open Market Review (OMR). This is the only way to establish a clear understanding of the latest position regarding existing and planned fibre coverage throughout the county. The review will identify all premises throughout Surrey without a fibre broadband connection or those covered by the fibre network but unable to access a fibre service.

Surrey County Council will be seeking State Aid Approval for plans to further extend broadband coverage across the County within the constraints of available funding following a process laid down by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK).

The first stage of the OMR, which involved requesting current and future broadband coverage information from existing infrastructure providers has finished and the checking process has now commenced. This will take a number of weeks and once the broadband coverage and speed responses are analysed, a map will be produced and uploaded to the Superfast Surrey website as part of the public consultation process. This stage, which is likely to be during Autumn 2015, will be the opportunity for residents, businesses as well as any other infrastructure providers to contact the Superfast Surrey team by email to provide additional information that may further inform the understanding of broadband coverage across the County.

Prior to this stage in the OMR process, any information submitted by members of the community relating to broadband in their areas will be retained for consideration as part of the public consultation process.

Following the public consultation phase, the Superfast Surrey team will then agree with BT Group, as part of the existing contract and within the constraints of available funding, how to target those areas identified as not having current or proposed broadband coverage or access to download speeds of 15 Mbps or above. The proposed deployment must be signed off by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) as being compliant with State Aid Funding regulations before any deployment can commence.

The OMR, analysis of responses, mapping, public consultation and development of a new deployment plan will take many months and whether or not residents who are currently unable to access a fibre service will benefit from any subsequent deployment will not be known until the above process is completed.

If residents or businesses are not keen to wait for the outcome of the OMR, options could be to look at satellite services or for businesses to consider a Fibre on Demand Service. The third option may be for communities to contact Openreach and collectively fund a community initiative. There is already an established process in place via the Openreach website for enquiries from residents who are interested in investigating options for self-funded initiatives. It is not possible to obtain a quotation or speak to an Openreach representative without following this process due to the significant amount of administration and number of different variables that need to be considered. This form (http://www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/faq/contact-us-form.aspx) would need to be completed with the community representative’s details. The Details of Enquiry box should include a description of how many residents would be interested in helping fund the initiative and installation etc and needs to include a list of all the names and landline phone numbers of those interested in funding the initiative. It is very important that details regarding all interested parties are included on the form. Once the form has been submitted, Openreach would be in touch to discuss this in more detail.”

I have queried the recommendation of “Fibre on Demand”, since as far as I know this product is not currently available, and no availability date has been announced. I also asked why wireless options other than satellite are not mentioned. Please contact me if you are considering a community initiative, since I have further important information on this.

I have received a statement from Superfast Surrey which indicates that the team finally has the authority to work with areas which are part of BT’s commercial roll-out, including Ewhurst. However, limited funds and the Open Market Review (OMR) timetable mean that those of us on long lines will have a protracted wait for any news of further improvements down this route. It is likely that the next priority will be those still below 2 Mbps, and these may well use up all available resources.

“With regards to your query, Surrey County Council has finished the main phase of its Superfast Surrey Broadband programme to bring fibre broadband to those areas in the county not included in commercial roll outs. Since the last programme update in December, the programme has extended the technology to an additional 4,000 premises bringing high-speed fibre coverage to more than 82,000 homes and businesses across the county. This roll out has been delivered at an amazing rate of nearly 200 homes and businesses per working day – transforming lives across the county, and according to BT Openreach figures, making Surrey the best connected county in Great Britain.

As well as a high proportion of businesses and residents throughout Surrey being able to achieve superfast speeds as part of the programme, pushing the fibre broadband network out as far as possible across the county will enable local communities, residents and businesses to take advantage of future innovations, technology developments and enhancements as they become available.

Whilst celebrating this achievement and the success of the programme it has been recognised that there is still work going on as part of this contract to reach those remaining premises located in the more technically challenging and harder to reach places of the county. This is not therefore, the end of the story and the Council would like to do more.

In December, the Superfast Surrey team were asked to undertake a programme review. As this has progressed and alongside feedback from key stakeholders, the team have been made very well aware of the small percentage of premises still unable to access a fibre broadband service. This review, and the on-going Openreach analysis of residents experiencing slower speeds due to long line lengths, has highlighted that these premises are based not only in the original Superfast Surrey programme intervention area, but also in areas extending across parts of Surrey which were originally included in commercial providers’ plans.

As a result, and to understand the full scope of the remaining challenge, the Superfast Surrey team will run a further investigation known as an Open Market Review (OMR). This is the only way that Surrey County Council can establish a clear understanding of the latest position regarding existing and planned commercial services, alongside the investment in fibre broadband services that has been achieved through the Superfast Surrey programme. The results will be used to identify how to prioritise the use of any remaining funds to address issues of broadband coverage and speed across the County.

The OMR has to follow a strict government timetable which is not within Surrey County Council’s control. This process involves commercial consultation, public consultation, analysis and mapping whilst taking into account EU State Aid regulations. Consequently it is unlikely that there will be any update before early Autumn.

With limited budgets combined with high demand for council funded services across the County Surrey County Council is conscious that there is no quick fix solution, however the council remains committed to working towards extending fibre broadband services to as many residents and businesses as economically possible.”

Meanwhile, I see that the house where I used to live, in Alfold, now has “native” FTTP available, giving the residents the option of 330 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload. Phil also reports a lot of fibre laying activity in his area (off the Hindhead and Haslemere exchanges), which is not for FTTC cabinets, so must be for rural FTTP/FTTH.

The June newsletter from Superfast Surrey was published on Friday. Today marks the end of another roll-out quarter, and as far as we can tell from the Tumblr postcode announcements and our own BT availability checks, the project progress appears to be more or less on track.

Since the last update, I have received the following replies to my enquiries from Superfast Surrey:

High Level Review – Ewhurst Parish With regards to the high-level review that Superfast Surrey undertook of broadband speeds in the Ewhurst Parish, this involved reviewing fibre broadband speeds to each premises and plotting the broad areas adversely affected by long copper lines. This work was based of speed mapping provided by BT. As the premises analysed in the review had already been connected to the fibre network as part of the BT commercial roll-out and were therefore not included in the Superfast Surrey deployment, the document was passed to BT Senior Management on 31st January 2013 for their consideration. Superfast Surrey have no oversight over the commercial programme and we have received no indication as to the timeframes of when this report might be reviewed. We are awaiting contact details from Openreach for commercial rollout enquiries, but in the meantime Surrey County Council will continue to raise the concerns of those residents who are in the commercial roll-out with BT Group.

Clawback Surrey County Council’s contract with BT incorporates provision for clawback based on the level of take-up across the intervention area. It is too early to assess the level of clawback and consequently no decision can be made at this time on how any funds may be reinvested.

Contract performance monitoring Contractually, 94% of the premises in the Superfast Surrey deployment area will get Committed Access Rate Speeds of 15 mbps or more. Surrey County Council is overseeing the delivery of the contract to ensure that it is delivered within the agreed timeframes and budget and meets the contractual requirements regarding speed and number of premises connected. Due to contractual and commercial sensitivities, it is not possible to publish this data until the end of the programme. It should be noted that BDUK also undertake independent monitoring of BDUK contracts.

Solutions for long lines With regards to any improvements to premises with slow speeds, the Superfast Surrey Programme Team will begin a review of all the premises with slow speeds in the Superfast Surrey deployment area in June with a view to identifying what if any improvements can be achieved within the constraints of the budget available. For this reason, we are unable to advise you at this time of what solutions may be considered. For a very small minority of residents and businesses that have been acknowledged as being outside the confines of our standard fibre deployment, the team is also investigating if there are alternative technologies that could be deployed. In these circumstances and where appropriate, we will engage with specific residents.

In view of the last response above, during June I advised all my relevant contacts to email Superfast Surrey and press their case. This applies to any premises covered by Superfast Surrey (i.e. non commercial areas) who cannot achieve 15+ Mbps download using FTTC services. In our Parish this probably includes many Ellens Green residents.

Being connected to the Rudgwick exchange, the state of broadband in Ellens Green has received very little mention on this web site, although the village is included in our Parish. The exchange is in West Sussex, but Ellens Green premises are covered by the Superfast Surrey broadband contract. Both the exchange and Ellens Green postcodes (RH12 3AW for example) are scheduled to be ready for FTTC service by the end of June 2014. However, it is not yet clear how many will actually benefit from the upgrade, since most are likely to be too far from their cabinet. I suggest that anyone in Ellens Green who wants faster broadband should register on the Superfast Surrey web site, and follow this up with direct email contact if unable to achieve 15+ Mbps from the “fibre broadband” upgrade.