Colton Superfast Broadband Why it's important and how we can get it......Mike Postle (mike@mpo1.uk)

Oxen Park and Bouth - suitable for Overbuilding?

One of the interesting aspects of the Rural Gigabit Connectivity scheme is that it’s not just for those left in the slow lane with ADSL connections (& since you ask those in the Rusland area are getting together to do something about this). It’s also for anyone with less than 100 Mbps download speed – and that includes everyone who currently has fibre to the cabinet. This is all part of the drive towards full fibre and Gigabit connectivity.
 
So why would you want to move from FTTC and overbuild to get fibre coming into your home or business? Even if you are happy with your current speed and the reliability of the copper wire which brings the signal to you from the cabinet (& that last one is a big ‘if’ here), it uses old technology and is not in any way future proof. In a couple of years’ time, speeds of 40 Mbps which many of you are getting with FTTC will be looked on as slow. With fibre to your house or business, the speeds you can get are only limited by the equipment either end of the fibre  - and that is a function of what you are prepared to pay for.
 
So here’s an opportunity for residents of Oxen Park & Bouth to put together Community Fibre Partnerships which will in all probability generate vouchers which will cover the whole cost of FTTP networks in the two areas.
 
Is there a demand? Have a word with folks in your locality and let me know. I’m happy to advise to help you achieve this. There is a degree of urgency in this as the Voucher scheme will close to new applicants at the end of the financial year. It’s likely to be replaced but I doubt if its replacement will be as generous.