It has been bugging me that we keep being told that fibre will come sometime in the near future. So I contacted Openreach to try and get something more concrete, their reply is below.
There is still a lack of firm dates but at least we know now that cabinet 3 is out of the equation. Second para sounds more promising although as per usual I am not holding my breath!
I think we are going to have to resort to unlimited 4G sims as Thinking Wisp is diabolical at the moment, or it's back to 1.5mps BT copper wire. Satallite isnt an option for us as the boys do a lot of online gaming.
Ho hum...
Hello Toby,
Thank you for getting in touch.
I’ve spent some time looking into your query and found that cabinet 3, which your circuit is connected earlier had an ongoing project to upgrade it to be fibre ready. However, I’m afraid I won’t be able to offer a date today for your project as it’s currently cancelled. We’ve checked for every physical job done with the cabinet project, but there’s no additional information available for the reason being cancelled.
We don’t have any timescale to provide you when project will be included again to be in FTTC rollout. We apologies for this disappointing news, but hope that it helps explain the current position. However, we also have a good news for you which is there’s an ongoing project to divert your line through a different cabinet which is fibre enabled. Since this project is in the initial stage, therefore, we’re unable to comment more over it.
It's cancelled and yet again no definite date for getting fibre. Once the new houses go online, broadband will be unusable. The infrastructure here is going backwards. I feel sorry for those trying to run a business.
1.5mbps is something I can only dream of! I live on Chapel Loke and the most I've ever got in the past 6 months is 0.5. Something needs to change soon!
Toby, I hope you are going to forward that OpenReach response to South Norfolk in light of that ridiculous letter we all received last week from David Disney. We even got two copies, such a waste of resources.
I hope that anyone considering buying one of the new properties on Bunwell road is keeping an eye on this site so that they are aware that they will be moving backwards in time; footpaths unusable for various antisocial reasons, no police evident despite a nasty burglary, broadband next to useless, heavy goods vehicles at all times of day and night.
We have lived here very happily for many years and have nothing against modern living conditions here, more vehicular traffic, housing developments etc. But we do seem to be moving backwards in social circumstances; life is difficult enough as one ages, extra problems such as stated above are not a reason to move to Spooner Row.
I must admit that my blood pressure went up when I read the red text but all is not as it seems.
The information from OpenReach is factually correct but wrongly interpreted. The fibre install into Spooner Row has very little to do with Cabinet 3 (London Rd, Wym) and our fibre install has NOT been cancelled.
A new cabinet, to be called Cabinet 41, is due to be installed alongside the existing telephony Cabinet 3A that sits at the corner of Guiler's Lane, opposite the pub. Upon installation of this new cabinet all existing telephone connections for Spooner Row users will be moved to this cabinet. This will see existing telephony users wired into cabinets 3 and 3A brought together into a single cabinet. Fibre will then come into this cabinet and local cabling will carry it to each property.
Although the community wireless project failed (for reasons I will not go into on the MB) I am still in contact with various broadband people at both South Norfolk District Council and Better Broadband for Norfolk. I am aware that BBfN has a meeting with OpenReach next week and thereafter BBfN will be updating SNDC councilors, so I have spoken to both parties and asked for a greater degree of transparency as to when Spooner Row will see its upgrade.
Pressure has been applied, especially since Morley went live for their fibre upgrade last month!
