Residents of Bradley Stoke who are hoping to benefit from the rollout of superfast broadband through a state-aided investment programme say they are frustrated and confused by the sparse and conflicting information being made available to them by South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), which is managing the project.
As previously reported in The Journal, the occupiers of around 1,700 homes in Bradley Stoke are still waiting to hear if and when they will benefit from the project before it ends in March next year. These are the customers on exchange only (EO) lines, who are hoping to be served by one of four new cabinets that are being installed by BT at strategic locations within the town.
The first of these, no. 31 (located on the corner of Brook Way and Savages Wood Road), was declared “live and ready for service” by SGC on 19th September, meaning that customers whose lines pass through that cabinet should be able to order fibre broadband from the internet service provider of their choice.
However, weeks later, frustration has set in as many customers who were hoping to receive confirmation that their lines have been wired into cabinet no. 31 are still waiting for news. A list of postcodes served by the cabinet was published retrospectively by SGC on 8th October, but this has just added to the confusion as many homes within these postcodes are still not showing as being connected to the cabinet in BT’s own Broadband Availability Checker, nor showing any mention of the ‘fibre to the cabinet’ (FTTC) service being available.
The only glimmer of hope is that, since 19th October, a handful of Journal readers have reported being able to finally order fibre broadband on lines connected to cabinet no. 31.
The news for customers hoping to be wired into the other three new EO cabinets is even less encouraging. Whereas SGC had previously reported that cabinets nos. 30 (at the top end of Bradley Stoke Way, near the Hilton Hotel) and 36 (corner of Bradley Stoke Way and Brook Way, near Oaktree Crescent) were expected to be “live and ready for service during October”, that projected date has now slipped to December (see statement below).
Worse still, customers hoping to be wired into the fourth new EO cabinet, no. 38 (Brook Way, opposite junction with Dewfalls Drive), have now been told they may have to wait until March 2015 before that facility goes live.
SGC has yet to publish lists of postcodes that will be served by cabinet nos. 30, 36 & 38, which is doing nothing to calm the nerves of customers who fear they may miss out altogether by the time the project is completed in March next year.
With the rest of South Gloucestershire slowly waking up to the fact that the current project will only bring superfast broadband to around two-thirds of those in the ‘intervention area’, SGC has come under increasing pressure to be more transparent over its plans.
Thornbury and Yate MP Steve Webb, was recently quoted in the Gazette newspaper as saying:
“It is shocking that a project which involves millions of pounds of public money is shrouded in such secrecy. The public has a right to know now in detail which communities will benefit from superfast broadband and, crucially, who will be excluded.”
“Getting reliable information from the council has been like trying to get state secrets out of the Kremlin during the Cold War.”
[Ed: Prioritisation criteria agreed by the council before the contract was awarded to BT give a high weighting to areas of high population where broadband speeds are poor, which ought to see Bradley Stoke being given preference over more sparsely populated rural areas.]
Elsewhere in Bradley Stoke, and outside the scope of the SGC project, as it was fibre-enabled as part of BT’s commercial rollout, cabinet no. 44 (corner of Baileys Court Road and Ellan Hay Road), continues to be a source of frustration for customers in Juniper Way and ‘the herbs’ roads. Despite assurances from BT to the contrary, Journal readers in that area are still reporting they are unable to order superfast broadband due to a “lack of capacity” at the cabinet.
South Gloucestershire Council statement (on 24th October 2014)
As you know, the deployment of fibre broadband across South Gloucestershire is a huge engineering project. As such, the build can be affected by a variety of factors making the dates for the rollout sometimes subject to change. However, I can confirm that the current target dates for the following cabinets to go live is as detailed below:
- Cabinet 30 should be live and ready for service by December 2014
- Cabinet 36 should be live and ready for service by December 2014
- Cabinet 38 should be live and ready for service by March 2015
Approximately 3,500 homes in Bradley Stoke will benefit from the council’s Superfast Broadband Project, with approximately 1,700 of these being the more complex EO lines. Once the delivery has been completed in March 2015, we will have a firm position on the coverage achieved, and we will also have a clearer position on our ability to potentially push the coverage even further across South Gloucestershire under the existing contract, and with the current funding.
With regards to Filton cabinet 44 and Almondsbury cabinet 31, BT has confirmed that both these fibre broadband cabinets are ‘live’ and able to accept orders. Customers should contact their broadband service provider for further information.”
Reader comments
Steve G of Sages Mead (on an Almondsbury EO line):
I find it absurd that SGC or BT cannot give a proper update on the status of the rollout with dates. It seems that we are all given generic responses and being palmed off to our ISPs, who are equally in the dark.
Why can’t they have a webpage with a proper up to date status, rather than each of us sending emails and unnecessarily taking up someone’s time at SGC? I wonder how much SGC know and if it is BT who is being a bit cagey with the facts… once again.
Even after the attention seeking ‘Race to Infinity’ campaign run by BT, very little information was coming from them and even though Almondsbury were high up the league, what was the outcome…? Hmm.
Neil G of Shiels Drive (on a Filton EO line):
Will you get superfast broadband? That is a question that SGC seems reluctant to answer, even though according to the ‘tender document’ I have seen, the winning supplier (in this case BT) is required to supply a list showing the order of the upgrade in priority order, no. 1 priority being current speed below 1.5Mbps.
I was recently told that a new fibre-enabled EO cabinet is to be installed right outside the Filton exchange. This will be of no benefit to anyone on a Filton EO line in Bradley Stoke.
So why has SGC allowed BT to upgrade lines already running at up to 17mbps before those running at 1 to 1.5mbps like mine?
Katherine P of Kingfisher Close (outside the SGC intervention area, but with no access to Virgin Media cable):
We are a family of five, soon to be six. Our broadband service from BT is atrocious. The service is intermittent at best and nowhere near powerful enough to support the daily average of four connected devices.
We have enquired of all other providers, but are told the same; they would all have to use to BT line and could not provide a better speed than we get now. We have had several BT engineer visits, resulting in no improvement whatsoever. It’s a lottery daily as to whether we even have Internet access at all.
Having moved from Juniper Way to Kingfisher Close in 2012 to accommodate our growing family, we are extremely disappointed that our street will be missed completely and will not have even stable broadband anytime soon never mind superfast.
I would just like to add that the terrible standard of service directly affects both my husband’s and my work not to mention the increase in online homework our children receive from school. I have recently increased my mobile tariff to 20GB of data just to attempt to lighten the load on the broadband. It has not made the slightest difference.
It is really so disappointing for such a lovely neighbourhood to have such a huge negative hanging over it.
Paul P of Juniper Way (on cabinet 44):
I have now ordered fibre on three occasions via Sky and BT and each time it has been cancelled without my knowledge. Never any correspondence from BT and a million different and conflicting reasons.
This is severely impacting on my job as I cannot access my company website without losing connection and am unable to download anything including films for my kids via Sky.
Truly shocking planning to say that the cabinet is live and running, but they have run out of space. March to October has been a roller coaster of available then not available and so on.
My wife has been offered a job working from home but is wary of accepting as the current broadband is simply not fit for purpose.
BT Openreach should be held accountable and we should be given compensation for the time, inconvenience and frustration caused to local residents.
More information:
- Bradley Stoke Superfast Broadband Upgrade Status (The Journal)
- Broadband (SGC)
Photo 1 (top): Cllr John Goddard with Matt Lloyd, Next Generation Access Programme Manager for BT, announcing Bradley Stoke’s inclusion in the SGC project (September 2013).
Photo 2 (above): New fibre-enabled cabinet no. 31 at the junction of Brook Way and Savages Wood Road (July 2014).
This article originally appeared in the November 2014 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,450 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
Having read this article over the weekend and knowing some of the content going into it, I still find it shocking that 1,700 homes are still awaiting this information.
I also have concerns that some of these homes aren’t going to be fed by these new cabinets – These being the 0117 numbers which fall under the BS32 8EA / BS32 8EB postcodes, and no doubt other post codes as well which are within the area of work.
For all the updates that SGC provides on how well they are doing with the project, they are mainly doing the easy win situations, and while I understand that they need to be done, they shouldn’t be the priority for Phase 1.
Bradley Stoke is a large and high population area but SGC seems to treat us like a 3rd world country for this type of project while more than happy to take our money.
I believe it is time that pressure is applied to SGC from our local MPs to get answers to the outstanding issues that SGC seem unwilling to answer when requested.
24 years living in Bradley Stoke and best speed I can get is 1.5Mb (150Kb download) is shocking and to make matters worse, if SGC aren’t going to have BT cover these areas (which should be done) there isn’t anything that can be done to get Virgin Media to step in and provide a service.
Which isn’t in theory major work as the underground duct work is in place, so it’s a new cabinet and blowing the fibre to the end point.
SGC have finally come clean … in a recent email I received in reply to my question about priority list as per their own tender document… SGC have decided to ‘Get best Value for Money’ and not have a ‘Priority List System ‘ in simple terms they will do all the quick wins no matter what speed the users are currently getting (SGC will look good)… this will also indicate in the long term that the majority of users on slow links normally caused by Line quality / Distance from the exchange (EO Lines being a good example) will be bottom of the pile when it comes to money allocation even thou they would be near the top of a ‘Priority List System’. It would also seen that BT are fully controlling what is being done and when as they are the only ones that have all the information.
Just noticed today on the BT checker tool, that I now have cabinet 31 assigned, but no FTTC indicated yet. Hopefully this will come soon?
Steve
Sages Mead
Ditto here Steve. One step nearer I guess. Maybe tomorrow
FTTC appeared later this afternoon on the checker, so have ordered (cab 31) and install date of November 17th given.
Lets hope the date doesn’t get put back….
Good news though!
I’ve just appeared to be on Cabinent 31 too! Ordered infinity and it’s being installed on the 26th. There is hope for the EO lines. I’m living on The Culvert
FTTC showing here on The Beeches too. Might be coincidence but I was on to Openreach and BT yesterday for an update.
Also came up as CAB 31 this afternoon. Rang BT and was told Infinity not yet available and to call back in a month.
Checked again this evening and Infinity available so have placed an order. Installation on the 26th as well.
Also now showing as available on cabinet 31. Ordered, installation scheduled for 17th. Fingers crossed!
Still waiting this side, in Linden Drive!!!
Over on our Facebook page, readers in Hawkins Crescent, The Spinney, The Willows, Teasel Mead and Sages Mead all report cabinet no. 31 and FTTC (fibre broadband) service now appearing in their BT checker result.
https://www.facebook.com/BradleyStokeJournal/posts/839473489436162
Still waiting in Kemperleye Way
Just moved into Champs sur marne last week from Glasgow. I really had no idea of the diabolical speeds available here. I expected it to be the same, if not better, than back home. My job as a web developer really hinges on this.
Chose Sky as my internet provider anyway and I’m getting about 1.5-2mbps after a speed test. I believe I am cabinet 37 and the BT open reach site says that I should be able to order fibre. A slight fallacy here i believe. Any news on my cabinet? it appears that 30, 36 and 38 are getting coverage but none on 37.
I’m glad that there’s a solid campaign behind improving these speeds as i feared i would be alone in my quest here! Best of luck to all
@Mark Ramage: Cabinet 37 was fibre enabled in the summer. You should be able to order. Have you tried? Currently difficulties in BS relate mostly to EO lines.
Mike in The Spinney reports checker result now showing cabinet no. 31 and being able to order fibre broadband.
@SH I’m pleased by this news. When i ordered from Sky, I was told that fibre was getting rolled out in my area and all i could do was order regular broadband. Would i need to contact BT here as they supply the line or just get on at Sky for an upgrade?
Thanks
@Mark Ramage: (1) Verify that the BT Broadband Availability Checker result for your phone number shows the FTTC service as being available. (2) Order fibre broadband from any ISP.
For instructions on (1), see: https://www.bradleystokejournal.co.uk/superfast
Just received a reply from SGC regarding linden drive,they assure me we are connected to cabinet 31 and just to keep checking availability on BT website
The broadband checker reported (the Spinney) we switched from EO to CAB31 (noticed on 7th ) and Fibre broadband reported available, ordered being fitted on the 17th! At last.
Ordered a Billion 8800NL to use with it.
It seems to have gone quiet again, still nothing for Kemperleye Way
@Sparky – I reckon they are releasing in stages. The Hawkins Cresc and offshoots (EO) have install dates from Monday, including me!
Like wise this side, still no joy here in Linden Drive. I wonder how much longer we will have to wait…is there any chance of an early Christmas present!!!
Good news – somebody must be getting their broadband installed. Bad news – it’s not me!
My installation slot was between 8am and 1pm today. Just had a call from Openreach saying they were unable to honour that slot “due to workload”, asking me to rearrange for another day.
I took the day off work to be in for them!!
Do you need to be home for installation? I asked and they said they did it all from the cabinet but I would hate to miss my installation date because they gave me incorrect info.
@Andy Ham – it depends on what package you have bought. BT Infinity 1 (up to 38Mbps) is available as self install but BT Infinity 2 (up to 76Mbps) is engineer install. I believe the thinking here is that to ensure the increased speed of BT Infinity 2 it is necessary to install the master socket faceplate filter and realign internal extension cabling. See: https://community.bt.com/t5/BT-Infinity-Speed-Connection/Openreach-master-socket-MK1-or-MK2/td-p/1234705
@Jim – sorry to hear that you had a missed slot. If you have to take another day off work you should be able to claim compensation. See: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/delivery-rights
I am absolutely fuming! The Openreach project planner needs shooting or at least sacking!! Apparently cabinet 30 is way too far for me to receive the fibre service!?!? Like why would you put me on cabinet 30 then if that’s the case???I wasn’t on any cabinet come 2 months ago (I live in Oaktree Crescent). The email as follows: –
Dear Mr Chiddy,
Thank you for your enquiry regarding fibre broadband. I can confirm that you are connected to Almondsbury exchange cabinet 30.
This cabinet has been upgraded for fibre broadband. However, the distance between the cabinet and your property, at 4km, is too great to support the service.
We continue to look at alternative technology for customers who are on long lines. However, at this point we do not have any timescales for when this would become available.
Regards
Jane Amphlett
Fibre Enquiries team, Openreach
Is there any way SH Editor could investigate? This is a really bad move from Openreach.
Installed today and it’s been a mixed bag. Initially – brilliant 28Mb/s down 12Mbs up (ADSL2 was 3Mbs down and 444Kps per second up).
They got the work done by 13:00, just before 15:00 it was awful and stayed awful. Logged a call with plusnet.
Right now though it is doing this, I don’t for one minute think anyone did anything, so it may be awful again tomorrow.
http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3917418551
Which I can live with!
@Chiddy, I agree, that’s a totally ridiculous answer. How on earth can you be 4km away from the new cabinet no. 30 (top of Bradley Stoke Way, near Hilton Hotel) when it can be seen from houses in Oaktree Crescent. Even if that figure of 4km were true, why would BT bother wiring you into the cabinet, knowing that with FTTC technology, superfast speeds can only be achieved on line lengths up to 900m (from the cabinet)? My suggestion would be to get your SGC councillor and MP on the case. Here’s how: http://www.writetothem.com/
I believe @Martyn is the first reader on cabinet 31 to report a successful(-ish) installation.
It’s now almost two months since SGC reported this cabinet “live and ready for service”, yet we’ve been given no explanation why it’s taken so long for anyone to get connected.
@SH Editor, cheers will do. I’m just shocked by the answer and clinging onto hope it’s just a generic response.. Post code effected is BS32 9AD.
@Andy Ham / @Richard – not sure about BT Infinity (why is anybody ordering from BT after the pain they’ve caused us..??!!) but being home may also depend on which ISP you go with. Plusnet would require you to be home. EE on the other hand go for self install. I think the only reason to be home is for a new faceplate to be installed. This isn’t mandatory if you carry on using filters. Setup of the modem etc. is normally fairly straight forward.
I had the engineer call to upgrade my line to fibre (off cabinet 31), but no success – he couldn’t find my copper line in the cabinet…
BT are investigating and I have logged a call with my provider plusnet to investigate.
Thought it was all too good to be true 🙁
I’ve just got this response with regards to the 4km issue from Oaktree Crescent to cabinet 30: –
Hi James,
Thank you for your email. FTTC is not available or those lines which are connected directly to exchange. Now, if you are connected to cabinet 30, there is a possibility of getting FTTC services once we have technology which support long distance as well.
We need your patience till the time Openreach plans for new technologies or network change to get customers services available. Kindly keep checking our website for updates.
Regards,
Alka Kumari
Fibre Enquiries team, Openreach
To me it sounds like frontline agents trying to make guesses, as I got another response from someone completely different… However I’ve emailed my local MP around the issue and just awaiting a response.
I’m still surprised how a cabinet which is only 0.5 miles away can be according to them 2.5 miles?? I could only think its wiring.
@Chiddy, In my experience, the BT checker result is the most reliable guide. I fear you will just have to wait until cabinet no. 30 is declared “live and ready for service” by SGC (expected December 2014) and hope that BT have learnt from the fiasco of cabinet no. 31 and ensured that their availability database is properly updated before that announcement is made.
My broadband contract has just ended with talktalk so I’ve been looking around for a good fibre broadband deal. Seems that I can only go with BT or a subsidiary of theirs (plusnet), although the broadband checker says I should be able to go with at least 8 other providers. Why has BT got a monopoly? I am linked to Cabinet 22. Anyone else in Wheatfield managed to get a provider other than BT? Can’t seem to get any advice on the net about this.
Cabinet 28 (Gloucester Road)
BS329BA, BS329BB, BS329BN, BS329BP
Apparently my postcode which is in Bradley Stoke is now in cabinet 28 which is in patchway Gloucester road? Last time I been told it was 38! Anyway what is the plan for Gloucester road then??
Update on cabinet no. 31 from BT, dated 19th November 2014
A spokesperson for BT said: “We can confirm that Almondsbury cabinet 31 has been updated for fibre broadband. The number of homes that are served off this cabinet has also been increased. Our records for the additional homes being served off this cabinet have now been updated and residents should be able to contact their communication provider and place an order.”
Update on cabinet no. 44 from BT, dated 19th November 2014
A spokesperson for BT said: “Capacity on Filton cabinet 44 has been increased and is now in service and is already taking further orders since being re-introduced.”
Message from BSJ reader Veronica, received via BSJ Facebook page;
“We had the BT engineer at home yesterday to install the fibre, as we appeared as live and connected to cabinet 31 a couple of weeks back. For our surprise, he was unable to do so, because a mistake in the postcodes by BT. Apparently, not all the postcodes which appear as available to order are ready to get fibre, he said we are still connected to a exchange only line. Any other cases? He mentioned that we were not the only ones with the same problem, BT mess up with the postcodes!”
Still no sign on any cabinet for linden drive.. So I’m assuming we weren’t included under these “additional homes”.
@Ray, I think you may have hit on something there.
I had previously been told by SGC that new EO cabinet no. 28 on the Almondsbury exchange would be sited “opposite the telephone exchange on Gloucester Road”, which I assumed to mean opposite the telephone exchange in Almondsbury village (near the junction with Woodhouse Avenue). For this reason, I had assumed it wasn’t relevant to Bradley Stoke. However, I now believe that it actually means the redundant Patchway telephone exchange near the Texaco garage in Patchway (https://goo.gl/maps/PR4H9).
According to SGC’s Where and When page (http://www.southglos.gov.uk/community-and-living/broadband/where-and-when/) cabinet no. 28 is now “live and ready for service” and serves these postcodes:
BS32 9BA Courtlands
BS32 9BB Courtlands
BS32 9BN Merryweather Close
BS32 9BP Merryweather Close
N.B. Not all premises within each postcode are served by the same infrastructure (cabinet).
I believe cabinet 28 was added to the above page on 24th October.
Can anyone on these postcodes confirm seeing cabinet 28 (and FTTC service availability) in their BT Broadband Availability Checker result?
Checker: https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/main.html
Some progress at Kemperleye way. Now showing cab 31 but no sign of fibre being available yet
Linden drive now on cabinet 31
This is weird and worrying.
I’m still showing as connected to 31, but Fibre is no longer showing. It’s been showing as available for 2 weeks. I placed my order on Nov 6th and it’s due for completion on Nov 26th.
The order is still showing as In Progress and On Target within myBT.com. In fact the Home Hub is due to arrive on Monday.
Please don’t tell me there are problems when we’re so close?
@SH:on double checking on the website we’re back to cabinet 31, and the other BS32 9BA and BB are on cabinet 36 I think. Accepting order already with cabinet 36. Thanks for your help’
Yes, I have noticed from my neighbours telephone numbers that they are connected to cabinet 31 one is on sky and the other is BT…I am with talk talk…and I am still not being shown as being on no 31…I suppose until the orders can be made it will stay that way.
Checked again today, and showing Cabinet 31 (Linden Drive)
No sign of FTTC though! So I’ll just keep waiting.
@DW Fibre now not now showing for me either on The Beeches?!? I’ve got the same completion date as you.
Can see where this is going…….
BT and/or OpenReach are truly useless.
The engineer came this morning and fitted a new faceplate and modem. He then went off to the cabinet but couldn’t find our line. He said there were 1600 lines connected to cabinet 31, he checked them all twice, and ours was not amongst them. He thinks it most likely that our EO line is either still EO or has been connected to a different cabinet. A further engineer visit is required to “fault find” and determine what the situation is.
As noted by others, the availability checker has regressed to showing no fibre availability on my number (although it still says we are connected to cabinet 31).
Even though I’ve now had to take two days off work, Plusnet say I’m not eligible for any compensation as the first missed appointment was “paid for” by them giving me an “expedited” second appointment (which apparently means within 2 weeks); and the second appointment attracts no compensation because “they are now working on fixing the issue”.
The engineer suggested I may need a third appointment for an engineer to do the fault-finding, and a fourth for somebody to come back and complete the installation.
“Live and ready for service” – not funny.
Anyone see the Openreach feature on Watchdog last night? Maybe worth all contacting them..
Looks like definitely not available to me on The Beeches now.
Is anyone else with talk talk waiting to be confirmed as being on cabinet 31 and on an EO line in Linden Drive
After being so frustrated with the comments BT Openreach provided regarding BS32 9AD being 4km from cabinet 30, I got in touch with SGC who did some investigations on my behalf, and this is what they had to say:
“We have checked with BT and we don’t think the info you received by text is correct. You’re connected to cab 30 but you’re not 4km away. So you should get good speeds.
You will need to contact your preferred ISP (Internet Service Provider) directly to confirm speeds and packages available to you. Hope this helps”.
This is good news for me but slightly disappointed that I was giving the wrong information.
SGC didn’t provide a live date for cab 30, but from their comments it sounds very soon.
I am in Kemperleye way- cab 31. FTTC from TalkTalk was supposed to go live on the 20th. TalkTalk inform me that OpenReach encountered a problem with the exchange. I have no idea what is happening or how long it will now take.
have been in contact with TalkTalk again, and have been advised that I will be able to upgrade to Fibre Broadband soon for Linden Drive, the reason I could not locate my number on the BT checker was because I am on an old discontinued package deal, so will defiantly upgrade ONCE all is alive and ready to go…ROLL ON…and I will save a couple of pounds on the new deal.
@Jim, I had the same problem and when the second ‘infrastructure’ engineer called unannounced, he went to cabinet 31 to try and find my line. He found it but said that the cabinet was a mess and the copper lines were not where they should be.
I have waited almost a week for plusnet to agree for the original install engineer to come back with a fibre modem and hopefully find the copper line that the ‘infrastructure’ engineer found.
I know that others are in the same position. One successful install was done whilst the engineer investigating the cabinet was present to show the installer where the lines were!
What a complete mess….
Just spoken to a btcare team leader who has contacted Openreach and BT wholesale and both confirm that I will be connected on Wed. I will wait and see…..
Iain, do you mind confirming what number you called? Would like to do the same!
And hopefully get the same answer!
@dw I contacted them first on twitter they then emailed and called me.
Does anybody know how long it usually takes for FTTC to show on the BT checker once the line changes from EO to being served by Cabinet 31?
@Sparky196 FTTC showed up immediately when my line was updated as being connected to CAB 31. However, it disappeared last Thursday. That’s why @Iain and myself are nervous about our order completions this week.
I just chatted online to BT Care and they’ve said there are no problems with my order and everything is on track.
Couldn’t tell me why the Online Checker had changed though….
Interestingly I just used the BT checker using my full address and shows FTTC available but using phone number says it isn’t.
@dw at least we have been given the same info….but I will be surprised if it does go ahead. Well at least my new home hub has been delivered this morning.
Iain, I have just put my address in the BT checker, and hey presto there it is showing it as on cabinet 31…why I did not do it before I don’t know thanks for that info. Just for information I noticed two BT engineers with their heads buried in cabinet 31 today… So at least there is further action going on !!!
I have my new router and due to be connected tomorrow (via Cabinent 31). Fingers crossed all goes well. My internet has seemingly increased in speed over recent weeks. Currently a blistering 3.77mb although normally in the day it’s mid 1’s. Could tomorrow be the day I get to watch a downloading video with no buffering?!
D Day for me as well on Cab 31.
Think there are quite a few due to be migrated today, how many of us will be successful?
@Andy Ham, @Iain et al. on cabinet no. 31. Please let us know how it goes.
There are vans parked outside Cab 31 and work seemingly taking place….
Hi,
I finally managed to get connected yesterday (cab 31) and am getting 38M/8M compared to 2/0.256 that I had on ADSL!
Took quite a lot of effort to get there – seems as though cab 31 was in quite a mess and I guess that is why they took FTTC off the checker, so that no new orders would be accepted. There has been a lot of activity at cab 31, so perhaps this is to sort out the mess!
Good luck everyone and thanks @SH for the all the effort!
Steve.
It’s now well over two months since SGC declared cabinet 31 “live and ready for service”.
If you’re on cabinet no. 31 and still haven’t been able to order fibre broadband or are in one of the postcode areas said to be served by cabinet no. 31 but still don’t have the cabinet showing in your BT checker result, we’d like to hear from you.
See http://www.southglos.gov.uk/community-and-living/broadband/where-and-when/ for a list of postcodes served by cabinet no. 31.
Visit https://www.bradleystokejournal.co.uk/superfast for instructions on how to use the BT Broadband Availability Checker.
A selection of reader comments will be published in the December edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine.
We will need to know which street you’re in and will publish this, along with an abbreviated form of your name (forename + initial of family name), against your comment.
e.g Joe B of Sages Mead said: “…”
Please email comments to broadband@bradleystokejournal.co.uk by Friday (28th November).
Finally connected!!! (Wasn’t sure how many exclamation marks would be appropriate).
Modem showing Downstream Rate 38.60 Mbps & Upstream Rate 9.44 Mbps – went for a 38Mbps package due to distance from cabinet. Speedtest showing worse than ADSL at the moment but that may be due to profile sorting itself out.
Feel for those still waiting – keep hassling the council!
Had my install done this morning by the man from BT (well actually Kelly Communications). I’m on cabinet 31 in The Beeches. He assured me it’s all up and running. Just waiting for the red light on my router to turn green – apparently TalkTalk say it can be anytime up until midnight before it goes live. So fingers crossed.
He did say there was a queue on engineers at cabinet 31 this morning, so lots of activity today.
@CJ That sounds promising as I’m on The Beeches too….so hopefully mine will be good to go. Fingers crossed.
I’m live!
First Speedtest gave 79Mb download. Currently watching an HD programme on demand and it’s still ticking over at 65Mb. Upload is 16.23Mb.
I feel like we’re emerging from the dark ages…..
It appears as they are doing the installing of the upgrades by street names and then go on to the next one on the list.
I have just come off the phone after speaking to Talk Talk who have informed me that they have not started with Linden Drive yet…The Beeches are just behind me seem to be nice and happy!!
I’m live too on The Beeches through cab31 but only (didn’t think I’d ever say this) getting 25mb. Was hoping for 70+ will see how it settles down.
I’m happy just to use YouTube properly at moment.
Finally connected by good to a decent speed to the information superhighway. Download speed of 35Mb and Upload of 11Mb. Ordered service on 7th and finally connected today. I’m well chuffed
All went well with my connection today too. Getting mid to low 30mbps at the moment. It is very much a “first world problem” but it is nice to have a decent internet speed.
“The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.” For those still waiting to get a connection I hope your future becomes your present soon.
Thanks to all involved in the campaign to make this all happen.
Oh dear! Apparently my TalkTalk fibre is now live, but still got a big red light on my router. Called TalkTalk and they are going to test the line overnight and call back tomorrow. At least I know that someone in the Beeches has been connected successfully.
I’m now getting a steady 62mb using a wired connection but wifi issues are causing a big drop. Will be trying to get HH5 configured correctly.
We are on Hawkins Crescent and the ADSL checker is showing us on cabinet 31. However no FTTC availability showing.
To make it worse when contacting our ISP (BT) they don’t know what cabinet we are on and are unable to tell us nor do they know when we may be able to get a speed higher than 1mb/s
Our postcode is one of those that is served by cabinet 31 but no one can tell us when we will be able order fibre.?!?
To be honest I would rather the council didn’t get our hopes up and keep us on the hook waiting for the availability of fibre. I have given up and think that there will be more hope of 4G coverage from the mobile phone companies reaching Bradley Stoke and allowing us to all use wireless dongles!!
Up and running now (The Beeches, cab 31). Speedtest says anywhere between 32 and 47mb download, upload between 19 and 92mb(!) depending on which website I use.
@Hisham
I am in Sages Mead and finally had FTTC installed this week. Even for my number they removed FTTC from the checker, but my order was already WIP when BT did this.
I think they removed it because of the wiring problems in the cabinet and didn’t want to take any new orders until they sorted it out.
Once they decide to re-instate FTTC on the checker, I’m sure you will be able to order.
Steve.
@Steve. Thanks for the info. I hope they are planning on sorting out the wiring in the cabinet soon. Every time I have driven or walked past cabinet 31 there doesn’t seem to be much going on.
Not sure how long to wait until I complain and who to complain to.
I am up and running now ( Kemperleye Way Cab 31), only 7 days later than my go live date. I have the Talk Talk medium fibre and am getting the full 38Mbps down and 1.9 up ( it’s a 2Mbps upload package) Much better than ADSL which was actually fast for BS32 at 5Mbps.
Good luck to all that are waiting – it seems that it’s not straight forward with cab 31.
For those on cabinet 44 (the herbs, Juniper Way) who are still unable to order fibre broadband, if you would like to get in touch on broadband@bradleystokejournal.co.uk, I will put you in touch with a BT media relations manager who has offered to investigate specific cases.
I’ve been up and running a few days now…although on the bt checker it’s still not showing FTTC, which annoying as I now can’t order BT TV as “I’m not able to get fibre!!” even though I have got it.
BT Infinity ordered now 🙂 Install date is on Mon 15th Dec 🙂
I’ve been reading all the comments and i am now frustrated Almondsbury exchange is taking orders for fast broad band but my property in Garrett d
Grive cant place order as i am direct to exchange???? so when is this gonna rollout im sure im not the only one in Bradley Stoke in this situation ? the plot thickens.
I’ve had Fibre since the 17th and it’s a mixed bag. Speed when it’s working properly is very good, but it isn’t as relaible as the ADSL connection I had. On the checker my phone is no longer “Fibre Enabled” which would align with the cab 31 being a mess and things not as stable as they should be.
My sync speed was 50Mbs and ping times 17ms but was extremely unstable initially it’s dropped down to 32Mbs with 47ms ping times which I imagine means it’s considered ‘impacted’. This has certainly improved stability, but obviously at the expense of performance.
The problem is the Signal to noise margin, there isn’t much and hence it doesn’t need to drop by much before it become difficult to distinuish what is real data and what is background electrical racket. The line get dropped and reset when this happens, which is way too often.
At 50Mbs my SNR was about 6 which is OK, under load it would drop to just over 4, which is cutting it too fine and the line gets dropped. At 32Mbs it’s 8.6 which isn’t great either.
Wouldn’t go back, but it’s still annoying to have this sub-optimal right from the off and god knows what speed we’ll have when more lines are connected and cross talk starts to impact SNR, I certainly don’t have a lot to play with.
It’s now Dec and no new news on cab 30! Looks like another delay after announcing the cab would be enabled by Dec… Great time management skills.
It’s all gone quiet again and It’s now been two weeks since Cabinet 31 appeared on my BT Checker but still no FTTC showing so I’m not able to order.
Yes. It has gone rather quite lately and I still can not get any idea as to when I will be able to have the option of ordering fibre in Linden Drive…it is nearly Christmas !!