USO: Who is eligable

Hi,

I currently have hyperoptic which is great, but BT provides ~5mbit/sec ADSL with no FTTC (despite having a cabinet).

Would I be eligible for USO service from BT (thus forcing them to upgrade to FTTC/gfast/FTTP)?

It's obviously not a major concern but I'm unhappy being entirely reliant on hyperoptic in case they go bust (unlikely) or suddenly start ramping prices really high for people with no other choice (slightly less likely).

So if you can get an alternate provider at >10mbit/sec, does that rule out eligibility, or is it just for openreach services? Not sure how far ofcom would take this if so - I bet a load of USO properties could access >10mbit/sec on LTE, for example.

There is no USO yet - see the news article on TBB's front page. USO is due by 2020 but at present no service so no suppliers are yet signed up to it.

As you already have Hyperoptic you wouldn't be covered by the USO anyway as you are already capable of getting a service way above the USO threshold. The USO is designed to make sure a service is available not a choice of services.

It isn't even yet clear if Openreach would be the USO provider.

You are now famous . The article Ian refers to has a link to your post . In the final paragraph.

Ok, but tbh anyone can access gigabit broadband if they have the £££ for it - so where does the line stop?

What if hyperoptic got acquired and then ramped prices up to £1000/month? Would that be covered by the USO?

EE now offer 4G Home Broadband - if you can get access to that - are you therefore not eligible for USO? Between the 4 main LTE networks I'd be very surprised if by 2020 a very high proportion of would otherwise be eligible for USO will be covered by >10mbit/sec 4G.

The line stops at £3,400 install cost and £1,000 a month would fail reasonable costs criteria obviously.

EE 4G Home Broadband is very much aimed at the USO market, so yes it may be that in some areas this is your USO option i.e. fixed line as you have now or 4G from EE

The same applies for Fixed Wireless services being available.

In reply to a post by mr_mojo:

EE now offer 4G Home Broadband - if you can get access to that - are you therefore not eligible for USO? Between the 4 main LTE networks I'd be very surprised if by 2020 a very high proportion of would otherwise be eligible for USO will be covered by >10mbit/sec 4G.

The problem with 4G (for me at least) is the usage caps. I am unable to get fixed line BB but get 4G/LTE with Vodafone at usually 20-30 meg D/L speeds. I have a data allowance of 65GB a month for £45. It allows me to have a usable connection but you have to keep an eye on usage at all times so as not to run out or run up big charges.

In reply to a post by mr_mojo:

What if hyperoptic got acquired and then ramped prices up to £1000/month? Would that be covered by the USO?

That would be financial suicide. Also I very much doubt OFCOM would allow a residential/SME ISP (even it got acquired) to suddenly start charging punters 1k per month when they've been paying less than 100 notes per month. So its probably an irrelevant question wrt USO.

Out of interest are you not happy with your Hyperoptic connection?

The point of the broadband USO I don’t think is to enable anything more than the prevention of (often ongoing expense-causing) inability to access effectively the internet in general, and government/council/medical and educational services in particular.

This doesn’t mean high throughput volume has to be cheap, as it is with many landline providers. There are an increasing number of mobile network products with plenty of allowance to enable access to these plus online shopping and most educational needs. This will only increase. Plus 5G is on the way.

I don’t think streaming TV and Netflix etc. is what the USO is about.

USO is a safety net.

If the USO was designed to be a full fibre on demand roll-out programme I am certain current Government would frame it as such.

Exactly.