Under Review

If a cabinet is under review (searching on the where and when site)...

"Status: Under Review

We're in your area but we're still assessing whether or not we can upgrade your cabinet. This means you can't order Superfast Fibre."

...why do they offer a gap funded solution - surely if you can gap fund it the assessment has been done but deemed too expensive and the Openreach where and when site is just lying.

There are chunks of new funding around, both gap and commercial so they might be reconsidering some previous excluded areas.

I am in the say situation where it says the same for me, has done for a while now.
It can get rather frustrating seeing everyone getting it or have had it for a few years now, but its a matter of just crossing fingers and waiting, muttering a few words to self and then waiting some more, and then hope they get to a list of possible next installs and yours is more viable than the rest.

Paul

I suppose I'm in a fortunate position of being able to get Virgin, however I've tried them and wasn't happy with them. My cab is a smaller one and similar ones in the area also have been missed, the larger cabs on the next road have been upgraded - Openreach quoted me £16.5k plus vat for the gap funding.

Looks like we'll have wait for the 'review'

Looks like we'll have wait for the 'review'

Which will probably bring you nothing given that you have VM available. BDUK funding is intended to help those that have no access to higher speed broadband, not to offer users a choice. Your best hope is that others on the cab don't have access to VM which could then possibly allow BDUK funding towards an upgrade.

In reply to a post by kebabselector:

I suppose I'm in a fortunate position of being able to get Virgin, however I've tried them and wasn't happy with them.

Yeah they are installing in our area at the moment due to being part of the 100,000 homes of East London to get their Fibre product, and if all goes well with the planning permission they told me we should start to see their cabinets being installed down our road in 3 to 4 months.

So we may give them a try, at least it will be better than what we currently have, may also get their TV packages with a few Tivo Boxes and get rid of Sky.

In reply to a post by kebabselector:

My cab is a smaller one and similar ones in the area also have been missed, the larger cabs on the next road have been upgraded - Openreach quoted me £16.5k plus vat for the gap funding.

Well we cannot get any funding for our BTOR Fibre, so we may have to go with VM.

In reply to a post by kebabselector:

Looks like we'll have wait for the 'review'

Yup, hopefully the wait isn't that long.

Paul

Hmm, how would that work if VM is refused by the local council and being part of Greater London.
That would be a huge watsit (not to get censored LOL) due to not being in an area that allows BDUK.

But if that all happens they will have to change the name from a conservation area to a stone age area LOL.

Paul

My reply was to kebabselector who stated that VM is already available at his location.

In my case, also in central London, I'm on a development with 75+ EO lines with all adjacent properties having access to both VM and FTTC. VM not interested despite their trunking passing <3m in front of 21of the properties and BT aren't doing anything for EO lines in London. At least you've got the prospect, although much delayed, of eventually having the choice of either VM or FTTP.

In reply to a post by MCM:

My reply was to kebabselector who stated that VM is already available at his location.

Yeah, I know, was just wondering that's all.

In reply to a post by MCM:

In my case, also in central London, I'm on a development with 75+ EO lines with all adjacent properties having access to both VM and FTTC. VM not interested despite their trunking passing <3m in front of 21of the properties and BT aren't doing anything for EO lines in London. At least you've got the prospect, although much delayed, of eventually having the choice of either VM or FTTP.

This may not even happen yet, Newham Council are very strict especially when living in a conservation area, we all had to have our Sky Dishes moved out of sight I.e. relocated to back of house, lucky Sky agreed to take down old dish and install a brand new dish at the back of our house just below the guttering and re-wired our 4 HD Boxes with lovely dual feeder coax for £15
Anyhow like I said we may not get lucky and VM may get refused planning permission for the cabinets down our road, so we may end up with nothing, but yeah we could be lucky and get both leaving us a choice.

You may also get lucky and over the next two phases 95% and ~98% (whatever it is) you may get it then, I also have a feeling that's when I will have to wait as well.

As for EO Lines in London, yeah I noticed that when I was doing checks on my exchange and I did random postcode checks and found loads of EO Lines also not getting moved over to cabinets.

Like I said to my local MP last night in the email I sent him, "Greater London must get greater the further you go out, because its certainly isn't great here at the moment" LOL

Paul

In reply to a post by MCM:

Looks like we'll have wait for the 'review'

Which will probably bring you nothing given that you have VM available. BDUK funding is intended to help those that have no access to higher speed broadband, not to offer users a choice.

As I live in Birmingham we've never had BDUK funding - I just find it strange that BT/Openreach would not want to get customers on their network. A wifi search in the area shows a lot of Virgin customers, now BT are offering a TV package as well you'd think they might want to broaden their user base.

It would be nice if 'Under Review' would just state the truth and be called 'Waiting for someone else to pay'

There is £50m of extra commercial investment going on - so its possible but given the shouting from areas like TechCity in Shoreditch most is likely to go to London.

It might actually be possible that Openreach has now looked at take-up in VM areas and is deciding to carry on filling in the areas where VM are not as they get a better take-up.

If VM is in the area, then public money cannot be used, i.e. by having a second operator who has declared their presence via an Open Market Review public money is not allowed to be spent.

I would agree that is what it is intended for. However the evidence clearly shows they are using BDUK funds to provide "choice" in many areas there are already successful operators , so why not do the same for people who have VM available?

Usually BT are very keen to overbuild VM , especially with public money. Just ask Basingstoke council

In reply to a post by MCM:

Looks like we'll have wait for the 'review'

Which will probably bring you nothing given that you have VM available. BDUK funding is intended to help those that have no access to higher speed broadband, not to offer users a choice. Your best hope is that others on the cab don't have access to VM which could then possibly allow BDUK funding towards an upgrade.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

It might actually be possible that Openreach has now looked at take-up in VM areas and is deciding to carry on filling in the areas where VM are not as they get a better take-up.

If VM is in the area, then public money cannot be used, i.e. by having a second operator who has declared their presence via an Open Market Review public money is not allowed to be spent.

I think that makes sense, I think that's why BTOR where and when page for us and the remaining non fibred homes on our exchange are still saying "Under Review", they are possibly waiting to see whether VM gets planning permission for these areas or not for their cabinets and if they don't then hopefully they will progress onto finishing off our install.

There is no point wasting public money on a fibre install if everyone goes with the other guy, saying that if VM doesn't get planning permission, that will give BTOR approx. 508 homes to fibre up which are all using PCP Cabinet 24 and yeah I am aware that FTTP doesn't use cabinets

But like I said, I will now wait

Paul

Ask Basingstoke Council for a copy of the invoices they have paid out.

Overbuild areas should see a proportionate reduction in the gap funding, at least one council has this in its contract and has been confirmed that the amounts paid are varying on this basis.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

There is £50m of extra commercial investment going on - so its possible but given the shouting from areas like TechCity in Shoreditch most is likely to go to London.

It'll be nice to see what happens - but as you said Shoreditch and the like would seem to be a better fit than a few small cabinets in Birmingham.

It'll be nice to see what happens - but as you said Shoreditch and the like would seem to be a better fit than a few small cabinets in Birmingham.

Even with new unallocated public money it cannot be spent on upgrading your cabinet as you already have VM available. Any new money public money cannot be legally used to help those who have no access to fast broadband be that via VM, BT or any other supplier. The only exception being where some of the premises served by the cab have no access to VM.

Your only hope is for BT to upgrade the cab using their own money but for that to happen the upgrade BT requires the upgrade to be commercially viable and few small cabs are likely to meet that requirement.

Andrew was referring to 50m extra from a commercial budget so public money isn't the issue.