Still waiting on getting FTTC :(

Waiting for FTTC to appear is like waiting for luck, they keep saying we are in the rollout, yet no work has even been planned to my knowledge and also been stuck on Design stage for a while now, I really need better internet its what I use so much day to day and I have a Youtube channel to run, but with 9Mbps Download and 0.9 Upload its virtually borderline in this day and age, because file sizes are not small and it takes me forever to Upload a Video to my channel.

I hope that we get FTTC here soon 4+ years I have waited for false hope..

If so important to you maybe it is time to be proactive and move to somewhere where it is readily available ?

As much as I agree, I also disagree. Why should people have to move when it should be a human right?

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

If so important to you maybe it is time to be proactive and move to somewhere where it is readily available ?

You make moving sound easy, when its not, If I could move to some place where I could get better Internet, don't you think I would have done that already? I have got a hold of every person who could help this area to get FTTC, I even let the whole neighborhood know.

In reply to a post by WilliamGrimsley:

As much as I agree, I also disagree. Why should people have to move when it should be a human right?

Great Internet is a right not a luxury, everyone needs Great Internet now as like I said file sizes are getting bigger and also you see games over 60GB in size and that to me takes over a day to download.

Edited by deleted (Wed 22-Mar-17 14:28:07)

Well said.

I see the smiley but superfast broadband is highly suspect as a human right. Getting 9/0.9 pretty much meets all the requirements of something that could be remotely considered a "human right". Anything above that is I think well beyond what could be considered a human right (assuming that Internet at all is considered a human right considering the number of people I keep seeing on the news that are starving in various war zones - not sure they would consider someone in the UK getting faster Internet as a human right).

I know you were being tongue in cheek but there are many who argue that Internet is a human right and I don't buy it that people need superfast as a basic right rather than as a luxury/business opportunity.

You posted as I did. I don't believe it is a right - it is a luxury. There is nothing in your human rights that stops you from living if you don't have a faster Internet connection. Downloading a 60GB game is a luxury - not a right.

Well, after 4+ years we are not even in the plans yet (EO line in London), getting only 3Mb/s down and 0,3 up, with connection drops a couple of times a day.

Recent cabinet rearrangements in Rotherhithe where I live have sometimes happened rather quickly. Most of us are stuck in "exploring solutions" stage since the exchange went fibre. Quite a many were also stuck at "in scope" for months or even years. But when the work actually started with some of the planned rearrangements, it progressed from "in scope" to "ready" in about 4 months.

If you are "in scope", your wait could be mostly over. Fingers crossed.

H

Not quite.

You NEED water to stay alive, you NEED energy (heat) to stay alive. You do not NEED to download the latest game, or upload pictures to facebook.

In reply to a post by ian72:

I see the smiley but superfast broadband is highly suspect as a human right. Getting 9/0.9 pretty much meets all the requirements of something that could be remotely considered a "human right". Anything above that is I think well beyond what could be considered a human right (assuming that Internet at all is considered a human right considering the number of people I keep seeing on the news that are starving in various war zones - not sure they would consider someone in the UK getting faster Internet as a human right).

I know you were being tongue in cheek but there are many who argue that Internet is a human right and I don't buy it that people need superfast as a basic right rather than as a luxury/business opportunity.

I do Youtube to help people in need and who are going through a rough time because I myself have and still am going through a rough time myself, so with my 0.9 Upload I cannot interact with the people and live stream and also taking so long to upload a 1GB video file takes so long, when I upload it basically makes my internet unusable so I am left to do nothing but wait till it has finished. I understand people are starving in other 3rd world countries but guess what, we gave millions upon millions to these countries and yet they still are as bad as when we didn't give money.. where is all that millions going to help them? because I am sure its not all going to them.

It still doesn't make it a human right. It may make it highly desirable and something that would improve yours and other lives but that is very different from a human right.

I am also not saying that we should be diverting the money to others - although I know the government have been giving aid.

We should invest in broadband but it is an economic activity based around profit and loss - not a human rights requirement.

Re human rights, I was thinking very much along the same lines as you.

At best, in the developed world it should be classed as a basic utility, like mains water and electricity. It is close to becoming that. There are plenty of places in the third world where the women walk miles each day to bring home drinkable water, (after boiling it), for their family's hovel. Even without being in a war zone.

However, building on your comment about luxuries and business opportunities, even in the developed world there is no way domestic water and electricity supply could be used to run even a business as small as a supermarket, never mind a car factory.

Or in terms of the Internet, a data centre or peering hub.

There are plenty of internet products to run any business or provide any desired level of speed and capacity. People wanting those facilities simply have to pay for them. Just like you can't run a haulage business with a couple of Transit vans.

Lets ask this

1. Close a hospital or two
OR
2. Fund great internet

And even if 2 is chosen and funded, over what time scale should this be delivered?

What exchange and cabinet?

Some areas are destined to see their cabinets enabled but due to distance you may not benefit, or you may not even be connected to a cabinet yet.

There is nothing whatsoever to stop you getting multiple ADSL2+ lines and bonding them together. Preferably involving more than one ISP. Standard procedure for people needing faster speeds in either direction.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

What exchange and cabinet?

Some areas are destined to see their cabinets enabled but due to distance you may not benefit, or you may not even be connected to a cabinet yet.

Cleveleys Cabinet 59

Or using 4G for the important uploads i.e. those that have to go quickly, or if a friend has faster internet nearby in line of sight that a point to point wireless bridge would help

Cab currently in design. Expected back end of this year.

Yes, it was tongue in cheek. It was a joke.

Edited by deleted (Wed 22-Mar-17 10:56:10)

I assumed it was but wanted to comment anyway - there are many that don't think that what you said is a joke.

Virgin Media is very close and are expanding, so maybe they might reach you first, or you can do a wifi link up to a friend with their service

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Virgin Media is very close and are expanding, so maybe they might reach you first, or you can do a wifi link up to a friend with their service

Yeah, Hopefully Virgin Media will get there first as I heard they have much better speeds than FTTC, but even if FTTC comes first at least I will be on better than I am on now and then its more pleasant waiting for Virgin to fit their cabling. Just have to see how it all works out I guess, Thankyou.

Edited by deleted (Wed 22-Mar-17 11:48:00)

I don't think we seriously consider a fast internet connection a human right, comparable to human rights conventions.

Having said that, it is not quite luxury either anymore.

Yes, it is definitely possible to live without any kind of internet connection. Some people choose to do so. However, as information in general, be it fact or fiction or in the case of USA, alternate facts, is rapidly moving to the internet. Whatever current plans this country has, we do not expect to have a fast connection to everyone by 2025, which is 8 years from now. In these eight years, traditional, broadcast TV will decline. At some point content providers will start scrapping "standard" resolution as keeping up different versions cost money and having them might not bring more business anymore in the future.

Then there is the scary internet of things, which means all sorts of household appliances need to update their software to prevent our nasty neighbours from turning our heating on or off, or turning the contents of our freezers into green goo. These updates are now tens or hundreds of megabytes. As memory gets cheaper and more abundant and software gets more bloated, these will grow in size. I wouldn't be surprised if we were talking about several gigabytes.

An example: My Olympus E-M1 camera has a software update tool on my desktop computer. When I plug in my camera, it checks for updates and updates the camera. Those good people in gigabyte Japan who designed the app, probably did not anticipate people with 2Mb/s internet connections, and the silly application timeouts about half way loading an update when the download has not been completed in 30 seconds.

This is horribly bad software design but illustrates the problem. If and when some of us will be left far, far behind from the expected level, all sorts of problems start to appear as other bad software designers will not anticipate connection speeds from 1990's anymore.

Another example: I have a nice 4K telly. Except that I have not seen 4K content yet. There is no way I can stream it, and I have not found an alternative distribution channel. HD quality movies I can still buy on blurays, but I doubt there will be such a mechanism for 4K content anymore, and definitely for what comes beyond that.

If we still have our two meg ADSLs in 2020's, we will be talking about serious everyday problems. If in 2025 we are not in 100mb/s+ club, those on the slow lane can pretty much forget about TV and entertainment.

No, we are not talking about human rights and basic sustenance here. But it is right to keep making noise about this as it will be more than just a minor unhappiness in a couple of years' time.

H

Edited by deleted (Wed 22-Mar-17 11:55:11)

In reply to a post by hvis42:

I don't think we seriously consider a fast internet connection a human right, comparable to human rights conventions.

Having said that, it is not quite luxury either anymore.

Yes, it is definitely possible to live without any kind of internet connection. Some people choose to do so. However, as information in general, be it fact or fiction or in the case of USA, alternate facts, is rapidly moving to the internet. Whatever current plans this country has, we do not expect to have a fast connection to everyone by 2025, which is 8 years from now. In these eight years, traditional, broadcast TV will decline. At some point content providers will start scrapping "standard" resolution as keeping up different versions cost money and having them might not bring more business anymore in the future.

Then there is the scary internet of things, which means all sorts of household appliances need to update their software to prevent our nasty neighbours from turning our heating on or off, or turning the contents of our freezers into green goo. These updates are now tens or hundreds of megabytes. As memory gets cheaper and more abundant and software gets more bloated, these will grow in size. I wouldn't be surprised if we were talking about several gigabytes.

An example: My Olympus E-M1 camera has a software update tool on my desktop computer. When I plug in my camera, it checks for updates and updates the camera. Those good people in gigabyte Japan who designed the app, probably did not anticipate people with 2Mb/s internet connections, and the silly application timeouts about half way loading an update when the download has not been completed in 30 seconds.

This is horribly bad software design but illustrates the problem. If and when some of us will be left far, far behind from the expected level, all sorts of problems start to appear as other bad software designers will not anticipate connection speeds from 1990's anymore.

Another example: I have a nice 4K telly. Except that I have not seen 4K content yet. There is no way I can stream it, and I have not found an alternative distribution channel. HD quality movies I can still buy on blurays, but I doubt there will be such a mechanism for 4K content anymore, and definitely for what comes beyond that.

If we still have our two meg ADSLs in 2020's, we will be talking about serious everyday problems. If in 2025 we are not in 100mb/s+ club, those on the slow lane can pretty much forget about TV and entertainment.

No, we are not talking about human rights and basic sustenance here. But it is right to keep making noise about this as it will be more than just a minor unhappiness in a couple of years' time.

H

Well said hvis42 I agree with you

That's surprising.

Well said. A very constructive and fair reply. We need more of these on this forum.

Yes - I'd echo what Andrew says, 4G may be a solution.

For example - I'm on a 2.5 Mbps download / 0.3 Mbps upload ADSL (not even ADSL2+) connection, on a long EO (Exchange-Only) line, in a rural area, with little to no chance of ever getting FTTC or FTTP.

Also - I can't even get a 4G signal on my phone (and 3G is very poor too).

However - using a special 4G router, there's one location in 1 window upstairs that I can get 1 bar of 4G signal, as the external antennae for the router are much more sensitive than in a smartphone. I've also got an external omni-directional antenna, in case I need it.

I use EE - check your coverage to see if you can get 4G in your area: EE Coverage Checker

If you can get coverage - then check out the Data SIM-only plans: EE Data SIM-only Plans
I've got the 32Gb rolling 30-day plan, it was on special offer recently at half price (£14.50 per month), keep an eye out (via the EE website and also HotUKDeals.com) as they often do similar deals every few months. And if 32Gb data per month isn't enough, there are 50Gb, 64Gb or 100Gb options available, although expensive (unless on special offer).

And if you can't get coverage with EE - then maybe you can with Three, O2 or Vodafone (or one of the networks based on these) - just get a trial SIM and put some credit on it to try it out.

The router I use is: TP-Link Archer MR200
External Antenna: Solwise External Omni-Directional 4G Antenna (I haven't actually needed to use this yet, but will try it when the weather improves, and install it if it boosts my 4G signal strength).

As the 4G router is upstairs, I use Powerline adapters to "pipe" the connection via Ethernet & WiFi to other parts of the house.

I get, on average, 20 Mbps downstream (sometimes more) and 10 Mbps upstream speeds, much better than my ADSL.

I still use my slow PlusNet ADSL connection too, as this has unlimited data cap, so the 4G doesn't replace it, just acts as a "turbo speed booster" for when I really need it - in your case, you could use a 4G connection to upload your YouTube videos, for example.

Good luck anyway - maybe 4G will be a viable option for you, at least for now until / unless you eventually get a fibre-based fixed line solution.

I do agree with everyone else though - I don't think broadband is a Human Right, it's more a "nice-to-have" utility (a bit like mains gas - where I am, there's no mains gas, we do have water & electricity though!!).

Water and shelter & warmth & food are human rights.

Like you, I'd love a much better fixed-line broadband - but I doubt I'll ever get that (maybe it will improve in the next 10 years, things can change), so it's worth exploring other options. I'm self-employed and run a business from home (although have to supplement it with extra part-time employment), so I'm well-aware of the frustration that slow internet connections can cause. People in our situation will just have to be patient!

I hope this helps a bit.

Kind regards,

Adam.

In general I agree with you.

Broadband is important to us as a society. Getting faster broadband means we can have an arguably better quality of life - although I suspect a lot would argue that getting TV over broadband is not necessarily an improvement to quality of life

As far as formats go a lot of material is still being broadcast in SD. I think it will be some time before 4K becomes the norm - HD has been around a long time and still hasn't removed the SD transmissions.

If you do want to make use of your 4K TV then the easiest way without fast internet is to buy the new Xbox that has a 4K Blu-Ray player in it and there are some 4K blu-ray movies out there - at the moment it is early days but then there aren't that many 4K films available on the streaming movie services (generally people like Amazon and Netflix are doing 4K for their own TV series rather than much in the way of movies).

At present you can do pretty much all the basic internet stuff on a relatively slow link (say the 9/0.9 that started this discussion). There are of course things that need faster but they have a limited increase in quality of life over what could already be done at that speed. Does watching a TV programme in HD or 4K significantly improve quality of life over watching it in SD?

So, yes. We should be pushing for faster broadband. But we should keep perspective on what that really means.

If the USO as was originally planned delivers then 10 Mbps should be the minimum connection speed in the early 2020's and the plan did include an escalator provision so it can be ramped up if/when basic needs are not being met.

The question is if 95% are in the 100 Mbps club and 1% are in the 10 Mbps club is that a critical infrastructure problem? Others are in a middle ground with things like 4G and VDSL2 type speeds of 25 to 40 Mbps

We can adopt the German model of �100bn towards broadband, but you happy to pay for that via tax rises?

I see the smiley but superfast broadband is highly suspect as a human right. Getting 9/0.9 pretty much meets all the requirements of something that could be remotely considered a "human right". Anything above that is I think well beyond what could be considered a human right (assuming that Internet at all is considered a human right considering the number of people I keep seeing on the news that are starving in various war zones - not sure they would consider someone in the UK getting faster Internet as a human right).

I know you were being tongue in cheek but there are many who argue that Internet is a human right and I don't buy it that people need superfast as a basic right rather than as a luxury/business opportunity.

Thank you, my thoughts entirely.

You make moving sound easy, when its not,

Well I've very recently done it, and I took time to find somewhere where the internet available to me would be suitable.

you see games over 60GB in size and that to me takes over a day to download.

So what do you do about those desperate for your philanthropic 'YouTube channel' whilst you spend all day downloading a game ??

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

you see games over 60GB in size and that to me takes over a day to download.

So what do you do about those desperate for your philanthropic 'YouTube channel' whilst you spend all day downloading a game ??

Well if I had atleast 10Mbps Upload I could interact with them as I have over 1700 subscribers plus when I am downloading a game my internet cramps too, so basically I am left to do nothing because I cannot communicate with this bare minimum of a internet you seem to say is okay to have, you even state you have better internet and not everyone can just up and leave their house and move elsewhere.

Edited by deleted (Wed 22-Mar-17 14:19:22)

If we still have our two meg ADSLs in 2020's, we will be talking about serious everyday problems.

Like being unable to update your camera software, or that your fridge can't tell you it's running low on fromage frais ?

People have, can, and do live without the internet.

If in 2025 we are not in 100mb/s+ club, those on the slow lane can pretty much forget about TV and entertainment.

What about freeview, what about purchasing a DVD or Blu-ray disc, what about live music, or CD's, what about dining out, or going to the pub to talk to real people, sports, enjoying ones family and friends (sans FaceAche), etc, etc, etc.

I am well steeped in the internet, having been working in its provision and repair since the infancy of DSL. I know very well how it can ease and facilitate life, I have seen how the need for increased speeds is driving things on. I'm 'all for it', I really am. But what riles me is folk whinging on like it's a life or death situation, (claiming it's a 'human right' ???? Grow up) and then still not prepared to do diddly squat about resolving the situation themselves. The OP has nine meg for Pete's sake, probably found the very cheapest provider they can, want's the earth, doesn't want to pay for it though. Happy to come and moan about it though.

[rant over]

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

If we still have our two meg ADSLs in 2020's, we will be talking about serious everyday problems.

Like being unable to update your camera software, or that your fridge can't tell you it's running low on fromage frais ?

People have, can, and do live without the internet.

If in 2025 we are not in 100mb/s+ club, those on the slow lane can pretty much forget about TV and entertainment.

What about freeview, what about purchasing a DVD or Blu-ray disc, what about live music, or CD's, what about dining out, or going to the pub to talk to real people, sports, enjoying ones family and friends (sans FaceAche), etc, etc, etc.

I am well steeped in the internet, having been working in its provision and repair since the infancy of DSL. I know very well how it can ease and facilitate life, I have seen how the need for increased speeds is driving things on. I'm 'all for it', I really am. But what riles me is folk whinging on like it's a life or death situation, (claiming it's a 'human right' ???? Grow up) and then still not prepared to do diddly squat about resolving the situation themselves. The OP has nine meg for Pete's sake, probably found the very cheapest provider they can, want's the earth, doesn't want to pay for it though. Happy to come and moan about it though.

[rant over]

Oh yeah btw I never put the words "Human Right" I was just stating by now being it 2017 we all have the right for better internet speeds, "right" and "human right" are 2 separate things.

I cannot communicate

You could speak to them face to face, ring them, send a letter, use semaphore, contemporary dance .....

so basically I am left to do nothing

Because uploading YouTube videos is your raison d'�tre ?

There is literally nothing else you can do ?That is very sad indeed.

By the sound of that you could simply run much better with a second line then, no need to bother with the fanciness of bonding. The current one dedicated to uploading and downloading and the new one for private use, including communication with subscribers.

There are some very enticing offers around for new connections. Including cashback either from the ISP or via Quidco or TopCashBack and often other incentives as well. Simply migrate at the end of the deal to another offer, or get a good retention deal.

Or is whinging all you want to do? You don't seem to want to actually do anything to surmount your difficulties.

No you didn't, but others supporting your side of the discussion in this thread did.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

I cannot communicate

You could speak to them face to face, ring them, send a letter, use semaphore, contemporary dance .....

so basically I am left to do nothing

Because uploading YouTube videos is your raison d'�tre ?

There is literally nothing else you can do ?That is very sad indeed.

You are a rude person, you do not know my conditions, people like you think they know everything and do everything they can to put others down, I hate people like that, we need more positive people in life who uplift people not people like you who like to take things out of context and pull them down.

Edited by deleted (Wed 22-Mar-17 14:32:28)

I do not see the reason to use any tax money on this. Spending tax money creates always a controversy as people start asking questions about priorities. Sometimes rightly so.

If I were the supreme dictator, I would solve the funding gap by increasing Openreach part of our line rentals. The asinine decision to cap it and actually force them to decrease it over the years prevents the natural mechanism of funding network upgrades: get the money from customers. I just got a £1,50 "line rental" price increase from Sky, and not a penny of this money goes to infrastructure building.

Yes, a monopoly needs supervision and a watchdog to make sure prices are not unfair. But it does not feel fair either that I have funded in my line rentals network upgrades in "easy to upgrade" parts of the country, and when it would now be time to upgrade my connection, the others are not willing to chip in. If and when our wired (copper, fibre, coax, whatever) infrastructure cannot be upgraded to acceptable levels - and kept on an acceptable level also in the future - with the funding created by current line rental charges, then it is fair to say the line rental charge is too small.

If the poor do not have money to get a telephone line and the very basic internet connection if connection prices were increased to a more sustainable level, maybe we should use some tax money to give more money to the poor instead in a form of a subsidised connection. This would pass the political apparatus much easier than a decision to use taxpayers' money to build networks. Whatever this increase would be, most of us would not notice it anyway.

Just my thought.

H

you do not know my conditions,

Nor you mine. Perhaps you should have stated what these conditions were if you wished those reading to consider them.

people like you think they know everything and do everything they can to put others down, I hate people like that,

You posted on a Public Forum stating your views, I disagreed in some parts.

I agree with much of what you have said here.

You most likely haven't funded others in the commercial rollout. Those investments were done on a ROI - the likelihood is that over time those will actually be paying for other things - possibly even helping to fund those on long lines whose support costs are higher.

The reason to upgrade the easy ones is a short ROI so that the money earned from those helps to pay for the less cost effective areas of the network.

Many people don't want to pay more. In fact many people will go with very bad ISPs to save a couple of quid. Most people do not pay for higher speed packages. Even on the full fibre networks most people will pay for the lowest package available.

Have run two lines here since 2006

Like being unable to update your camera software, or that your fridge can't tell you it's running low on fromage frais ?

People have, can, and do live without the internet.

Yes. As I wrote, some people choose to do so. This is their choice. What I do not want to see is the choice being forced upon people by refusing to offer them a suitable service.

I can easily go to Starbucks and update my camera there. No problem. It is just a minor inconvenience. And by half way decent software design this problem would not be there as there is no reason whatsoever to timeout a connection that seems to be downloading data, albeit slowly.

If the gadget refusing to update itself were my smart meter, heating control, tv or air conditioning, I would be much more limited with my options as the item would not move, and low quality software will be written also in the future. I would not be too surprised if in five years' time it would be next to impossible to buy gadgets that did not have upgradeable software in them.

This is just one example.

How things are now, the gap between "slow" and "fast" connections is growing. There is nothing in the innovation pipeline that would give those who can only get a slow ADSL connection more speed, unless someone (openreach, ISP, government, the household suffering from a bad connection) upgrades the physical connection. in FTTC category, some will be eligible for G.Fast, and those with FTTB/FTTP will have a path to even faster connections. This creates a problem if and when investment mostly focuses on improving the speeds of the masses instead of elevating those left behind to the "standard" level, which in today's technology and OR's chosen strategy would be FTTC with a possibility to upgrade to G.Fast later.

Of course we don't need to care about this and tell those who are seriously unhappy with the service they get that there is no need to worry, some people are happy without internet and stop moaning about first world problems. I just don't see the point of this, as those who feel they have a problem are generally more aware of their situation and complications it causes than those who either do not care or are not suffering from the problem at all.

In my opinion people who complain about USC level speeds in year 2017 do have a valid reason to be unhappy. It is a complicated issue to solve with the current infrastructure pricing and ownership structure, and all sorts of efforts to highlight the issue should be welcomed, not shunned.

H

Edited by deleted (Wed 22-Mar-17 15:07:37)

A Labour government could renationalise BT Group.

That would even things up.

You are a rude person, you do not know my conditions

What are you doing to resolve your problem?

BT and VM are commercial companies rather than charities and use commercial criteria when deciding which areas to serve. If not BT or VM who do you think should pay to provide to provide the infrastructure to enable you tp order a faster connection? Have you considered getting to gether with your neighbours and contributing towards the cost of installing/upgrading equipemt to allow obtain a better connection as others such as myself have done?

Please don't say "the state" should pay. IMO govenment has far more important and critical programmes to fund including the NHS, education and care of the infirm, elderly and disabled than updating internet speeds to allow users to upload videos to YouTube, watch 4K movies on Netflix or Amazon or download games from Steam.

In reply to a post by MCM:

You are a rude person, you do not know my conditions

What are you doing to resolve your problem?

BT and VM are commercial companies rather than charities and use commercial criteria when deciding which areas to serve. If not BT or VM who do you think should pay to provide to provide the infrastructure to enable you tp order a faster connection? Have you considered getting to gether with your neighbours and contributing towards the cost of installing/upgrading equipemt to allow obtain a better connection as others such as myself have done?

Please don't say "the state" should pay. IMO govenment has far more important and critical programmes to fund including the NHS, education and care of the infirm, elderly and disabled than updating internet speeds to allow users to upload videos to YouTube, watch 4K movies on Netflix or Amazon or download games from Steam.

No one around here will pay for the upgrade, VM and Openreach earn billions yet they cannot upgrade us like other people? Why should we the people have to pay for the mess that these Isp's have caused, using a outdated copper structure which isn't ment to carry broadband signals it was ment for carrying phone lines, our area would bring money to Openreach and VM yet they keep skipping us and people around us have better internet.

Okay let me put this straight to you MCM, I myself am Disabled and the internet is really important for me and takes my mind off of the [censored] I have to deal with in real life from people already judging me, from the day I was born I was judged, called a retard and so on and so forth.

I still don't see why it should be a commercial business' responsibility to provide a service any more than them asking you to contribute towards it.

If you read my message earlier, you'd see that a fibre cab is in design and it should be ready later this year.

Okay let me put this straight to you MCM, I myself am Disabled

Please explain why your being disabled means that BT or VM should provide the infrastructure for you to get a faster internet connection? I can see none. As I have already stated both BT and VM are private commercial companies rather than charities and as such use commercial criteria when determining where they should expand and/or upgrade their networks.

I was one of 75 properties on EO lines in London (SW9, south of the river) getting slower connection speeds than yourself. Like yourself we were frustrated and decided we had to do something. We approached both BT and Hyperoptic, VM not giving a damn despite passing our properties. After two years on and off negotiations with BT we stumped up a little under £19K between us to gap fund improvements. As a result all who want them are now able to get 70+/20 FTTC connections although some have opted for 55/10 and some even 40/2. We had a choice, do nothing and moan or do something and get something we wanted and many needed. We chose to fund raise. Not easy but like yourself we were dissatisfied with our internet connections.

Well said MCM.

The most practical thing you can do immediately is look in to getting a second line as others have suggested. You can either have them set to be line bonded giving you double the speed, or load balanced so as when you use your other programs while uploading the connection wont be maxed out.

I'm not fully familiar with youtube's uploading function but sometimes when uploading or downloading there can be programs that you get set how much of the bandwidth they use. So you could set it as a low priority.. so it'll upload but just take longer.. but least you'll still be able to do things.

As for getting superfast broadband, well I can understand the feeling of being left behind in these mattters. But as others have pointed out the ISP's, BT/OR, VM are private companies.. money talks and they won't do things for nothing. So the best you can do is contact your local councillar and get them to push it up the agenda. This might involve some community level action. If there is enough demand in an area then all the companies will branch out and try and cover the area. thats capitalism!

In reply to a post by FastInternetPlz:

9Mbps Download and 0.9 Upload its virtually borderline in this day and age, because file sizes are not small and it takes me forever to Upload a Video to my channel.

Please can I have your 9mb ADSL line?
You can have my FTTC line, it's a rock solid 4mb

I have been following this forum for about two years now. This is not the first, nor probably the last occasion, where someone complains about lack of fibre infrastructure, and you respond somewhat aggressively "what are you going to do? State should not pay for it as in my opinion their priorities should be elsewhere. We ran a community project. You should do so as well and stop complaining".

There are a couple of aspects here.

People who complain here are usually new to this forum. They may not be aware of related technology, nor the challenges that are involved in providing a faster broadband to their homes. They also may not be aware of possibilities.

We reading the forum do not know anything about an individual case. There are no "one size fits all" -solutions. A community project is an excellent way of solving this if there is a community that can chip in. There are many reasons, though, why a community project is not a viable solution. Someone might not have the financial means of contributing anything. I have never found it too helpful to ask the poor to solve their problems by just not being so poor. Others might live in areas where a community does not exist. An isolated house might not have enough neighbours to support a FTTC cabinet. In urban areas, there are buildings that are alone with the problem as their neighbours have either FTTC, Virgin or a niche fibre provider, which means there would not be a community of 75 homes anywhere nearby. There can also be many short and medium term tenants (0-2 years) around who would not be interested in funding a solution that would cost them money but provide the benefit only after they have moved away. We can also encounter people who have physical, mental or other limitations to be the wandering community project champions in their neighbourhood. We just don't know.

I do not think this forum should convey repeatedly a message that only original poster's laziness and parsimony are in the way of a better internet service. This in most cases is off the mark, and usually a heated and utterly pointless discussion follows.

There is also no reason, why "state should spend money to upgrade our infrastructure" is a less valid statement than "state should spend money on better healthcare". This is just a matter of personal opinion, political viewpoint or something in between, which sort of means the request does not become invalid just because we want to fund NHS instead. In many, many countries state actually does invest in communications infrastructure, and it does so in this country as well. The question of how much and where to spend, is very much a question to politicians.

Which leads me to the suggestion I would like to make.

Your experience in running a community project is invaluable, as not many others frequenting this forum have done so successfully. For anybody considering this route, the practical information and hands on experience is useful. Many are probably completely unaware of this possibility and the fact that it does not cost that much if there is a community of a moderate size. Others have successfully influenced local politicians. Even the government seems to be sort of listening now. I may have found a way to get Hyperoptic to our building that would be far too small for them, and can share if this goes nicely.

Should we collect a sticky FAQ of some kind, to gather all success and failure stories together? This could be the starting point for newbies who come here to look for information instead of hot air? People on this forum seem to be immensely knowledgeable, but this particular topic seems to generate mostly useless noise.

Finally let me apologise for this finger pointing. It is not your fault or anyone else's. If we had a FAQ, we could assume posters complaining about this would have read it. We could in the FAQ include a "please share with us this information about your situation and neighbourhood" -section to help us consider what would be the viable paths to follow in that particular case.

Just my thought.

H

Edited by deleted (Thu 23-Mar-17 10:54:06)

In reply to a post by burble:

In reply to a post by FastInternetPlz:

9Mbps Download and 0.9 Upload its virtually borderline in this day and age, because file sizes are not small and it takes me forever to Upload a Video to my channel.

Please can I have your 9mb ADSL line?
You can have my FTTC line, it's a rock solid 4mb

I was about to post the same thing, but you trumped me as I have a scorchingly fast connection at 5Mb/s.

My sister is lucky to reach 1Mb/s.

Should we collect a sticky FAQ of some kind,

I posted quite extensive details here at the time as to what was involved in our community funded project and our experiences. My post lasted barely two months before it disappeared/expired/was removed.

In reply to a post by MCM:

Should we collect a sticky FAQ of some kind,

I posted quite extensive details here at the time as to what was involved in our community funded project and our experiences. My post lasted barely two months before it disappeared/expired/was removed.

Can someone perform a Lazarus on this?
I would be most interested to discover a practical plan for my area, even though there is absolutely no community spirit where I live, self interest may rule supreme.

In reply to a post by MCM:

My post lasted barely two months before it disappeared/expired/was removed.

Can you remember the Subject?

I found this post which seems to be an early resume of what you were considering.

http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fibre/f/4252807-eo-...

Thank you for digging up that post.

Residents chose to go with BT at our AGM in November 2014 and after further negotiation with BT I signed the contract on behalf of the residents in late March 2015. Our AIO cab was stood in December 2015 after Lambeth had objected to its original location. Lambeth then caused a further delay by serving a section 58 notice and the actual network rearrangement and installation of the fibre didn't occur until Jul-Aug 2016. We finally went live in September 2016. Final cost was a little under £250 per property inc. VAT.

long process and it can be tricky but there are people who can help !!!! re community numbers you don't need many people but you need enough of the right kind of people (people who are tenacious & pragmatic and want to help the community to get to better place (whatever that community is -- it might be 3 - 4 people in a cul de sac to 350 in an estate or any point in between