FTTP - What else can I do to get information?

I live in Kesgrave in Suffolk (just outside Ipswich) and currently receive FTTC at just shy of 20 mbps. I looked into my options for improving my connection a few times in recent years, including a Community Fibre Partnership and FTTP On Demand (£10,000 was the quote back from Cerberus after survey).

Last week I noticed a large number of Openreach vans a few hundred metres from my house and after some investigation discovered that OR are installing FTTP to a decent-sized area of houses which ends about 100m from my home. According to OR's Fibre Checker there are no plans to install fibre at my address, which was not a shock. I then emailed a query to OR and received the same response, with the helpful extra that I should start up a CFP. I replied acknowledging there are no plans but could I at least be given an approximate year of when OR may install fibre in my area and have not had a response. This is all the more galling with the work literally going on round the corner whilst I write this.

I've also emailed Better Broadband for Suffolk via their online query portal and received no response. According to Better Broadband for Suffolk's website, our house is in line to potentially receive FTTP as part of Phase 3 of their broadband rollout (as we are below 24 mbps) but there is absolutely no information on if or when this may happen. There are some 17,000 properties potentially covered by phase 3 and they admit they will target businesses and those with no fibre at all as priorities so I'm not holiding my breath.

CityFibre have recently embarked on an install of fibre within Ipswich, however I strongly doubt this will include Kesgrave and the little information I have been able to get from them supports that theory.

Much as I haven't completely thrown away the idea of embarking on a CFP, based on the amount of work involved I would like to get the clearest picture I can of what may happen in my area in the next couple of years before I take on work myself. To that end, is anybody able to provide any guidance or asistance on how I may be able to get a longer-term view from Openreach, such as other contacts or suchlike?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

While there will be some planner somewhere who has done a broad stroke analysis e.g. the 20 million FTTP ambition this will not have been planned to the individual premises level.

They may have an idea for the phase 3 BDUK roll-out, but best you will usually get is in or out of scope rather than a month or year.

Projects did at one time give more info on timelines, but due to the angry people when dates passed and services had not appeared for various reasons the tendency is now to hold plans internally and not release them.

At a guess the the homes that are seeing FTTP were built in last 20 years

Thanks for the reply. Funnily enough our house was built in 2003 as part of an approx 60 house development. We are as much as ten years newer than the area now getting the fibre. We are on the edge of a large estate and at the time of the build BT apparently decided to connect up the new houses to a cabinet (over 1km away) and wiring which is not part of the estate we are next to but rather up the road in an existing lane.

I fear we will end up in a black hole where although we have pretty rubbish FTTC it will mean we are forgotten about as we have 'superfast' by OR's broad definition. Having the work going on next to us now is really frustrating.

You say "will mean we are forgotten about as we have 'superfast' by OR's broad definition" what speeds does www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/ indicate for VDSL (two sets of figures, post both)

Here you go: BT Broadband Wholesale Checker Result.

Really really stretching it if best case scenario speed was taken to exclude you from any work, if your postcode is showing as in Phase 3 when they've told Suffolk CC that they don't think you are superfast currently.

Issue with phase 3 is pace of build and whether they will get to everyone in scope in the timeframe and budget.

Couple of things I got wrong with Better Broadband for Suffolk, their Phase 3 plan covers all properties with less than 30 mbps (not 24 as I stated previously) and they are apparently prioritising those with less than 15 mbps. We are covered by this phase, but as there is no timescale on it at all it's a bit pie in the sky at the moment.

I also forgot to mention that the area next to us which is now having OR fibre installed already has speeds ranging from about 45 - 80 mbps due to their cabinet location. Hence my frustration with how these things get planned and implemented. I appreciate I'm not alone in that but I'm still keen to do what I can.

I guess there is no harm in setting up a CFP and seeing how it goes. Does anyone have any experience of whether these make a difference to general local planning, good or bad?

Not seen any observable pattern where CFP encourages a wider roll-out.

I was more considering whether a CFP would give Openreach pause, but I see no harm in trying it and see what the response is.

I'm also trying to get some further information from Better Broadband for Suffolk on their phase 3 plans, they have been responsive in the past but not at the moment it seems.

In reply to a post by CJ18:

I'm also trying to get some further information from Better Broadband for Suffolk on their phase 3 plans, they have been responsive in the past but not at the moment it seems.

Some counties have temporarily redeployed their BDUK teams over the past few months due to covid.