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We’ve been trying to get Gigaclear to connect us since April. They eventually did a survey, they need to run the cable through some woodland but said it would only be a 6” deep trench. We had 3 sets of workmen turn up last week to connect us but now they are saying it’s going to cost £20,000 - £30,000. I thought they had funding of millions to connect rural residents? There is absolutely no way we can afford this and they are the only provider in the area. We currently have BT copper cabling and speed of 5 download on a good day, upload is usually 0.5.
Is there some sort of funding we need to apply for?
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Millions in funding doesn't go far if it costs £30K to connect customers. They will have an amount set aside per customer but over that they would need the customer to pay towards the costs. Sounds like yours is a particularly difficult one to run. There isn't any significant funding you could apply for that would make up for that amount of costs.
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they need to run the cable through some woodland but said it would only be a 6” deep trench. We had 3 sets of workmen turn up last week to connect us but now they are saying it’s going to cost £20,000 - £30,000. I suspect there is other important information missing from your post (may be you are unaware of) that is the cause of the connection costs being so high. These costs are more than a few hundred metres of trench and ducting in soft ground. What part of the UK are you in and do you have more info than you have currently provided to account for these costs?
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I'd look at Starlink instead, currently on offer for £199 for a refurbished unit.
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I think it's about 300m. They said they would have to get a longer cable, also that they could use the BT route into the building - but both options are coming up the same cost. We are just outside Stroud in Gloucestershire. Apparently Gigaclear have the contract for this area - does that mean we can't try with any other fibre providers? The roads either side have fibre, they said there is a terminal with 6 connection points ready to connect just at the top of the hill directly opposite the building. They did a survey and had said it wouldn't be a problem, even went as far as sending two teams to start the work and a team to 'blow' the cable through. I just think it's weird that they did a sudden u-turn after doing the survey and that any residential property would be charged that much.
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We are in a valley with woodland on one side, I've downloaded the app and tested the range, we've got about a quarter of the view coming up blue I'm not sure that's enough visibility. Three quarters of the space is obstructed. Also, our flat is in a grade 1 listed building and can't have satellite dishes visible, which makes it even trickier. There is absolutely no mobile reception here either.
I need to be able to do video calls for work now so this is getting worrying. I run meditations and teach so it's not suitable to sit in a cafe for that. Any further ideas would be welcome! I'm actually considering getting starlink and a battery pack and driving out in my car! I'm self employed and can't afford to hire an office or space at the moment.
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Any provider can deliver anywhere. However, a provider is not going to come into your area to deliver to a single address as there is a lot of infrastructure to install (£30K is peanuts compared to the costs of all the infrastructure) - so unless other providers have plans in the area you are out of luck.
Gigaclear do have a contract with the local authority to deliver but that is not exclusive - other providers can do what they want - although it may not be all that attractive to them.
As far as the charge, I think some people have been quoted 10 times as much for installation by providers depending on how complex the install is.
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How is the mobile coverage - have you checked all mobile providers to see if any of them can give a decent signal. Unlimited data on most mobile providers is relatively low cost these days.
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That is very interesting, thank you for taking the time to reply. It is a single address, we have a very small flat inside a bigger building we look after so there are no other residential addresses here. We moved in 8 years ago and were told by BT that we would be able to get a certain speed but that never happened despite all these years of promises of improvement. When fibre went in locally earlier this year we thought we'd finally be in luck! I've half a mind to get a shovel and dig the trench myself lol
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No coverage at all with any providers unfortunately. BT tried to set us up with a box for that but we can't get any signal here as the building is in a narrow valley.
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Have you spoken to Gigaclear about what the cost would be if you dug the trench (assuming you would have permission to dig the trench across the land)? If you could dig the trench and lay suitable ducting then they may well significantly reduce the cost - but you would still need to pay for the ducting itself and would need permission to put the duct across the land. Some providers will work with individuals around this sort of option to reduce costs.
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Seems you are in a geographic location that is going to make most options expensive.
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I hadn't thought of that, I'll see what they say. If I'd known it would be this difficult, and that I'd need faster speeds to run a business because everything is video content or Live feed these days.. oh and that absolutely everything in a home would run off wifi in the near future... I think we would have definitely moved elsewhere! It's a nightmare!
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If the OP only gets 5/0.5 currently, has no alternative provider, no mobile signal and poor satellite coverage with planning restrictions, isn't this USO territory? I'm no expert on this, have no experience of USO claims, but maybe someone more knowledgeable could comment?
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The USO has a build cost cap which this far exceeds
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Yes, but the quote is from Gigaclear, who are doing a new build. BT already supply the premises, and might be able to do something cheaper. Prob. not full fibre but something a bit better than the existing service. I wouldn't be very hopeful, but it might at least be worth asking. If nothing else, the USO process should come up with a list of alternative options.
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I'm guessing from the information you have given that you are at 'the mansion' and it looks like a wonderful place to live. Albeit one that no provider is going to cover their costs even with government subsidy serving you. I would be looking at ground mounted Starlink for the short to medium term. Eventually BT as the nations flag carrier will want to have a nationwide network but eventually is a long time.
Things were better under Labour.
Edited by FibreBubble (Mon 27-Nov-23 20:40:25)
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I'd look at Starlink instead, currently on offer for £199 for a refurbished unit.
Indeed, many moons ago, a work colleague of mine who live somewhere on Dartmoor had to go to satellite internet.
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Bear in mind that the landowner of the surrounding land (if it's the location I'm thinking of then the National Trust?) will likely want a payment of £3.90 per metre in exchange for giving you permission to lay the ducting.
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That's very helpful, thank you. I was hoping someone might have an answer other than what I've already looked into.
I was asking about a space to hire in the town and they said they've been told there's no chance of getting fibre there and they said they 'lease a line' and it's very fast. What's that about?
Starlink mounted outside gives the same problems with it being grade 1 listed - with the added issue that there is a constant stream of dog walkers/ joggers etc and no private outside space to mount it. I suspect I'll be saving up to get Starlink and a Jackery type unit and keep it in the car 🙈 Until I can hire a room to teach from. I need to do 3-4 Live sessions a week which is about 6 hours plus uploading videos, this cost adds up quickly at the room hire rate of £15 an hour minimum. I can't ask friends to accommodate me for this amount of time every week. There are some local village halls that are actually cheaper than hiring a hot desk or meeting room, I'll see what I can find.
Anyone have a spare campervan?! That would be ideal 😅
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I'm going to look into this, thank you 🙂
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Leased lines can be delivered to most places regardless of other technologies. It is a dedicated connection just for you. But, if you think what you have been quoted by Gigaclear is high then you might get a nasty surprise down the leased line route - it will likely be the same or more for install costs and monthly costs would be much higher. Lease lines are a full business solution and charged as such.
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Yes, but the quote is from Gigaclear, who are doing a new build. BT already supply the premises, and might be able to do something cheaper. Prob. not full fibre but something a bit better than the existing service. I wouldn't be very hopeful, but it might at least be worth asking. If nothing else, the USO process should come up with a list of alternative options. USO will either be fibre with likely large extra costs or mobile (EE) which they don't have a signal. Not aware that OpenReach really do anything else as options for USO - there was hope when it was first announced that it would be a magic bullet for many people but unfortunately they aren't really any better off than they were without the USO.
Edited by ian72 (Tue 28-Nov-23 08:58:06)
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Probably a long shot but if you're in line of sight of somewhere or very a cooperative someone that can get a half decent connection (whether that be 4g/5g or Gigaclear), is a point to point WiFi network/bridge an option? No experience with these but some of them claim to reach 1km and are smaller that a sat dish.
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She's in a Grade I listed buiding which limits things ..
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Hi, can you try https://bidb.uk/
it gives the local road works related to fttp and also mobile coverage.. Both EE and 3 have quite good coverage, but its glos and i know how hills can kill mobile signals..
Once you know if you have some or good coverage cellmaper and a payasyou go sim will be point of testing
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Thanks - we are in a narrow steep valley, literally a single road track with hills and trees both sides - I can't see much sky from here - and we have zero mobile signal.
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please do check what i've suggested - it takes 3 minutes to check all four networks via that site ......
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Thank you for this - it's all worth a try! They are all coming up as outdoor only, if there is mobile service. Two bars on the outdoor ones. I'm with EE and cannot get any signal until I drive 1.5 miles up the track, but it says outdoor and my partner is with O2 and it's the same for him. I can see there is a big blackout patch that covers the route of the track to the house, the postcode puts us just on the border line of that but I know the property is centrally placed in it as we are at the bottom of that track, not to the side.
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Interestingly, it says Gigaclear is the only provider anywhere near AND that it's live at my location (only one property here) and it's definitely not. It does also show the two points either side that they were going to run cables from.
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Stroud?
There must be some cheap business start-up places there already connected to fast broadband that are cheaply available as an incubator.
There MUST be!
Or else a community resource that's connected.
Ask Stroud District Council or the Town Council what they know. It wouldn't be ideal, but £30,000 buys a lot of "not ideal".
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what happens if you try a manual network selection on your phone rather than the default automatic one (don't worry, you can switch back to auto and it won't break your phone)..
I would like to see what networks come up. Try a couple of positions in your house/flat.
If you are wondering what i'm trying to get for you is internet in the region of 10 to 40mbits down and 5plus up (which will allow you to upload videos and do zoom).
That way it can tide you over till you get something decent (which may take a while).
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I'd look at Starlink instead, currently on offer for £199 for a refurbished unit.
I'd definatly look into Starlink, there might be issues due to the steep narrow valley which would need checking, that aside it wouldn't be the first Grade I building with Starlink.
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I'd look at Starlink instead, currently on offer for £199 for a refurbished unit.
I'd definatly look into Starlink, there might be issues due to the steep narrow valley which would need checking, that aside it wouldn't be the first Grade I building with Starlink.
satellite may be the only way forward. want to discount voda and 3 from the situation. I'm in a mini slope in a single storey house so I understand how frustrating it is and to get a decent signal. I dismissed three for ages and it was only thru a number of tests then i realised it may work and I currently faster internet then with vdsl whilst i wait for OR or wessex internet to do their thing.
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It also doesn't have to be attached to the building - the antenna could be secreted in a corner of a garden etc. OK - it's a non-standard installation but that's better than no useful internet. Given the location it would seem unlikely that the local neds or crims will take an interest.
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Hi @CassandraRaven - when you started the process, what did the Gigaclear website say? Was it saying that they were available to order in your area? Or just the standard 'we're on our way' message? I can imagine how frustrated you would be if it were the former!
I ask because we also live near Stroud and have the opposite problem... Gigaclear passed our cottage months ago but the website still just says 'we're on our way' and won't let us even try to order.
Hope you get this sorted.
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I ask because we also live near Stroud and have the opposite problem... Gigaclear passed our cottage months ago but the website still just says 'we're on our way' and won't let us even try to order.
Whe you say passed, did Gigaclear provide a Pot on the edge of your property?
Michael Chare
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Whe you say passed, did Gigaclear provide a Pot on the edge of your property?
Excellent question. I was wary of hijacking the OP's post but they passed us without placing a pot. They dug up the road and laid a pot outside every cottage until about four or so houses before ours, stopping about 100 metres away. They then dug up the road and installed a manhole right next to an existing OpenReach manhole. And then literally passed a bunch of houses before digging another trench between two OpenReach poles, installing a Gigaclear manhole at the base of each.
I'm a regular runner and so have observed their work pretty much everywhere else in the area and we're the only stretch of road I've found so far that didn't have pots installed.
Given what they did do, my assumption is that they plan to piggyback on the existing OpenReach ducts and poles (PIA??). But, if so, I have no idea why they decided to only do this for the bunch of cottages near us and nowhere else.
Of note, I randomly entered post codes for houses they installed pots for, and they were pretty much available to order within days of being passed. Whereas we were 'passed' months ago and still no ability to order.
It's all very odd... and hence my question to the OP about whether they were told they could order or if, like us, they still appears as 'we're on the way'.
At further risk of hijacking the thread, I'd love to find a way to figure out what Gigaclear are actually planning - the chat service and call centre know nothing.
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At further risk of hijacking the thread, I'd love to find a way to figure out what Gigaclear are actually planning - the chat service and call centre know nothing.
There could be a Gigaclear project manager who would know. The call centre and contractors working laying cables or joining them together should know who he is.
When Gigaclear was installed where I live 8 years ago. I used to speak/email the project manager to tell him what I wanted, such as where to out the pot.
Michael Chare
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There could be a Gigaclear project manager who would know. The call centre and contractors working laying cables or joining them together should know who he is.
Great idea - I'll try that. Thanks.
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Given what they did do, my assumption is that they plan to piggyback on the existing OpenReach ducts and poles (PIA??). But, if so, I have no idea why they decided to only do this for the bunch of cottages near us and nowhere else.
Could be many reasons. For example, the properties with pots (aka 'toby boxes') could have DIG lead-ins, whilst yours has a proper Openreach duct which Gigaclear are happy to re-use.
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Could be many reasons. For example, the properties with pots (aka 'toby boxes') could have DIG lead-ins, whilst yours has a proper Openreach duct which Gigaclear are happy to re-use.
We're presently served by an Openreach pole and overhead copper wire (the existing ducting is just between the cabinets and poles, etc). And this is true for most of the houses in the area. That's what makes it even weirder on one level: everybody else (who are also presently served by overhead copper) is getting underground fibre, whereas assuming the ten or so houses near us get anything at all it looks like it will be overhead, via the existing OR poles.
To somebody on the ground there's nothing obviously different or more difficult about our part of the lane. And it's not obvious that the Openreach infrastructure is in any way superior to the rest of the area. So it makes me think there's a subtle technical or legal reason that forced them to treat our bit of the lane differently, but I can't figure out what it might be. There is National Trust land on both sides, but the NT open data portal suggests they don't actually own the road itself. So who knows.
Of course, it ultimately doesn't matter what the actual reason is... but I'd still like to know 
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That sounds frustrating! I think they said it was coming soon but it was around the time they were already digging - I think that's what prompted me to contact them. That was back in April and they had been adamant that we would have from then it right up until the second group of workmen actually showed up last week.
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Might have an anwser for you - ours would be crossing NT land whichever side they choose and we were told it would go overhead where it currently is - then I heard that NT won't allow it to go overhead. Perhaps this is our problem!
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Might have an anwser for you - ours would be crossing NT land whichever side they choose and we were told it would go overhead where it currently is - then I heard that NT won't allow it to go overhead. Perhaps this is our problem!
Interesting! (And frustrating).
You've motivated me to try to contact them again.
Out of interest, where in Stroud are you? We're between Minch and Rodborough Commons (on the lane that runs down the back of the Bear if you know it). But I guess there's a lot of NT land all over the place round here.
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I'm over the other side in Nympsfield.
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I'm over the other side in Nympsfield.
Ah yes - the deep/narrow valley description makes sense!
Really hope you manage to find a resolution with them.
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I managed to have a look around where you have mentioned on here, i do understand not wanting to say where, because of privacy - which is understandable. And yes its dire for mobiles.
What may be a solution is point to point wireless from the lower end of the hill so it beams it up the hill to you if i understand the geography., I'm not sure how many others near you would be interested.
it would be cost effective and it may be something that NT would be happier about.
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