Need Fibre connecting

Hi all,

We have a small charity office in the city of Norwich (NR2 postcode) and we are looking to upgrade our connection to Fibre speed.

But many ISPs cannot offer us decent speed, only ADSL speed!

What is the best way to get our link upgraded to Fibre speed if many ISPs says they can't? Who can?

Even a few altnet I have spoken to says it's not covering our area!

Help us to get into 21st century internet ink.

Hi Tony

You're certainly not new to this forum so I'm hoping you already know that if fibre broadband is not available to the building (where the charity resides) its sadly not going to be a simple and straight forward thing to achieve unless the charity wants to spend thousands on getting a bespoke fibre solution.

Before people give you chapter and versus on how to go about getting a bespoke fibre solution can you confirm if the charity has lots of money to spend on this?

In reply to a post by hypertony:

Hi all,

We have a small charity office in the city of Norwich (NR2 postcode) and we are looking to upgrade our connection to Fibre speed.

But many ISPs cannot offer us decent speed, only ADSL speed!

What is the best way to get our link upgraded to Fibre speed if many ISPs says they can't? Who can?

Even a few altnet I have spoken to says it's not covering our area!

Help us to get into 21st century internet ink.

Unfortunately Tony if they say they can't get it to you, then that is indeed the rub.

From a BT / Openreach network perspective, what does the BT Broadband Availability checker report for the address?

Also have a look at Better Internet Dashboard (bidb) to see what other networks are building or in the near vicinity of your office.

FTTP is not available.

The exchange is not in a current fibre priority programme

Guess we're out of luck then...

In reply to a post by PCJM40:

Before people give you chapter and versus on how to go about getting a bespoke fibre solution can you confirm if the charity has lots of money to spend on this?

Not really, we are a small charity.

Some other options....

Virgin Media
They should be in / around that postcode. Worth a double check.

Openreach (BT) FTTP on Demand
There is always the option to request a desktop quote for FTTP on Demand (FTTPoD or just FoD for short) from someone like Cerberus Networks. However the prices will be eye-watering. Wouldn't expect less than £4 to £8K for one-off build charge.

DIA / Leased Circuits
If high-speed internet was definitely a requirement, then it could actually be cheaper to request a DIA / Ethernet leased circuit from a provider, as they can absorb excess construction costs into 3 year contracts. But then you're realistically looking at several hundred pounds per month of recurring charge.

Altnets
I know you said you tried, but depending on budget, alt net and offering they may be more inclined, if it's a business connection, as the higher recurring charges may offset their build costs from wherever they have a network spine.

VM - already checked, not available, just ADSL speed

FFTPoD is available, but like you said, crazy expensive and we're not in the position to pay that much, sadly. Same goes with leased circuit

The only thing that comes close is CityFibre but they're building in North Norwich at the moment (we're mid-south Norwich) so I guess we'll just have to wait a bit longer.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

There seems to be quite a few exchange only postcodes for Norwich. Even though OR says they have completed the main build for the Exchange area they are still building in the Centre.

Hyperoptic
itswisp
fibrenest

Are local according to bidb.uk

and cityfibre is planned

I used nr2 4tp as a reference point - obviously we know everything is postcode dependent. Hopefully Tony can give us a full postcode to play with as its a business (assuming in commercial premiss ). Three has 5G in the area too ..

Hopefully tony can expand on his needs for the charity's internet

In reply to a post by hypertony:

The only thing that comes close is CityFibre but they're building in North Norwich at the moment (we're mid-south Norwich) so I guess we'll just have to wait a bit longer.

From an Altnet perspective I think that’s your best bet, but given the market at the moment it may be a while before they begin construction in your area.

The other Altnet options that @Taras mentions above may also reach you before CF. Worth keeping a regular eye on bidb for any signs of movement there.

Then again Openreach might too as noted. Keep your fingers crossed and check the checkers every few months 🤞

Presumably you have already checked the TBB fibre broadband maps to see if any FTTP provider covers the area?

EDIT: Also, if there is no fibre then StarLink could give a reasonable alternative at a lower cost than lease lines.

Edited by ian72 (Fri 08-Nov-24 08:46:51)

Yes, I have already checked all of them - nothing's available at the moment.

Even Openreach says no availablitity.

Thank you.

I have contacted CityFibre to see what they can do - assuming they're flexible!

Starlink crossed my mind, but hesitated as it’s potentially in a ‘city’ environment, so may have clear sky constraints and possibly in an office / business premises, issues with cabling, siting the dish and wayleaves.

Might be worth exploring if none of those apply.

Edited by Pheasant (Fri 08-Nov-24 09:01:55)

StarLink is an option, but our building is under a maaasive oak tree.

If there’s any position a dish could be sited looking away from the canopy of the oak (usually StarLink receivers orient themselves to face south but point at a high elevation - looks quite flat to the sky).

Cabling distance isn’t a problem. There’s ways to skin that cat pretty easily.

https://www.telecom-tariffs.co.uk/codelook.htm?xid=1...

as much as we know codelook can be out of date sometimes, the amount of adsl only lines is striking. There is OR work in 2025 in Norwich, despite that OR saying they have completed most work in the NR2 area.

I do think Tony needs to do some OR form filling.

In reply to a post by hypertony:

I have contacted CityFibre to see what they can do - assuming they're flexible!

CityFibre are the polar opposite of flexible, they very rarely respond to enquiries with anything other than a copy of what their website checker is reporting.

Yeah I know from other posters in the past and from other background that Norwich did/still does have a ton of EO copper circuits. It was either that, Virgin cable or more recently the gradual creep of Altnet expansion that has offered some alternatives.