We're not included in FTTP because of cost (32k)

Hi,

I recently made a post about the likelihood of getting Fibre FTTP as part of the rollout in the UK to our home on this thread which is worth a read first.

Last week I had a phone call from someone at Openreach saying that they've recently surveyed our area and that there's no existing underground ducting to lay Fibre, and that the original copper network is laid direct in ground.

They've told me that it's £100 per metre that they'd have to likely dig/trench and that they'd have to lay 350m for our property/street costing upwards of £32,000.

Because of this, we're not part of any upcoming plans for FTTP.

So does this effectively write off our street forever? If this means they won't install it, the copper network will just eventually die completely given it's age and then stop working all together thus creating some kind of legal obligation to reconnect us and then dig up the street?

So much for the UK funding areas with poor connectivity, seems like £32,000 for some 30 properties is too much?

Might not be forever, but Openreach would likely prioritise their spending on other...well cheaper builds, if they can get more bang for the buck elsewhere. They could spend £32K cabling your 30 properties or spend the same amount cabling 100 properties elsewhere, for argument sake. If they get the same take-up percentage then the latter is obviously a more commercially appealing proposition to them.

There is still a long way to go for them - they will likely be building out their FTTP network up to (and more likely beyond) 2030, so much could still change in terms of build priorities or other sources of funding that may make it commercially viable (sooner).

Have you and your neighbours applied for the Gigabit Voucher Scheme?

Post deleted by GonePostal

The bad news is that the USO requires a download speed of at least 10MBps (https://www.bt.com/broadband/USO) so your download of 20MBps quoted in your other thread means that any legal requirement to bring a broadband connection to your property has already been met. You may be able to better your existing download speed using the mobile telephone signal or something like Starlink but you have no claim for extra funding within the terms of the USO.

One thing you don't say is who triggered the survey by Openreach, was it part of an Openreach commercial rollout or via a government funded BDUK Project Gigabit rollout?

Edited by PCJM40 (Sat 16-Nov-24 22:51:56)

I suspect(99.99% sure) your postcode is gigabit white, on the project gigabit spreadsheets. Can you please say with county you are in as we can find out whom has been awarded the contract for your area.

In reply to a post by Taras:

I suspect(99.99% sure) your postcode is gigabit white, on the project gigabit spreadsheets. Can you please say with county you are in as we can find out whom has been awarded the contract for your area.

If the recent survey was for an Openreach commercial rollout surely the property wouldn't be defined as white in the government Project Gigabit OMR and would also be excluded from government funding for at least 18 months.

In reply to a post by PCJM40:

One thing you don't say is who triggered the survey by Openreach, was it part of an Openreach commercial rollout or via a government funded BDUK Project Gigabit rollout?

Project gigabit wouldn't do that. Also if one property in a postcode area is not in any one's plans that whole post code is either under review or gigabit white. As OR has said all 30 properties are DIG, its kinda pointless going to urpn level!

In reply to a post by Taras:

Project gigabit wouldn't do that.

I've seen properties included in a BDUK rollout then excluded once they get to survey.