I'm pretty certain that there's no FTTP in Mold, (except On Demand), doesn't seem long since they were adding G-fast pods. Maybe that's part of the rationale. Is there G-fast in Hawarden?

Spoke to an OR guy fitting a fibre drop line down the road yesterday and he said you won't be able to order a copper pair service in Flintshire soon. Think he said April next year. They'll need to get a move on if that's the case.

In reply to a post by Rhubarb:

Spoke to an OR guy fitting a fibre drop line down the road yesterday and he said you won't be able to order a copper pair service in Flintshire soon. Think he said April next year. They'll need to get a move on if that's the case.

He's being a bit ambitious there. Not a hope in hells chance of that happening by April 2022.

They are initially targeting the PSTN switch off. That's only for calls over copper with a dial tone.
VOIP over copper and copper broadband services will continue for some time.

The process for stopping to sell all copper services is going to take longer.

That process can only start once an area is 75% covered with FTTP.
Once that target is hit they will start with a "no move back" from FTTP to copper.
Then they will announce a "stop sell" on copper services, but with at least 12 months notice.
This will only affect those that actually have FTTP. Anyone who still has copper only will continue to be able to order FTTC/SOGEA/VOIP over a copper pair.
Even when the 75% target is hit there will be many properties that will be left behind.

They have announced a couple hundred exchanges where this will happen 1st. They are in the 3 articles below.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/05/openre...

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/10/openre...

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/01/openre...

Even for the exchanges listed above the copper "stop sell" will be some time away.
For exchanges not on that list it will be likely be years away.

Edited by j0hn83 (Mon 15-Feb-21 18:29:58)

In reply to a post by j0hn83:

He's being a bit ambitious there...

No doubt. I understood him to say that it'd not be possible to order a new service by then and thinking back I think he probably said April 23 and not next year. I was just asking him about other stuff and it was mentioned in the conversation.

In reply to a post by ceepan:

I live in one of the areas mentioned here https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/07/ofcom-... due to get FTTP over the next 3 years (Article is dated July 2020 so should now be within 2.5 years). Is there any way to check the likely timescale for my area?
Thanks,
Paul

As your link above mentions 'Rural' do check this list about gigabitvouchers. At the beginning of this year I'd also looked at OR to see if and when we might, if ever, get FTTP. Not even a glimmer. And Fibre On demand? Well, some might have big pockets. I don't.

Imagine my surprise when 3 weeks ago a leaflet popped through the door saying FTTP was being installed in the 7 villages around here by a relatively local company. Last week, I saw manholes being lifted with rods being pushed down (yes, in the snow). And today I've come home to find new cables dangling and new terminal boxes have appeared on various poles in a couple of the streets in the village.

So yes, you might find OR doesn't have plans but others might have. As to pricing. they do 120Mb/s (up and down) Unlimited at £29. 500Mb/s (which is what I've gone for) for £39. Its only £4 more than what I currently pay for a FTTC wire. Again same speed up and down, unlimited. 1Gb comes in at £60, which I really could not justify buying even if the thought is something I would love to have.

My brother in Liverpool was supposed to be done before March 2020. They actually put the fibre in before Christmas, and it was not till late January that it actually became available to order. Not that he can actually order it at the moment. So take that build program with a spade full of salt if you ask me.

Where I live in NW London, fibre rollout can be very fast indeed if the OR duct network is used.


Until blocked ducts have to be cleared.

In reply to a post by kitcat:

ceepan

Can't help on timescales but you can track rollout at https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/index.php?tab=...

You are likely to notice when rollout starts in your area as there will be lots of work down manholes or up poles.

You asked how your service is delivered, you would know if it was overhead as you would have a cable from a pole. If no Poles it is underground and you may be able to find where the cable exits the duct and comes up the wall before entering the house. (or even inside the house).

I just checked https://www.roadworksscotland.org/ and can see a few locations around the village with Openreach as the promoter with description like "BLOCKAGE CLEARANCE IN AN EXISTING BT DUCT LINE".

I don't see anywhere on the exterior of the house where the current cable enters the house. The master socket is located in the cupboard under the stairs in the middle of the house. It comes up from under the floor. There are poles close to us but none in our street.

I included Mold since Mold does appear on Openreach lists and also shown on Thinkbroadband mapping.

The whole situation can be a bit confusing to say the least. I live in Hawarden at CH5 3HS 2237 metres from the Hawarden Exchange and my FTTC is from CAB 2 on Park Avenue off Gladstone Way. There is another cabinet, CAB 15 located at the junction of Fieldside and Braeside Avenue. Where we live is about equidistant from both CABS. However CAB 15 also offers G.Fast to nearby property, whereas CAB 2 does not offer G.Fast to Park Avenue properties.

Looking at https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/index.php?tab=...

Playing with the tick box options, especially Openreach VDSL2/FTTP Postcodes, Openreach native FTTP & Openreach G>Fast Live Postcodes can be interesting. Ticking Speed Test Results will put some figures on the map. Clicking on those brings up the supplier and test results. You can see mine (28.1 Mbps within the 24 Mbps blue bubble. When I first had FTTC I was getting 37 Mbps but over the last few years cross-talk etc has taken m to the mid 20s. Being on rather old aluminium cable does not help. During dial-up days, I was lucky to get 9.6 kbps!

Driving around the area I keep an eye out for the small yellow labels affixed to poles carrying fibre!

Cheers!

Recently, Openreach have been installing FTTP in the Aston area (west of the A494) such as Aston Park Road.

ceepan

So definitely underground then, there should be a duct entrance in the cupboard that may have all the services coming through or just the BT one. If you are really lucky there will be a draw string in the entrance. You may need to lift a floorboard to find it !

You are likely to be ducted as just buried cable usually enters from outside a wall.

There should be a pavement cable chamber somewhere in the street where this is fed from.

As I understand it, ducts *shouldn't* come up inside a house - they make a great entry for rats and rainwater.

My duct ends next to the wall, and the cables (copper and fibre) exit from there. There's a rubbery bung-type thing to plug the hole around the cables.