As it happens my choices of broadband are now apparently limited by changes to the rules.

All of our mains electricity is delivered using overhead poles I have one in my garden and it is owned by the power company and I get a wayleave payen each year.

Although this is, as I understand it, no longer allowed the SAME pole is also used to distribute BT telephone wires to many propertie up and down our road. I get a wayleave payment from BT.

We have ducting installed in the road by Swish, now Cuckoo, for a full fibre connection but although the rest of our village has been cabled for overhead fibre our road has not.

I have been on full fibre via Swish/Cuckoo for 18 months but I have no other choice other than FTTC. The Swish service was cheaper than FTTC and after some initial teething problems (the fibre failed and had to be replaced) the service has been excellent.

The USO is hopelessly outdated and a current regulatory failure.

You're not going to convince me that a single fibre infrastructure is not technically or financially feasible so I suggest we leave it there. You may though want to square your thoughts with the analogue switch-off and the rollout of Openreach fibre.

In reply to a post by stamford13:

The USO is hopelessly outdated and a current regulatory failure.

Of course you're going to blame it on a regulatory failure, I suspect if you was told that your broadband bill was going up £100 a year to help pay for a better USO you would be outraged by that as well. I hope you realise that someone has to ultimately pay for this and money doesn't grow on trees.

In reply to a post by stamford13:

You're not going to convince me that a single fibre infrastructure is not technically or financially feasible so I suggest we leave it there. You may though want to square your thoughts with the analogue switch-off and the rollout of Openreach fibre.

I come from the doing side of this topic not the pen pushers side who have no idea.

In reply to a post by steelej02:

I have been on full fibre via Swish/Cuckoo for 18 months but I have no other choice other than FTTC.

I'm similar. Due to wayleave issues I have Virgin Media coax broadband (with a street cabinet fault they seem unable to fix) or FTTC from Openreach with speeds of around 35 Mbps down and 6 Mbps up. No FTTP in sight, and even when OR FTTP turns up I suspect the wayleave issue will stop even that.

Analogue telephone switch off (Jan 2027) does not mean a copper pair to your home stops working, it just changes how voice is delivered to you. Does not mean everyone has FTTP by then from OR.

FTTC is of course not 'full fibre' and is a marketing ploy.
Virgin has a fibre programme but seems to be in no hurry to get rid of much of its coax despite the rollout of other fibre, mainly Openreach.
I'd have been happy to stay with Virgin but after being ripped off while I waited for an alternative rather than sign another contract I was happy to get a good deal on OR fibre last month although it means an overhead cable rather than the Virgin footway duct.

I am in a similar situation.

Getting FTTC and 32 mpbs d/l. Cuts out when it rains. Have had openreach out but they won't climb the pole to test. Had to raise this as a complaint with ISP which is ongoing. Level 2 OR have closed the case as speeds and tests on a bright sunny day suggest the line is good. OP engineer told me that he would raise to line manager to get up the pole. Seems higher ups at OR wont touch this pole as too difficult to get at.

The pole is in a hard to reach area, between the back gardens of two sets of houses on two different roads. About 30 houses affected. Cannot get a cherry picker to the pole

Was in the gigabit area that had a blue dot on (under review) but has now changed to a yellow dot (no current plans). We must be one of those in an urban area that has been dropped as to expensive / diffcult to convert.

My frustation is finding out information about these areas and what, or if, the plans are.

In reply to a post by stamford13:

FTTC is of course not 'full fibre' and is a marketing ploy.

I've never seen it described as "full fibre" but just "fibre", but the problem is that the Advertising Standards authority let them get away with it for 8+ years, and only last year realised they had screwed up. Too late.

Virgin has a fibre programme but seems to be in no hurry to get rid of much of its coax despite the rollout of other fibre, mainly Openreach.

Its in no hurry as can deliver gigabit over coax without issue. So the reason to roll out FTTP is more to future proof the asset. In areas with no coax either VM themselves, or Nexfibre are installing pure XGS-PON and in those areas they also sell Giffgaff broadband. I hope the FibreUp project gets to me soon and replaces the cabinet that can't take the heat.

I'd have been happy to stay with Virgin but after being ripped off while I waited for an alternative rather than sign another contract I was happy to get a good deal on OR fibre last month although it means an overhead cable rather than the Virgin footway duct.

I would have jumped but nothing to jump to, so had to sign up with Vermin again.