Stick or jump?

We've suffered several major cable thefts in our area which has left us with no phone or Internet for several days at a time. Openreach fix it all and the thieves strike again the next night.

None of the checking sites show our exchange as FTTC even coming in the next millennium yet we have nice new cabinets in the street that make a humming noise, and have for a while now. I've contacted our ISP, they say they've checked and we're not even a glimmer in the eye of FTTC.

The BT checker says:
Your exchange is ADSL enabled, and our initial test on your line indicates that your line should be able to have an ADSL broadband service that provides a fixed line speed up to 2Mbps.

Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL Max broadband line speed of 1.5Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 1Mbps and 3.5Mbps.

Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL2+ broadband line speed of 2Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 1.5Mbps and 4Mbps. Our test also indicates that your line could support an estimated ADSL 2+ Annex-M broadband upstream line speed of 500Kbps and downstream line speed of 2Mbps; typically the downstream speed would range between 1.5Mbps and 4Mbps.

We actually get about 3.7Kbps down and 0.37 up, so that's pretty close.

SamKnows tells me that we have Digital Region enabled in our area (exchange MYTHN) and I'm wondering if I should look at that as a solution to losing our Broadband?

We have VOIP lines, so would have a phone service. I use Orange and Signal Boost (UMA) phones that give us a decent mobile signal via WiFi. Any further cable theft should not affect us - or so I'm being told...

The only thing I don't have at present is a price for the Digital Region service, despite email to a few providers, none have got back to me.

Should I stick where I am and wait for FTTC or jump onto Digital Region and pay more (I think it is) to keep our office services active?

In reply to a post by TMCR:

We've suffered several major cable thefts in our area which has left us with no phone or Internet for several days at a time. Openreach fix it all and the thieves strike again the next night.
...

We have VOIP lines, so would have a phone service. I use Orange and Signal Boost (UMA) phones that give us a decent mobile signal via WiFi. Any further cable theft should not affect us - or so I'm being told...

The only thing I don't have at present is a price for the Digital Region service, despite email to a few providers, none have got back to me.

Should I stick where I am and wait for FTTC or jump onto Digital Region and pay more (I think it is) to keep our office services active?

Digital Region delivers to you over the copper network ... http://www.digitalregion.co.uk/residents/how-can-i-c... so you would still loose service.

What is the point of the Orange UMA service if access disappears as soon as the copper is stolen.?


BT costs run to tens of millions every year in dealing with cable thefts and that excludes compensation and loss of earnings. BT do not treat it lightly.

In reply to a post by MHC:

Digital Region delivers to you over the copper network ... http://www.digitalregion.co.uk/residents/how-can-i-c... so you would still loose service.

AH - OK, that explains things to me now - I was thinking it used something different for some reason, so it's just as vulnerable. That's answers the question I guess.
Then again, their site says "For large apartment blocks and business premises we can provide our connectivity via fibre-optic cable." - we are business users, wonder if they would drop an ISDN30 style fibre in? Probably still vulnerable as the thieves seem to yank everything out of the underground trunking they've targeted.

In reply to a post by MHC:

What is the point of the Orange UMA service if access disappears as soon as the copper is stolen.?

Because we have zero mobile signal at our office anyway. UMA works when we have the 'net active so we have mobile via that system, rather than nothing. Yes, it does vanish when the phone line goes down, but that wasn't the issue really. If Digital Network came by a different route or method then we'd have had UMA and mobile when the traditional phone line went off, or at least that was the thinking behind that part.

In reply to a post by MHC:

BT costs run to tens of millions every year in dealing with cable thefts and that excludes compensation and loss of earnings. BT do not treat it lightly.

So the Openreach guys were saying. One local guy was looking to keep watch and would happily take a sledgehammer to the brakes of any vehicle involved in the thefts!

Business users who will pay for a dedicated fibre install I doubt it...

Thieves tend not to discrimate and will nick fibre or copper, just get annoyed when they get nothing for the fibre. Mobile towers are vulnerable due to their power requirements, and fibre to them can be nicked.

In reply to a post by TMCR:

Probably still vulnerable as the thieves seem to yank everything out of the underground trunking they've targeted.

Happens to BT all the time and a couple of contacts in the railway industry report the same - the ducting along tracks contains copper and fibre and they will rip it all out - sometimes just breaking and dumping the fibre where it happens.

BT, Network Rail, TfL and the power companies have co-ordinated teams working road the country investigating thefts, checking scrap yards &c. The local police forces do very little to support those investigations even though the thefts cost millions.