Few DSL options in built up area

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone can tell me why my area has so few options for fast internet. We have Virgin Media but DSL based options arent really usable as they are so slow. See attached from dslchecker

https://i.imgur.com/nvrolYB.png

Thanks

Your OpenReach wires may not go via a cabinet so nowhere to add the second FTTC cabinet. You would have to check with local authority as to what plans are.

As you have access to Virgin Cable there may be no public money plans, so you may be waiting a long time for alternatives.

Edited by jchamier (Sun 29-Dec-19 18:53:55)

Presumably you are in an area that BT do not consider viable for FTTC/FTTP and you wouldn't have been helped by BDUK because you can already get a high speed service from Virgin. With Virgin you already have a service that is likely capable of much better speeds than a large proportion of the country.

Openreach FTTC/P seems to be a bit of a lottery, I was in the same situation as well so I sent the chairman of openreach a polite email every 6 months or so and eventually he answered (rather than the normal reply from one of his staff).

To my surprise he forwarded my email to his Fibre management team who promptly arranged for FTTC to be installed (along with 2 other cabs in the area). FTTP has just arrived which is nice, not bad for an area considered to be uneconomically viable for any fibre upgrade previously.

My only speed option at the time was Virgin and the service was appalling, but with no competition they didn't need to bother.

Edited by kebabselector (Mon 30-Dec-19 13:21:43)

I am also in an urban area with good (but expensive) internet from Virgin but appalling ADSL coverage (2.5Mbps). My local cabinet is just across the road but OpenReach won't provided FTTC despite having converted almost every other cabinet in the area. Apparently my cabinet doesn't have enough users to make it economically viable, so Virgin have me over a barrel as I don't have an alternative. I would consider 4G but coverage is poor. I guess FTTP will come eventually but there are no plans as yet.

Edited by HughA (Mon 30-Dec-19 19:25:29)

That was my experience also, all the decent sized cabinets got upgraded. My (and two other) smaller cab wasn't viable - but then it was!

I would recommend emailing the openreach CEO - it worked for me eventually.

In reply to a post by kebabselector:

Openreach FTTC/P seems to be a bit of a lottery, I was in the same situation as well so I sent the chairman of openreach a polite email every 6 months or so and eventually he answered (rather than the normal reply from one of his staff).

To my surprise he forwarded my email to his Fibre management team who promptly arranged for FTTC to be installed (along with 2 other cabs in the area). FTTP has just arrived which is nice, not bad for an area considered to be uneconomically viable for any fibre upgrade previously.

My only speed option at the time was Virgin and the service was appalling, but with no competition they didn't need to bother.

I very much doubt Openreach would decide to upgrade a cab to FTTC based on just 1 query/complaint from Joe Public. The fact that your cab was upgraded after you wrote to Openreach is just pure coincidence. In other worlds, they already had plans to upgrade your cab before your letter. Of course no harm for the OP to do the same but he/she shouldn't get their hopes up too much,

I see the OP's postcode on Digital Scotland website doesn't bring up any plans for a FTTC/P rollour, however DS state they may be included in the future R100 programme. I wonder if DS know that the OP's area is already covered by Virgin? Pretty sure the R100 rollout will NOT touch any areas already covered by Virgin.

I was told many times that the Cab was not economically viable, 2 MPs and local councillors were told much the same. This only changed when Clive Selley took the time to reply to my email.

On codelook the installation phase is listed as 'CEO escalation'

ceo_escalation_phase.png

Edited by kebabselector (Tue 31-Dec-19 10:16:24)

Then in that case others in your area would also have complained to Openreach. No chance on earth would Openreach upgrade an area out of their own pocket based on the complaints of ONE person.

The spreadsheets used for selecting commercial cabs may have missed it if the line count was low or there was a mistake that had gone unnoticed in the spreadsheets and once someone manually looked at the area it was viable...or some other factor changes e.g. cost of getting power to cab was quoted at a lower price in 2017/18 compared to 2014 perhaps.