Why are we doing this?
This is not a choice, and is about far more than fast broadband speeds, it is a necessity, and the change is one that everyone in the UK will have to navigate before the end of 2027.
In 3 year’s-time the telephone network as we know it will cease to exist. When we started this project (May 2021), the network was due to be switched off at the end of 2025, it’s been pushed back now to 2027.
In Wiltshire there have been, so far, two national upgrades. In both our community was left out – too complex and expensive for a commercial upgrade
So, we took matters into our own hands and decided to use government funding to ensure our community wasn’t left behind. If we had left it, we could have been faced with the UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION of 10mbps being being the only option offered.
How does it work?
There are two sides to/ companies involved in a fibre upgrade.
A] The first is the company who provides the infrastructure along which everything runs,
B] The company providing the broadband product
Gigaclear refused to upgrade us in the first Wiltshire Procurement and it took us many months to convince Openreach to partner us in the upgrade, even though it is completely government funded.
What happens next?
✅ Is the fibre cable coming into the house underground or overhead? It follows the current route.
✅ Are Openreach going to dig up my road, field or garden? Openreach will usually deliver the new fibre via exiting poles and ducts. Very occasionally they may have to install new ducts and poles, but they usually deliver over the existing infrastructure.
✅ Where the road/pavement/lawns/walls have been dug up for the fibre cables – Openreach have made good the surfaces after the work.
All the above have pretty much been completed – the poles have been put in place, trenches where required dug and made good. And we’re almost ready to go…
How will I know when I need to do something? – You will receive notification by email from Openreach. You then contact your broadband provider.
Our contract with the government is: –
- In return for getting the technology of Full Fibre brought to our community – At no cost to ourselves – total project cost over £1.6 million
- We contracted to upgrade to Full Fibre Broadband
So when you receive notification from Openreach that your Full Fibre is ready to go, this is when YOU contact your ISP
I am in the middle of my contract – it is very likely that it will be cheaper for you to stay with your current provider until the end of your contract. MOST providers are not charging for upgrading customers from Copper to Full Fibre.
I am out of Contract. Do I have to order my broadband from BT, or can I choose which provider I use? Openreach build open networks, this means that you can chose any available broadband provider.
How much will a full fibre broadband contract cost me?
The price to a large degree is going to be determined by how fast you want your broadband to be. You can now get live prices, phone your current or proposed provider.
How fast can my broadband be – up to 1GBps (1000mbps), everyone can have full speed – if they want it.
With our current Copper broadband the speed we can get is determined by all sorts of factors, an analogy would be to think of it as is a single-track road (Norton to Foxley) and our broadband speed would vary dependant on what we met or got stuck behind
Full fibre broadband is different. Openreach have built us a 6-lane motorway, the speed and therefore the cost of your new broadband will depend on how fast you want to drive along it think the difference between Vauxhall Corsa – BMW – Aston Martin. You chose the speed you want.
TO FULFIL the terms of our agreement with the government the speed of our new Broadband contracts must meet the criteria below.
If your current speed (measured in mbps) is: –
0 – 50 your new speed must be at least double (20=40 / 48=96)
50 – upwards “ “ “ “ “ “ 100 mbps or more
Once you have decided what speed of broadband you need, phone your provider, sort out the detail’s and then arrange a time and date for your upgrade.
MOST providers are upgrading for free.
Will I need a new router and / or new phones?
When you order your new broadband contract, the new Router you need will be sent to you from your Internet Service Provider. MOST providers are upgrading for free. Your home phone system will plug directly into the new router it is called VOIP = Voice over Internet Protocol
As there are so many different phones on the market and each ISP & the router it provides will also be different. The only way to see if you will need new phones is to PLEASE PHONE your current ISP / or your proposed new ISP if you are going to change to double check with whether your existing phones are compatible.
When will the engineer need to enter my home?
For the last few month’s, we’ve got used to seeing Openreach vans and engineers in the community, upgrading everything to enable it to deliver a full fibre solution from the new exchange in Malmesbury to your property; however, Openreach do not enter your home when they are building the network. The final connection into your property will be done when you place an order with your Internet Service Provider for your Full Fibre Broadband, and this will on an agreed date.
The actual process is shown below. Once all your install is complete and has been tested, your old router will simply be unplugged from the slow copper and your new router plugged into the fast fibre optic circuit. Power up your PC / other devices find the new router in your settings, get the password – login and away you go
I have medical equipment / alarms running on my copper telephone connection.
If you have a medical Pendant or other Telecare device or system running from your copper line, PLEASE CONTACT your Telecare / Medical alarm provider to ask for it to be upgraded so it will work with Full Fibre.
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If your equipment can’t be upgraded to work with Full Fibre yet, Openreach will not upgrade you at this time.
But because you are a member of CFP. When they are able to upgrade you, they have confirmed to us in writing that you will still receive all the protections of CFP ie no civil engineering costs regardless of the whether they are then required.
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Why is it important that I let anyone know I have alarms?
If you have a Medical Pendant etc and it is upgraded to work with Full Fibre PLEASE TELL your chosen ISP when you phone to place your order for Full Fibre Broadband, because if Openreach arrive to install Full Fibre and you have medical / telecare or alarm pendant that has not been notified, they will not proceed with the upgrade.
What happens if there is a power cut?
Openreach will have battery back-ups at the exchange. But if your home loses power the internet (and therefore your phone) will go down until the power in your home is restored. Most providers have residential battery backup systems available PLEASE ASK your ISP what provision they have, and its cost.
PLEASE ASK your provider if they have special provision for those considered vulnerable – the criteria may vary from company to company – but are likely to include
- include those with additional needs,
- those with long-term illness,
- those with medical alarms,
- those over 75.
If you have a telecare system (medical pendant etc) it will be connected directly to the internet via your router. If you have a power cut it will stop working, but ALL ISP’s must put in place systems that will keep you safe. PLEASE PHONE your current ISP to ask AS A VULNERABLE PERSON, IN AN AREA WITH EXTREMELY BAD MOBILE COVERAGE what provision they are putting in place to ensure your system will continue to work. This could include giving you a free in-home battery backup, or similar.
If you need help, PLEASE ASK and as ever we’ll do our best to help.