Slow broadband means I may have to move firm (From Worcester News)
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Slow broadband means I may have to move firm
12:30am Sunday 21st October 2012 in News By Sarah Taylor
A WORCESTERSHIRE businessman may have to move his company due to the poor quality of broadband in his village.
Tim Walton, of Newtown, Offenham, near Evesham, had been hoping he would get superfast broadband as part a nationwide rollout by BT.
But the scheme only applies to two thirds of the country and despite fibre optic wires being laid to two cabinets supplying the faster broadband in Offenham, only one has been connected to the mains power – leaving half the village with a bad connection.
“About two years ago we were told we would be able to get BT Infinity in Offenham,” said Mr Walton, who runs Evesham Solutions from his home.
“For them not to finish the last tiny part of the job is very frustrating.
“We are stuck with an unreliable 1Mbps connection and if somebody rings the house, it dips out. “I have an IT business, if I can’t get this sorted out I will have to get an office elsewhere. It really is having a big impact on the business.”
A spokesperson for BT said: “Additional installation costs and technical challenges mean that we can’t currently include this cabinet in our superfast rollout plans.”
The final third of the country not included in BT’s rollout plan is now relying on national and local government funding to improve the connection.
As your Worcester News reported last week, Worcestershire County Council is hoping it can start work on its broadband improvement plan next year.
The council has already earmarked £8.5 million for faster web speeds and has secured £3.3 million from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), a Government body, to add to the kitty.
BDUK is expected to get approval from the EU by the start of November to spend its cash. The plan aims to provide access to superfast broadband – which is defined as more than 24Mbps – to 90 percent of businesses and residents in the county by 2015, with everyone else having access to at least 2Mbps.
Coun Simon Geraghty, member for economy and infrastructure, said: “We know faster and more reliable broadband is important to local people but it is crucial to local businesses.
“It is still too early to say exactly when Broadband speeds will be increased in specific areas, but there is still the chance to register demand.”
Visit worcestershire.gov. uk/broadband to register demand or visit your local library, where hard copies are available.
Comments(14)
justmycomments
says...
12:51am Sun 21 Oct 12
wherever.net/home.as
px?gclid=CPS84cvkkLM
CFQzKtAodmwUA_A
£25 a month, works everywhere. Seriously is this news ?
Grumbleweed Connection
says...
9:06am Sun 21 Oct 12
brooksider
says...
9:40am Sun 21 Oct 12
justmycomments wrote:And he is in IT!
http://www.broadband
wherever.net/home.as
px?gclid=CPS84cvkkLM
CFQzKtAodmwUA_A
£25 a month, works everywhere. Seriously is this news ?
imustbeoldiwearacap
says...
9:58am Sun 21 Oct 12
dplumb
says...
10:05am Sun 21 Oct 12
Satellite and 3G are ok, but have fair usage and outgoing only restrictions that wouldn't suit businesses. They are also finite in resources whereas cable/DSL can be cheaply upgraded to cope with higher usage.
BT know exactly what they're doing, it's such a shame the government were conned into helping them out (again).
Malaky
says...
10:23am Sun 21 Oct 12
We left the 1900's 12 years ago!
Andy_R
says...
11:23am Sun 21 Oct 12
Guy66
says...
5:50pm Sun 21 Oct 12
dplumb wrote:I doubt your statement - we're in an Infinity enabled area with NO cable alternative or any other faster service alternative. BT are basing the installations based on potential uptake and their ROI.
Trouble is, BT are cherry picking areas to upgrade which funnily enough seems to be areas that already have an alternative cable provider. If it doesn't fit their standard rollout plan, they move on, safe in the knowledge that the taxpayer will be following behind them to finish the job and hand the kit over to BT.
Satellite and 3G are ok, but have fair usage and outgoing only restrictions that wouldn't suit businesses. They are also finite in resources whereas cable/DSL can be cheaply upgraded to cope with higher usage.
BT know exactly what they're doing, it's such a shame the government were conned into helping them out (again).
Guy66
says...
5:51pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Malaky wrote:We left the 20th century 12yrs ago, this is now the 21st century - tut tut!
The provision of Broadband is just as important now as the provision of roads, water, sewage, education and libraries and should be regarded as a prime responsibility of councils.
We left the 1900's 12 years ago!
Guy66
says...
5:52pm Sun 21 Oct 12
brooksider wrote:IT is a very large area these days - just being in IT does not make you an expert in data telecommunications.
justmycomments wrote:And he is in IT!
http://www.broadband
wherever.net/home.as
px?gclid=CPS84cvkkLM
CFQzKtAodmwUA_A
£25 a month, works everywhere. Seriously is this news ?
brooksider
says...
9:18pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Guy66 wrote:Don't have to be to Google
brooksider wrote:IT is a very large area these days - just being in IT does not make you an expert in data telecommunications.
justmycomments wrote:And he is in IT!
http://www.broadband
wherever.net/home.as
px?gclid=CPS84cvkkLM
CFQzKtAodmwUA_A
£25 a month, works everywhere. Seriously is this news ?
'Satellite Broadband' especially when your business depends on it.
However I do understand his frustration when BT have installed the fibres to a cabinet but wont power it because it is "not financially viable".
A pathetic excuse and typical of a company operating a monopoly.
Tim Walton should be getting his MP, Peter Luff, and Worcestershire's chocolate teapot, Simon Geraghty to put pressure on BT.
batchelorboy
says...
9:52pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Guy66 wrote:Very true but anyone businessman would check broadband speed before moving to an area where he would later rely on broadband speeds...
brooksider wrote:IT is a very large area these days - just being in IT does not make you an expert in data telecommunications.
justmycomments wrote:And he is in IT!
http://www.broadband
wherever.net/home.as
px?gclid=CPS84cvkkLM
CFQzKtAodmwUA_A
£25 a month, works everywhere. Seriously is this news ?
Leeolitina
says...
8:45am Mon 22 Oct 12
batchelorboy wrote:The link everyone has pointed to is fine for most things - but if he is running an IT business then there is a good chance he will need VPN or something similar which you cannot run on the cheap connections they offer. You are looking at £99 per month at least so not cheap. The point he is trying to make is that BT have actually done all the work - they are just not turning on the cabinet and swapping people over. A similar issue to here on the Enigma Business Park in Malvern. BT will only turn on a cabinet if there are enough businesses or users connected to the cabinet to make lots of £££. If there isn't they won't turn it on.
Guy66 wrote:Very true but anyone businessman would check broadband speed before moving to an area where he would later rely on broadband speeds...
brooksider wrote:IT is a very large area these days - just being in IT does not make you an expert in data telecommunications.
justmycomments wrote:And he is in IT!
http://www.broadband
wherever.net/home.as
px?gclid=CPS84cvkkLM
CFQzKtAodmwUA_A
£25 a month, works everywhere. Seriously is this news ?
grcscyband
says...
10:42am Fri 26 Oct 12
I came across a company which installs Satellite broadband. They had a vacancy as an Installation Engineer. I applied for the job and was successful. I have now been working for this company for 6 weeks and have installed satellite broadband across the 3 counties and Wales. The only feedback which I have received has been positive.
Although 4g is 'readily available' I believe to reach many people it may take as long as 3 years.
So, in short I would actively promote the usage of satellite broadband, an uncontested link, with proven speeds and quick and easy to install.
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