topic The digital divide in Broadband

The digital divide

aptprojects — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:00:05 GMT

There's a terrible digital divide in this country which is only getting wider and no one cares about it.
I live in rural Suffolk, not too far from the nearest town, but our broadband is terrible. It runs at around 2Mbps (see attached screenshot) and it has been that way for years. This is compounded by having a lousy mobile phone signal here (thanks Vodaphone) so we are virtually cut off from the outside world.
We hear that full fibre is being brought to everyone but that's rubbish. We aren't on OpenReach's current upgrade plan which runs to 2026 and no promise of anything after that. We know that their priority will be to offer warp speeds to the masses and we will be left behind yet again - it makes me seethe with anger every time I hear that the headline speeds have been increased and we are still stuck in the dark ages. We had a ray of hope when a firm called County Broadband had plans to bring in full fibre but they changed their minds - we country peasants aren't worth bothering about it seems.
I recently visited a cattle station in the Australian outback and they get 20Mbps by satellite at a competitive price. Dear old third world Britain is left behind yet again. We get water, electricity and postal services here the same as everyone else but inferior broadband.
The stinger is that we have to pay for fast fibre even though we clearly don't receive the same service. No investment has been made in the infrastructure by OpenReach but they and PlusNet are profiteering by charging a full tariff. We should pay for what we get.
We have nowhere to turn. There has been no increase in broadband speed over the past decade and I suspect there'll be none in the next decade too. Where to go now?

Re: The digital divide

jab1 — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:03:55 GMT

What does this say for you: https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL ? - obscure your phone number.

Re: The digital divide

aptprojects — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:11:15 GMT

See attached. It doesn't tell me much except that we aren't in their current upgrade plans.

Re: The digital divide

jab1 — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:16:20 GMT

@aptprojects That is absolutely terrible, I agree. Which exchange are you on, and how far are you away from the green cabinet?

Can you post your router stats please?

Sight of the broadband connection status from your Hub (with the 'Username' obscured) would also be of help.

For the Hub One -

Navigate from the Home Screen to Troubleshooting > Helpdesk

For the Hub Two -

Navigate from the Home Screen to Advanced Settings > Technical Log > Information

Re: The digital divide

mystreet1 — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:35:42 GMT

Have you looked at the minimum speed page on ofcom. States 10Mb download is the least that someone should receive now.

Might be worth a free call to BT.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/access-to-decent-broadband/broadband-uso-need-to-know/

Re: The digital divide

jab1 — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:38:24 GMT

Cheers, @mystreet1 . I was going to look for that, but got distracted.

Re: The digital divide

RobPN — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 10:46:13 GMT

@aptprojects wrote:

See attached. It doesn't tell me much except that we aren't in their current upgrade plans.

@aptprojects

Are you taking the "not in a fibre priority program" comment on your result as indicating you're not in their current upgrade plans?

I'm just wondering because that statement isn't indicative of the build program.

Not trying to rub salt in your wounds, but FTTP has been available to me since 2013 and that appears on my results too.

Re: The digital divide

bmc — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 11:35:48 GMT

@aptprojects

Have you looked at the following to check if there are any plans?

www.openreach.co.uk

Brian

Re: The digital divide

aptprojects — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 11:42:47 GMT

Hi John,

We are on the Brampton Suffolk exchange. The green cabinet is about 2 miles away from here.

The router stats are attached although they don't mean a lot to me.

Tks Bill

Re: The digital divide

aptprojects — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 11:53:40 GMT

Yes I have already checked and we aren't in their build programme. See attached. They say they will review again after 2026 which is two years away and I can guess what the answer is going to be. There will be some corporate platitudes about "commitment to get FTTP to everyone" but no action. We are too much trouble for them to bother about.

Thanks,

Bill

Re: The digital divide

jab1 — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 12:01:39 GMT

@aptprojects Bill, your router stats make grim reading, but there are a couple of things which stand out to me. (1) Your DSL uptime is extremely short - you don't turn your router off intentionally, do you? (2) Your noise margin is too low for your line length, I suggest you call PN and ask them to reset your connection - that 4.4dB figure will certainly be a contributory factor.

Unfortunately, with the reported attenuation figures, you will never get brilliant speeds on FTTC, but I believe they should be better than that.

Re: The digital divide

aptprojects — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 12:18:43 GMT

Hi,

I have recently complained to Plusnet who sent me a Hub 2 router. There has been a certain amount of switching between the old router and the new one whilst I get things transferred over (the Chromecast devices were problematic). It didn't help that this router only has 3 ethernet ports whereas I really need 4. This accounts for the short uptime.

I have been in communication with PN who have promised to make a few adjustments but I know that any improvements will be marginal.

I get very cynical about broken Britain which is run by the urban elite for the urban elite. My MP isn't interested in anything but Net Zero and couldn't give a damn about normal peoples' problems. By contrast, I have an apartment in Kuala Lumpur which has FTTP with >200 Mbps and I pay less than half what PN charge.

Thanks Bill

Re: The digital divide

jab1 — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 12:29:08 GMT

@aptprojects Fair enough, but as I pointed out above, your physical distance from the cab is a limiting factor, as is the D/S SNR - a reset should/may see a slight improvement, but it will be marginal.

Re: The digital divide

Champnet — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 12:44:53 GMT

I agree with @jab1 "That is absolutely terrible"

I'd start with a strong letter addressed to the Prime Minister copied to all other Ministers in the Cabinet.

These people may not want to get involved but might expect a more junior staff member to look into it...........

Re: The digital divide

jab1 — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 12:48:22 GMT

Thanks for the agreement, @Champnet , but the rest of your post is laughable - The PM and the rest of the Cabinet haven't a clue. 😀

Re: The digital divide

bmc — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 13:18:28 GMT

@aptprojects

Given what OR say then your only option is to go down the USO route as mentioned previously.

You don't have to use the Hub2 - you can accquire your own router which might have 4 ports plus a WAN port. Alternatively get yourself a powered Ethernet switch to provide the required ports.

Brian

Re: The digital divide

Baldrick1 — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 15:05:15 GMT

@aptprojects

I understand your frustration but based on your location there is nothing that Plusnet can do to significantly improve the connection unless the infrastructure available to them by Openreach is upgraded. No doubt Plusnet can react to your complaints by sending you a new hub or even tweeking a few settings but any effects will be marginal.

In the meantime, as has been suggested, you can call on the USO (https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/access-to-decent-broadband/broadband-uso-need-to-know/) or move to satellite.

Have you checked with your local area council to see if there's any plans to provide full fibre under a community partnership deal? The rural area around our village has been connected by an Altnet, ConnectFibre. I understand that they received a government grant to support this installation.

Re: The digital divide

Townman — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 16:08:52 GMT

"2 miles from the green cabinet".

How far from the exchange? There is some possibility that at that distance, you might be getter served with an ADSL2+ service!

EDIT:

For example, if this was previously an EO circuit and the green cabinet is outside of the exchange, you might get 7.7Mbps on ADSL2+

4km from the exchange would deliver 3.9Mbps ... a marked improvement over VDSL over 2 miles.

Re: The digital divide

aptprojects — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 17:21:27 GMT

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestion and I will look into it. I can't yet say that it has fixed my problem.

Bill

Re: The digital divide

aptprojects — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 17:26:17 GMT

I understand that PN can't fix the problem since Openreach hasn't provided the infrastructure. However they could offer a tariff which reflects the appalling service I receive. My speed is 1/50th of what the typical urban user gets and 1/5th of the minimum Ofcom recommendation. In reality they are profiteering from my predicament and they have no financial incentive to do anything about it. That would be different if I was being charged a lower tariff.