News UK commits to full fibre future

I note that they haven't committed in any way to actually pay for it. Last mile installs are expensive, and very little of that expense has anything to do with the fibre itself (you could be running a piece of string - or an empty tube - and the cost would be effectively identical). At some point somebody has to pay up the cash to dig up roads, restring poles, and install new equipment in cabinets. This costs so much that nobody* wants to do this today, and has not wanted to do this for the last few decades, so I can't imagine that changing just from "we super double want you to do this but won't pay for it or require you to replace any existing POTS copper".
The requirement to run fibre rather than copper to new builds is a good one though.

* The exception being ISPs like Hyperoptic who service several tens of customers by laying one line (IIRC they won't consider connecting any units with less than 50+ occupancy), or direct through Openreach who will lay you a fibre line via FTTPoD at a price.

 

I'll believe it when I see it...

 

I'll believe it when I can download it.

And whilst I'm currently on Virgin Media's full fat 350Mb connection, I want to know that I can move house in the future to just about anywhere and not have to worry about checking what broadband speeds are available before considering whether or not to move there.

 

The government should just hire these chaps to come up with a plan...
https://b4rn.org.uk

 

Meanwhile, my best fixed line broadband option in the middle of suburbia in a major population centre is approximately 3% of the speed I get over LTE.
Checking out network status pages is one of my semi-regular hobbies, and I note recently the Openreach change from "you're basically SOL" to "Hey, we might do FTTP eventually", which based on this I believe to be code for "you're basically SOL until at least 2033"

To be fair to them (not something of which I can often be accused), it's a hell of a lot easier to roll out at small scale across localised communities than work out a national plan.

 

So full fibre by 2033 and underwater in 2050

 

Broadband connection was something I asked about when looking for a flat in London. I don't know if it could have been a deal breaker. In the end, I managed to snag a flat with hypnotics and a surprise view of the River Thames on my first morning. For some reason, it wasn't in the listing or mentioned in the viewing. With each move, my internet has gotten progressively better. My first flat in Ealing Broadway could have had virgin but the building would not allow the wire to be run up the side of the building. If it was my flat I would have had it installed without asking and the owner would probably never find out.

 

Can't come soon enough. My local exchange has been fibre enabled for years, but there's still no sign of the green box down the road bring updated so I can get it.

 

It was a nice surprise to wake up to as we had never seen the blinds open.
The previous tenants we on something like TalkTalk so I was also pleased when I Googled Hyperoptics as I had never heard of it before.