Fibre Broadband 

The Parish Council has been working with Openreach to make faster broadband services available to the residents of Crockenhill, and as of 5 October 2021 Fibre broadband is now available.

Although some residents may already have a form of fibre broadband, no supplier has been able to accept new orders or upgrades for many years due to a block by Openreach on the service. The Parish Council have worked with Openreach to get this block removed and make the newer form of digital only fibre broadband available.

Anyone that has previously been unable to order or upgrade to a fibre solution should check with their supplier as additional options should now be available to the majority of residents.

At this stage we do not have 'fibre to the home' only 'fibre to the cabinet'. However, this should provide speeds of between 20 and 80 Mbps depending on your location within the village.

Please note that a move to fibre broadband may also involve a move to digital voice in preparation for the switch off of the existing telephone network (PSTN) in 2025.

For any vulnerable people that rely on their phone line during power outages or for alarm services please ensure you discuss the implications with your supplier before upgrading.

Below is some further background and a set of FAQs detailing both the phone and internet options, as well as the PSTN switch off. Please note that any questions regarding the implications of the eventual switch-off of the existing telephone network should be directed to BT or your chosen supplier.

2025 – An Important date for Telephone and Internet Access

In this increasingly digital world the Government and telecoms industries are changing the way that both telephone and Internet services will be delivered to your home. This will affect virtually every household and although the suppliers should manage the transition there are some considerations that everyone should be aware of.

In 2025 Openreach will be the turning off the traditional analogue telephone system (PSTN) that we have all grown up with and will be replacing it with a digital voice solution. Between now and 2025 the telephony suppliers (e.g. BT, Plusnet, TalkTalk, Sky etc) will be migrating all customers to a new digital only solution.

In parallel with the move to digital voice there is also the move to fibre broadband for Internet connectivity. This not only provides faster and more reliable Internet connections it also reduces and will eventually remove the need for the copper cabling between the telephone exchange and the home.

Although upgrading to a Fibre Broadband solution is highly beneficial for many people it will also force the move to Digital voice which in most cases is not an issue however for some people it may negatively impact some services. As digital voice relies on the broadband connection it will become unavailable during any power outages unless special precautions are taken. This is particularly important for elderly or vulnerable people that might depend on their phone during these times.

FAQs

So what is Digital Voice and how will it affect people?

In most cases the move to Digital voice will make no difference to the telephone service and its lack of dependency on the copper cabling facilitates much faster internet speeds.

However there are considerations:

The traditional telephone handset plugs directly into a wall socket and provided that the handset does not require power it will continue to work during a power outage.

With Digital voice the same handsets can be used however they now plug into the back of the Router which does require power. During a power outage unless a battery backup is fitted to the router the telephone will stop working.

Separate from the telephone there are other services that currently utilise the copper cabling such as personal/building alarms and Redcare systems. Alternative solutions will need to be discussed with the supplier with consideration given to how they are affected during power or internet outages.

Any systems relied upon by vulnerable people should be carefully checked before a migration to digital voice to ensure that it is replaced with an equivalently resilient and robust solution.

So what if I currently have a telephone but do not want Broadband?

As Digital Voice will become the only telephone solution available the supplier will still require that you migrate to a digital fibre solution but with no Internet access. As such the cost should be comparable to a traditional telephone only service. The exact solution and cost will be down to the respective supplier so may differ between companies.

Can I get Broadband but without a Phone?

Yes this should be possible but may be down to how your supplier wishes to sell their products. As the connection into the home will be a pure digital connection there is no technical reason why a telephone solution is required.

I have Standard Broadband (ADSL) - will this change?

Yes. As Standard broadband is provided from the Telephone exchange over copper cabling this will no longer be possible. The connection will need to be migrated to a fibre and digital voice solution.

I have Superfast Broadband (VDSL) - will this change?

Yes. Even though Superfast Broadband already uses fibre from the telephone exchange to the street cabinet it then relies on a traditional copper phone line (PSTN) into the home. As the telephone system is being switched off in 2025 this service will need to be migrated to a digital voice solution.

What is the difference between FTTC and FTTP and what do they mean?

Eventually all copper cabling will be decommissioned with every customer in the UK receiving fibre all the way from the exchange into their homes. This is known as Full-Fibre but may also be called Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) or Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH). This is the ultimate end goal for Openreach and the Government.

However the rollout of full fibre is unlikely to be completed by 2025 so there is likely to be a transitional period. After 2025 everyone should be using fibre from the exchange to the street cabinet but not all will have fibre into their homes. Some people will still be using copper cabling for the final link from the street cabinet. This is known as Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)

So when can I order a Fibre Solution?

This is dependent on when the appropriate infrastructure has been installed at your telephone exchange and street cabinet. As of the 5th October 2021 most homes within Crockenhill can now upgrade to a fibre solution together with digital voice. Openreach had a block on placing orders within Crockenhill but the Parish council have been working with them to get this resolved so upgrades and new orders can now be placed.

At the time of writing only fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) is available within Crockenhill. Full fibre is not available yet and we are currently unaware of any planned installation date.

This document is intended as a guide only. The Parish Council has no control over the dates or approach that the various suppliers will use or how they wish to package up their services.