Rural fibre broadband rollout

Bessie123

I'm hoping someone here can point me in the right direction.

I live in a picturesque village on Dartmoor, and it has been announced that we will be getting fibre to the cabinet broadband by December. Most of the cabling has already been laid for this, so it is clearly happening soon.

We live in a 500 year old grade 2 listed building, and have the current PSTN cabinet directly up against the wall at the front of the house. I contacted connectingdevonandsomerset.co.uk and received a reply stating:

"The way the process works is that a new cabinet is installed nearby the old copper PCP (cabinet) and the copper is then attached to the new fibre cabinet rather than copper being run all the way to the exchange. In other words the exchange is brought to the cabinet. This is why speeds vary from 24Mbps to 300Mbps max with fibre to the cabinet, as unlike the considerably more expensive fibre to the premise, it is limited by the length of the copper run from the cabinet to the premise."

I was then advised that they did not know where the new cabinet would be installed, but it sounds to me like this will need to be very close to the old one. I have asked the local planners for information, but I don't think it falls under their remit.

Can anyone tell me who I should contact to find out where it is going to be and when it is being installed? The walls of our home are incredibly old and not the strongest structures in the world - not sure they would take a clumsy contractor with a whacking great breaker digging under them, particularly as they don't have foundations. Besides that I don't want two large metal boxes in front of our beautiful home!

Buzby

The box has to be adjacent rarely more than 1 metre. You also gave no say or will be given no notice unless the box is actually on your property. 'In front of' is not relevant.

Openreach do not require to make any planning application for infrastructure unless they plan to use it to place advertising wraps on the box itself.

2 boxes will be required for the foreseeable future as this is the basis is for the rollout of BT's 2CN network. However, if you are objecting to faster Internet because of the additional box, you may suffer the ire of nearby residents who want the speed and see the box as a community resource.

macman

Not sure if PP is required or not in a National Park. It certainly is in a Conservation Area, as that delayed ours by over a year. You'll know when BT put in the planning application for it, and you can then object formally if you wish. Since you already have one cab, I rather doubt if they'd turn the application down on the basis that it would deface your 'beautiful home'
The upside is of course that you'll get near FTTH speeds for the price of FTTC!

Bessie123

I'm well up for the additional speed, our current connection barely gets to 2mb, despite the cab being directly next to our house and the exchange being about 200m down the road.

The problem is that there really isn't a suitable location without going directly in front of my front door or my window (which is roughly 700mm from the ground)!!

More importantly, our house is made from 500yr old materials and has no foundations. If they start using breakers next to the wall, the vibrations will seriously compromise the structural integrity of the wall. We have enough problems with it at the moment without any additional stress being placed on it.

On top of this, we paid a substantial amount of money for a beautiful old cottage, in a National Park. The look of the property is paramount to it's value.

Like I said, I have no problem with the idea of it, I just need to know who will be installing it so that I can talk to them about the precise location before they send Bodger Barry and his massive hammer round.

espresso

Buzby wrote: »

The box has to be adjacent rarely more than 1 metre. You also gave no say or will be given no notice unless the box is actually on your property. 'In front of' is not relevant.

Openreach do not require to make any planning application for infrastructure unless they plan to use it to place advertising wraps on the box itself.

2 boxes will be required for the foreseeable future as this is the basis is for the rollout of BT's 2CN network. However, if you are objecting to faster Internet because of the additional box, you may suffer the ire of nearby residents who want the speed and see the box as a community resource.

More rubbish posted by Buzby! The new FTTC cabs are normally installed much more than one meter from the existing cab, they simply run a multi pair cable to connect the two cabs together. The position of the new cab is usually dictated by how easy it is to connection to the required mains supply.

I have seen the new FTTC cabs on the opposite side of the road simply because it is easier to supply mains power in that location.

macman

The price you paid for your property has no bearing on it's consideration should it require planning permission. It's basically a metal box with circuitry and cabling inside it-they won't be digging out deep footings, so I think your concerns about structural damage have no foundation (sorry).

Bessie123

espresso wrote: »

More rubbish posted by Buzby! The new FTTC cabs are normally installed much more than one meter from the existing cab, they simply run a multi pair cable to connect the two cabs together. The position of the new cab is usually dictated by how easy it is to connection to the required mains supply.

I have seen the new FTTC cabs on the opposite side of the road simply because it is easier to supply mains power in that location.

Thank you so much for that!! Was panicking that if it was 1m away then I would either have no window or no front door!!

They can easily put it around the corner in a less conspicuous place.

My question still stands though - who will be installing it, and how can I talk to them about where they're going to put it??

macman

They're not going to block a door or window with it. BT OR will install it, or their sub-contractors.
You first need to establish if it will require PP or not. Are you in a Conservation Area? If so, it will. If you are within the NP (presumably yes), check with the planning dept of the park authority-they control all planning matters.
http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/planning

macman

Update: yes, if you are in the National Park then it will require PP. From the OR website:

'Under Part 24 of the Town & Country Planning Act BT as a Code Operator has deemed planning permission to install Cabinets so no notification at the planning stage is required in most cases under this piece of legislation. However if the Cabinet is to be installed in Article 1 (5) land i.e. National Parks , Conservation Areas etc then a Prior Notification application must be sent to the Local Planning Authority (LPA). They then decide if the application has to go through the process and if it does they have 56 calendar days in which to consult interested parties and consider the application. The LPA can refuse the application on the grounds of siting and appearance only. However if no written rejection has been received within the 56 days installation can commence. Under Para 5 of the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 BT must notice the LPA of our intention to install any Cabinet. The LPA do not have the power to veto any site but they can request conditions to be attached to the installation and they have up to one calendar month to do this. However BT can reject these conditions if they feel they are not reasonably practicable. In order to install the Cabinets BT must notice the Highway Authority via the New Roads & Street Works Noticing system when they intend to work in the street. This allows the Highway Authority to ensure there is no clash with other Utilities who may be working in the same area and so avoid any unnecessary congestion.”

Bessie123

macman wrote: »

They're not going to block a door or window with it. BT OR will install it, or their sub-contractors.
You first need to establish if it will require PP or not. Are you in a Conservation Area? If so, it will. If you are within the NP (presumably yes), check with the planning dept of the park authority-they control all planning matters.
http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/planning

Thanks mate, both posts really helpful.

Yes we are in the park, and the authority are notorious ar5eholes, renowned throughout the area for their stubborn pig-headedness.

I note from that extract you posted that they can decide if it has to go through planning. I would guess that being this far down the line they have decided it doesn't, but I will certainly be finding out.

Do you know who I should contact at BT though? Would it be Openreach or a specific department of BT?

Thanks again.

Edit: btw, what do you mean by OR website?

Second edit: just realised you meant Openreach! Sorry, been a long day! Fortunately I play cricket with the area manager of Openreach!

spud17

Bessie123 wrote: »

Fortunately I play cricket with the area manager of Openreach!

Try using a bat! Sorry.

The NP authorities are a pain, my brother had planning approved by Teignbridge district, but over-ruled by National Park officials.
All for a garden shed/workshop.