Looking for Fast Broadband, but not from the big five

glennevis

prowla said:

Where I am it's currently a choice between Virgin and a BT Openreach based provider.

CityFibre have been laying cables, but I'm not sure when their service will become available.

When CityFibre dug up Inverness it was nearly a year before they switched it on, then about another year before there was a wide choice of FTTP suppliers.
This article

https://cityfibre.com/news/glasgow-to-get-full-fibre-boost-as-cityfibre-begins-work-on-city-wide-roll-out

says it could be 2025 before the rollout is completed, but Glasgow is a lot bigger than Inverness.

BUFF

CityFibre dug up my street in Glasgow a couple of months ago (July) & they are already emailing me saying that services are connected & available (currently 5 suppliers being offered to me).

Nanako

400ixl said:

Most likely no one for your postcode which is why you have the choice of an Openreach ISP or Virgin.

What exchange are you on, that might give a clue as to when FTTP may be coming to your area.

Given those choices, then, I think i'll opt for the third option.

I'm going with starlink unless the fibre rollout is literally imminent.

If not, will have a look at the fibre situation again in a couple years

It seems this is my exchange:

https://availability.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/WSCAM

And as mentioned earlier in the thread, cityfibre doesnt seem to have plans for my area?

BUFF

Nanako said:

400ixl said:

Most likely no one for your postcode which is why you have the choice of an Openreach ISP or Virgin.

What exchange are you on, that might give a clue as to when FTTP may be coming to your area.

It seems this is my exchange:

https://availability.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/WSCAM

And as mentioned earlier in the thread, cityfibre doesnt seem to have plans for my area?

Technically you aren't Glasgow so I guess the contract with Glasgow CC doesn't cover you.
I am sure that CityFibre will get around to your area, it's just a matter of when.

From what I can see Starlink is £75/month plus a hardware cost. & of course it is owned by Elon Musk who isn't exactly known for being tolerant.

Nanako

BUFF said:

From what I can see Starlink is £75/month plus a hardware cost. & of course it is owned by Elon Musk who isn't exactly known for being tolerant.

I'm aware of the costs, good fibre would surely be cheaper and perhaps lower latency, but its not available to me except for virgin.

I know exactly who musk is and what he's about. He exhibits the ethics that i look for in an ISP.

Given the alternatives of corporate censorship, or slow BT line, i believe this is my best option, i'm happy

flaneurs_lobster

BUFF said:

CityFibre dug up my street in Glasgow a couple of months ago (July) & they are already emailing me saying that services are connected & available (currently 5 suppliers being offered to me).

Which suppliers are you being offered please? Any good deals? My bit of Glasgow is still under siege from the green barriers,  mini diggers and temporary traffic lights.

BUFF

flaneurs_lobster said:

BUFF said:

CityFibre dug up my street in Glasgow a couple of months ago (July) & they are already emailing me saying that services are connected & available (currently 5 suppliers being offered to me).

Which suppliers are you being offered please? Any good deals? My bit of Glasgow is still under siege from the green barriers,  mini diggers and temporary traffic lights.

 see below:

[Deleted User]

Nanako said:

littleboo said:

You need to define "ethical".  You mention Starlink, I think a lot of people would question the ethics of Elon Musk. What is your problem with the mainstream providers?

Starlink is still providing free internet across ukraine while refusing censorship demands. Ethically, i find him in line with my own thoughts. Starlink is pretty high up on my list, though i'm not ruling out the possibility of better options with cables

RE the mainstream providers, I have many broad, vague problems that are hard to define, but here's a specific one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_websites_blocked_in_the_United_Kingdom#Court_ordered_implementations_targeting_copyright_and_trademark_infringement

A big set of legal rulings forcing ISPs to block certain websites, which only applies to the big five. Sci hub at the end, the most recent addition to this banned list, is particularly egregious.

And it is also not blocked on Zen. I don't want to move to an ISP that DOES block it

Looked at that list, you are better off using a VPN to access any of those sites regardless of the ISP anyway. Just buy the best speed / price for your needs and invest the rest in a decent VPN - £5 per month or less is well worth it to stay anonymous when accessing any of those sites.

flaneurs_lobster

BUFF said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

BUFF said:

CityFibre dug up my street in Glasgow a couple of months ago (July) & they are already emailing me saying that services are connected & available (currently 5 suppliers being offered to me).

Which suppliers are you being offered please? Any good deals? My bit of Glasgow is still under siege from the green barriers,  mini diggers and temporary traffic lights.

 see below:

Sorry @BUFF, missed your reply. Thanks for that. 

BUFF

@flaneurs_lobster

just had a flyer from Sky BB this weekend saying that they will shortly be offering Full Fibre in my street which I presume means via CityFibre (not in a priority area/exchange for Openreach FTTP). No deal figures atm though.