Having to use housebuilders' internet 4 years after moving in

Da_Crojanz

We live on a new-ish build estate and as is becoming more common. had to take the housebuilders' internet service as no other providers were active.

All was good for the first 3.5 years but recently it breaks for the whole estate several times a week. Outages are often short, only a few minutes at a time but still very problematic especially if working from home. The internet provider (a subsidary of the housebuilder) rarely respond to complaints or queries and have no need to do so - they have a captive audience as no other provider is in the area.

Can anything be done here? We were told a new provider may come into the are in a couple o years but have heard it often takes a decade or more.

born_again

Could you use a mobile internet provider?

Da_Crojanz

Like the ones offered on O2 or 3? I've seen those advertised but have never been confident of how well they'd work compared to "proper" internet. They aren't that expensive so I suppose we could use as a backup.

moneysaver1978

How much do you currently pay for internet?

I have used mobile broadband hubs in the past (both 4G and 5G) and they have worked really well when landline-based broadband was very poor.

If you have mobile signal, you could try hotspot with your phone and test with fast.com for a very rough idea of speeds.

Da_Crojanz

It's about £25  month. Looks like 3 offer unlimited mobile for £20.

Have used our phones as hotspots and they are ok for general browsing and work stuff, though have never tried with things like Netflix, games

DullGreyGuy

People often overestimate the amount of bandwidth they are using... if you have multiple people streaming 4K video at the same time then it's not going to work but its a reasonable solution in many situations. Gaming takes a lot less bandwidth than most think as what's shared isn't the full video (in most cases) but basic things like coordinates, many games will work on 1mb/s, things like call of duty require 3mb/s.  Latency rather than bandwidth tends to be more the problem. 

iniltous

There is no guarantee that your development will ever get an alternative network, it’s when the local authority adopts the roads and footpaths that the likes of Virgin, Openreach ( and others ) have code powers to excavate in what is then public areas ( roads footpaths ) to build joint boxes , lay duct etc to enable  an alternative network to be deployed , you can check your local authority website to see if they are now responsible for the upkeep of the roads and paths .

 The current provider that is aligned with the developer, doesn’t have to offer access to their boxes and ducts , so they don’t , this means it’s an expensive proposition for a new provider ( assuming the roads are adopted) and with the added ‘penalty’  for Openreach, that if they provided a new network, their competitors can use those assets immediately under PIA ( physical infrastructure access, something only Openreach are obliged to offer ) , then an area such as your development is an unappealing prospect, especially so for Openreach.

Things may change , should the Government provide legislation that requires situations like yours where the developer locked out the usual networks to build a local monopoly and require them to allow access to their ducts etc , but currently there is no prospect of this , but developers do contribute large donations to the current party of government.

moneysaver1978

Da_Crojanz said:

It's about £25  month. Looks like 3 offer unlimited mobile for £20.

Have used our phones as hotspots and they are ok for general browsing and work stuff, though have never tried with things like Netflix, games

Yeah we had 4G hub with Three and while I cannot recall the specific speeds (although it was much faster than the landline in our old place), we didn't have any issues with streaming, Zoom, FaceTime, etc.

LeesArt

Da_Crojanz said:

We live on a new-ish build estate and as is becoming more common. had to take the housebuilders' internet service as no other providers were active.

All was good for the first 3.5 years but recently it breaks for the whole estate several times a week. Outages are often short, only a few minutes at a time but still very problematic especially if working from home. The internet provider (a subsidary of the housebuilder) rarely respond to complaints or queries and have no need to do so - they have a captive audience as no other provider is in the area.

Can anything be done here? We were told a new provider may come into the are in a couple o years but have heard it often takes a decade or more.

Form a residents association, leaflet each home and invite them to join your online forum

Get a show of hands of those that will commit to a new provider if you can persuade one to add their infrastructure.

Look around to see if there are any companies planning to modernise the streets near the exit of the estate and approach them with an instant customer base you got from those who committed.

If you are paying any fee for your current service dispute it.  Find out if there is some sort of right to manage of the service.

It is shocking that they did not provide adequate infrastructure in the first place, you should contact the Planning Dept and ask them why they granted planning permission for these developers and ask they make sure it does not happen again.

I would even find out where these developers are building now and mess with their promotions, go to their showhomes and inform their potential buyers, leave reviews for them online.  This might persuade them to do something about it.  

35har1old

iniltous said:

There is no guarantee that your development will ever get an alternative network, it’s when the local authority adopts the roads and footpaths that the likes of Virgin, Openreach ( and others ) have code powers to excavate in what is then public areas ( roads footpaths ) to build joint boxes , lay duct etc to enable  an alternative network to be deployed , you can check your local authority website to see if they are now responsible for the upkeep of the roads and paths .

 The current provider that is aligned with the developer, doesn’t have to offer access to their boxes and ducts , so they don’t , this means it’s an expensive proposition for a new provider ( assuming the roads are adopted) and with the added ‘penalty’  for Openreach, that if they provided a new network, their competitors can use those assets immediately under PIA ( physical infrastructure access, something only Openreach are obliged to offer ) , then an area such as your development is an unappealing prospect, especially so for Openreach.

Things may change , should the Government provide legislation that requires situations like yours where the developer locked out the usual networks to build a local monopoly and require them to allow access to their ducts etc , but currently there is no prospect of this , but developers do contribute large donations to the current party of government.

Openreach provides services to 690 companies that offer broadband they provide the network only

iniltous

35har1old said:

iniltous said:

There is no guarantee that your development will ever get an alternative network, it’s when the local authority adopts the roads and footpaths that the likes of Virgin, Openreach ( and others ) have code powers to excavate in what is then public areas ( roads footpaths ) to build joint boxes , lay duct etc to enable  an alternative network to be deployed , you can check your local authority website to see if they are now responsible for the upkeep of the roads and paths .

 The current provider that is aligned with the developer, doesn’t have to offer access to their boxes and ducts , so they don’t , this means it’s an expensive proposition for a new provider ( assuming the roads are adopted) and with the added ‘penalty’  for Openreach, that if they provided a new network, their competitors can use those assets immediately under PIA ( physical infrastructure access, something only Openreach are obliged to offer ) , then an area such as your development is an unappealing prospect, especially so for Openreach.

Things may change , should the Government provide legislation that requires situations like yours where the developer locked out the usual networks to build a local monopoly and require them to allow access to their ducts etc , but currently there is no prospect of this , but developers do contribute large donations to the current party of government.

Openreach provides services to 690 companies that offer broadband they provide the network only

Not sure why you have quoted me when to adding your point ( which could stand on its own , as it neither adds nor detracts from my comment ) , so any reason for directly quoting me  ?, I’m perfectly aware of the relationship between Openreach and the Communication Providers they provide services to