Milton Keynes Broadband Action Group

Do you have a 01908 number but can't get broadband? Contact us!

Our Comment

Ericsson CMO says Wi-Fi hotspots' days are numbered

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/20/wi_fi_hotspots_claim/

Executive summary:
Adding to the growing number of people thinking that public Wi-Fi hotspots are nearing the end of their usefulness, the Chief Marketing Officer of Ericsson outlines his thoughts.

Impact for Milton Keynes:
MEDIUM. While a number of people in Milton Keynes cannot get access to broadband at all, mobile broadband via a USB dongle or embedded SIM laptop would be a great alternative, indeed with speeds now up to 7.2MBps for as little as £15 per month (up to 5GB of data transfer), the speed and pricing are comparable to basic land-based broadband packages.

MKBAG's view:
We recommend the use of mobile broadband alternatives where no land-based broadband is possible, and there is a need to get online.

You should be aware of the maximum data transfer limits of any offering you take up. For basic surfing these options should suffice for 75% of users. Additionally, a mobile subscription will allow you to use broadband on any PC you take the dongle to, thus bypassing having to pay £10 a session for public Wi-Fi hotspots anyway.

It's an interesting point to note that in some countries, such as Austria, there will be more users of mobile broadband than fixed land-based broadband before the end of 2008.

Phorm - privacy invasion posing as an ISP feature

www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/29/phorm_roundup/
www.badphorm.co.uk

Executive summary:
Phorm is an online advertising company that is promising "targeted advertising". They have signed deals and will be live before Summer 2008 with Virgin Media, Talk Talk and BT Broadband. They are installing new kit into each of the ISP's server equipment that will track your behaviour, visited web sites, search queries and more - and then provide advertising on web pages, that is based around your personal web habits.

Impact for Milton Keynes:
LOW. This is an advisory notice for users of these ISPs that their habits will be tracked. There is no opt-out from the monitoring, just a promise that if you ask to opt-out, that Phorm will not act on the data they compile from you.

MKBAG's view:
This causes large implications for the Data Protection Act and the RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000). Phorm's system works by reading the contents of web pages you visit, to build up a profile of your interests on your computer. It then uses this information to target you with categories of advertising when you later visit a website that is a member of the Open Internet Exchange (OIX), its publisher and advertiser network. Phorm has announced that The Guardian, Financial Times and MySpace have all signed up to let it serve the targeted ads to their users.

From Jakob Neilsen's latest Usability Newsletter.

Executive summary: Jakob Neilsen, "one of the world's foremost experts in Web usability", according to Business Week, has been tracking the uptake of bandwidth through his own "Neilsen's Law" since 1998. He has shown that during that time, a 49% PER YEAR growth factor in speed has occurred - that's 57 times growth in speed, compounded over ten years.

Impact for Milton Keynes: HIGH. Milton Keynes does not have the broadband infrastructure to cope with a c.50% per year bandwidth demand increase and requires intervention to keep the town at the forefront of emerging technology.

MKBAG's view: Coming from someone as pragmatic as Jakob Neilsen, you can be sure that this data set isn't biased. Jakob specialises in web usability and argues the point that sites should be designed to avoid high-bandwidth design. However, he openly acknowledges that YouTube and other media-heavy sites will continue to drive this speed threshold upwards - rapidly. While web experiences may be poor in Milton Keynes today, they will be non-existent in 12 to 24 months for any "web 2.0" sites, such as MySpace, YouTube, FaceBook - costing people in the local economy money and retarding inward investment.

The Register... BT gets EU backing to raise (and cut) wholesale broadband prices

Executive summary: BT has been given permission to remove price controls from certain exchanges around the UK where the regulator, Ofcom deems that there ‘is enough local competition to drive prices down’.

Impact for Milton Keynes: LOW. While there is a degree of “LLU” (Local Local Unbundling – where the connection of your line at the exchange is no longer handled by BT) in Milton Keynes, the number of people able to take advantage of LLU, due to lack of exchange capacity and long-length lines limits the impact of this news to negatively or positively affect prices for broadband in Milton Keynes in the short to mid-term.

MKBAG’s view: Until the issue of long lines, lack of capacity and general lack of broadband availability in Milton Keynes is resolved, the area will remain a price-stable island unable to flex pricing downwards due to lack of competition in the area (no competition from Virgin Media, no effective need to drop prices to welcome a sudden influx of customers onto broadband ISP’s LLU programmes). This changes nothing in terms of availability of broadband for Milton Keynes.

Latest News

Preferred Options for the future of Milton Keynes. Cllr Bint writes (November 2007)

BT's 21st Century Network Progress. Latest here... (December 2007)

Pipex Wireless remain committed to moving forwards with a full network roll out of equipment in the MK area. More here... (August 2007)

News

The E-MK Grants are no longer available. Take up has been excellent with 117 companies given assistance. (June 2006)

WiMAX trial: if you live in Milton Keynes and are interested in taking part in the WiMAX trial please use Pipex's registration form. There are more details about the trial here. (January 2007)

MK Wi-Fi mesh (30th July 2006)

MK Chamber of Commerce is investigating broadband access issues in MK (29th July 2006)

Milton Keynes Council is awarded £120,000 for their Digital MK proposal. (12th July 2006)

Prime Minister gets a letter from Dr Starkey (20th May 2006)

PowerPoint Presentation notes for our meeting with Tessa Jowell (8th May 2006)

Dr Starkey gets a reply from BT. (Updated 30th April 2006)

21CN No copper upgrade. (Updated 8th April 2006)

Loughton and Monkston cabling work is now complete. (Updated 23rd March 2006)

Briefing Note - A summary for our elected representatives (15th March 2006)

MKBAG delegation to meet with Tessa Jowell MP. (6th March 2006)

Read up on our recent meeting with Mark Lancaster, MP for MK North East (Updated 14th February 2006)

The Broadband Problem...

Until September 2004 parts of Milton Keynes had no Broadband Internet access. Coverage was particularly poor across a broad swathe from Shenley Lodge and Loughton in the west, through Great Linford in the north, Middleton in the east, and down to Old Farm Park in the south.

Since the recent trials in Milton Keynes and elsewhere, BT are now delivering ADSL services beyond the previous 60dB (6km) limit. BT has done away with the old distance limit for its 512kbps ADSL broadband services.

More details on BT's new planning rules are on this page.

If you have a 01908 number you should now be able to have broadband. If you can't, get in touch. You will get at least 512kbps.

There are still "not spots" around MK where you struggle to get more than 512kbps.

Current Aims

The group has over a 1000 members. The majority of have now got broadband, but...

BT's 99.8% coverage figure means a couple of hundred homes in MK without broadband. We don't agree with this: broadband should be available throughout Milton Keynes.

We're still campaigning!

Some parts of Milton Keynes still cannot get broadband. What's BT's solution?
There's demand for 1, 2 and 4Mbps broadband. This is not available in many areas. Will BT have an answer?
Residents in Monkston still have difficulty ordering broadband.
BT's 21st century network is being trialled in MK.
Is WiMax an answer?

Update from BT on Work in Milton Keynes

The group met with BT 15/3/05. Here is BT's update:

Loughton

Planned work to improve the network in Milton Keynes now means that all customers in Loughton should be able to receive broadband by the autumn of 2005. The duct and cable laying is scheduled for completion in October 2005, subject to permission from Milton Keynes Council and no unexpected issues arising while the work is being carried out. The work should ensure that 512kbps broadband is available to everyone on the estate with the expectation that most will be able to receive higher speeds.
Any news will be posted on the Loughton Update page.

Monkston

Copper cable will be provided to enable all existing customers to be transferred off TPON and on to copper to ensure they're able to receive broadband. BT plan to move customers off TPON as soon as the copper is in place which will also make ordering broadband easier. This work is also scheduled for completion in October 2005 and should ensure that 512kbps broadband is available to everyone on the estate with the expectation that most will be able to receive higher speeds. [The first run of copper to Monkston was laid in June 2003.]

BT's 21st Century Access Fibre Trial

BT's 21st Century Access Fibre Trial, also known as the Fibre to the Premises Trial, is being run in Milton Keynes. BT's current trial of fibre optic cable run directly into customers' homes in parts of Kents Hill, Walnut Tree and Bolbeck Park is progressing well. These locations have been chosen for technical reasons and all eligible potential trialists have now been invited to join the trial. Eligibility was based on the technical feasibility of serving individual homes with fibre.

BT is also running the trial in Martlesham Heath, near Ipswich, and in London's docklands. The trial is planned to run until September 2005 and will help to shape BT's thinking and strategic investment decisions in the future.

3/2/05

BT Wholesale plans to run initial trials of ADSL2+ technology to support higher speed services of up to 18Mbit/s. More here...

18/8/04

An Official Announcement from BT

BT BREAKS DOWN BARRIER TO BRING A MILLION MORE CUSTOMERS WITHIN REACH OF BROADBAND

Broadband availability to match analogue TV coverage by Summer 2005

Distance limits removed for 512kb/sec ADSL services

Range for 1 Mb/sec ADSL extended to reach 6km from exchange

BT today announced it was removing the distance related limits for the most popular broadband services, bringing potentially more than a million more UK homes and businesses within reach of broadband.

Following BT Wholesale trials in Milton Keynes and rural areas around Fort William and Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands, BT is confident a 512kb/sec ADSL service can now be provided to the vast majority of people beyond the former limit which was roughly equivalent to 6km distance from the exchange.

From September 6, 2004, the reach limit for the 512kb/sec ADSL services will be removed. BT is also increasing the range for 1Mb/sec premium services from 4km to approximately 6km – making 1Mb/sec ADSL available to 96 per cent of homes and businesses connected to a broadband exchange.

The trial data indicates that removing the limit means 99.8 per cent of lines connected to a broadband exchange should now be able to get a 512kb/sec ADSL service. To date approximately 96 per cent of homes and businesses connected to broadband enabled exchanges were within range for 512kb/sec ADSL.

Alison Ritchie, BT chief broadband officer, said: “By pushing the boundaries on broadband reach we are building on our exchange upgrade rollout programme which means the remaining gaps in the broadband Britain jigsaw are getting smaller and smaller.

“Today’s announcement, together with our exchange upgrade programme means that by next summer we expect the availability of ADSL broadband in the UK to be at 99.4 per cent - on a par with the percentage of homes that can get good quality analogue TV signals for the four main terrestrial channels*.

“The trial data and feedback from the trialists in Milton Keynes and others involved in the trials in Fort William and Dingwall has contributed to bringing broadband within reach of another million homes. Their commitment to work with us has helped bring us all a significant step closer to a truly broadband Britain.

“If you thought you couldn’t get broadband – think again. When the new developments come into force in September, place an order with your service provider and in most cases BT will be able to get broadband to you.”

The trials revealed that to provide broadband service to approximately one in five people beyond the former limit will require a visit by a BT engineer to make modifications to wiring at the customer premises or to local BT network cabling. BT would not charge the customer for this engineer visit. For a small number of cases it may not be possible to provide reliable broadband service at 512kb/sec, even following a visit by a BT engineer. However, BT will continue to seek a solution as the technologies develop. The trial data indicates that where the exchange is upgraded for broadband, an average of 99.8 per cent of lines should be able to get 512kb/sec ADSL broadband service.

BT’s exchange upgrade programme to take broadband coverage to exchanges serving 99.6 per cent of households by summer 2005 makes the UK number one for ADSL availability in the G7 group of leading industrial countries both at the end of this year and 2005. This position was outlined in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report “The development of broadband access in rural and remote areas” which is available at www.oecd.org/sti/telecom.

Notes to editors -

Previously there was a limit for 512kb/sec broadband based on 60dB of signal loss on the line (typical line length about 6km). This meant 512kb/sec services reached approximately 96 per cent of homes and businesses.
The new line loss limit for 1Mb/sec ADSL will be 60dB (approximately 6km).
While the removal of reach limits for 512kb/sec ADSL will mean the vast majority of people connected to a broadband exchange will be able to get service there will still be some who can not, even following a visit by a BT engineer. The trial data indicates this should only apply to an average of 0.2 per cent of lines connected to broadband enabled exchanges.
From September 6, 2004, people who previously could not get 512kb/sec broadband because they were out of reach will be able to order via their chosen service provider. From that date the availability checker at bt.com/broadband will be updated to show the new line status.
Based on the trial data which indicates a national average of 99.8 per cent availability within enabled exchange areas and BT’s rollout programme to upgrade exchanges serving 99.6 per cent of UK homes, BT estimates that 99.4 per cent of UK homes and businesses should be able to get 512kb/sec ADSL service by August 2005.
Statistics published on the Ofcom website state: “Good analogue TV reception is available to nearly all viewers in the UK from the terrestrial UHF transmitter networks. ITV1, Channel 4, BBC1 and BBC2 reach about 99.4% of the population, while Channel 5 covers 80%.

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