Milton Keynes Broadband Action Group

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Questions for BT

We met with BT Friday on 30th April 2004. We submitted the following list of questions. BT's written replies are inserted after each question.

The Questions and Answers

  1. Monkston

    Why are some Monkston TPON residents still refused broadband? There's copper cable sitting there ready to be used!
    3 members have recently joined that live in the TPON area of Monkston. They cannot get broadband. Could a map or a list of streets be provided? Has the copper cable been used up?

    Some residents of eastern Monkston may be have telephone lines which are unable to support broadband for the same reason people elsewhere are unable to have broadband: they’re simply too far from the telephone exchange. But the good news is that BT are running a long reach broadband trial in Milton Keynes, and anyone who can’t get broadband who has an 01908 number, is welcome to join.

    About the TPON in Monkston. A copper cable was over laid in the autumn of 2003 to address the TPON problem. There are plenty of spare copper pairs available in this cable for would-be broadband customers but it appears that in some cases BT’s records have not been fully updated and consequently the system is reporting a TPON finding (and therefore no broadband). Thank you for drawing this to our attention, we’re now endeavouring to fix this.

    About providing a map. BT do not provide maps of this nature for both security and commercial reasons.

     
  2. Order a New line to circumvent database problems.

    When I called BT up a few weeks ago to find out if Two Mile Ash could have Broadband I was told that I did have a line there but I was not connected as yet as the line was too short, when I asked how I could get round this issue I was advised to pay BT £75.00 to install a new phone line and it might work however there was no guarantee and no future date for full broadband installation.

    Ordering a new line is a risk because there is no automatic way BT can check to ensure it would be broadband friendly. This is because when an order for a new line is placed it’s checked for telephony use only. The broadband checks follow later once a broadband order is placed. (We’re currently working on an improvement to this process, but it is not yet available.) We apologise for any confusion caused if advice inconsistent with this position has been offered.

    We assume that when you say “the line was too short” you mean the line was too long. ADSL Broadband is distance dependent so the shorter the route your line takes back to the exchange the better your chance of receiving broadband. As you know, Two Mile Ash is served by the Stony Stratford telephone exchange and is broadband enabled.

     
  3. Trans-parenting chestnut

    Can a line be moved to a new exchange which should be closer. (I know the number would be changed.) Also how is it decided which areas are serviced by which exchanges?

    It is technically possible to switch customers from one telephone exchange to another. In the process customers’ loose their original telephone number which can be both inconvenient and costly, especially if the line is a business line.

    Generally, geographical areas are served by the telephone exchange nearest to them. In Milton Keynes as elsewhere, there are some exceptions but these are largely due to the development of the area.

    The     BT long reach trial is designed to provide broadband service for customers who are currently too far from their exchange, thereby avoiding such disruptive solutions.

     
  4. a, Blue Bridge – 2 cables

    How do we transfer Blue Bridge residents from the longer, 7.8km, to the shorter, 1.8km broadband friendly, cable?

    The issue is not always this simple. For example, there may not be any spare capacity on the shorter cable and there may be no duct space left to run a new cable through. In many instances digging up the road to provide new ducts is the only answer but this is expensive, disruptive, and unpopular with local Councils and citizens alike.

    Again, the     BT long reach trial is being run to resolve cases like this.

    b, Blue Bridge – a member’s solution

    Order another line at £75, and hope you get a new 1.8km line and cancel the old one. That was the only way I could do it. Very expensive!

    Please see our answer to question 2. We do not recommend ordering a new line in the hope that it will be able to serve broadband because there’s a risk that the new line may not be able to provide broadband either.

     
  5. Request for 1Mbps declined – only a few metres from Bradwell Abbey.

    I am at the South end of Woolstone, so not all that far from the Fishermead exchange. Why was my request for 1Mbps declined?

    We appreciate your frustration, but remember the geographical location of your home or office, to the telephone exchange, is the not the critical factor. The issue is your line loss and the subsequent degradation it may experience serving broadband. In other words, it’s possible for a customer to live next to the exchange but have a telephone line that is routed all around the neighbourhood before it reaches their premises.

    The     BT long reach trial in Milton Keynes is designed to set new limits for our 512kb/second broadband products only. However, work is underway to find ways of extending the reach of 1Mb and 2Mb products.

     
  6. BT Trial – Midband

    Will the trial support migration from BT Midband? (And back if my line fails?)

    Currently ISDN/HomeHighway lines are excluded from this trial. Please continue to visit this website for updates.

    Looks like that was the wrong answer!

    a, BT Trial - Charging

    I do not have a problem paying 1 month’s service charge if it means I have a chance of obtaining broadband. But, before committing, could there be a mechanism, prior to signing up, of determining the line length so that we could make a decision of whether we make the gamble or not? Those nearer the 10km limit are obviously taking more of a risk than those on a 6-7km line length.
    What we really need is for BT to provide details of how customers can become part of the trial without incurring costs if their connection fails. BT have their own ISP so it should be possible, for the trial period, to provide facilities F.O.C.

    The BT long reach trial is being run to establish new limits for reliable broadband service. It doesn’t automatically follow that “those nearer the 10km limit are obviously taking more of a risk than those on a 6-7km line length”. There may be other factors affecting your lines ability to serve broadband.

    Regarding your point about customers incurring costs even if their connections fail; a range of ISPs (including BT’s) will be participating in the trial. We recommend you read their terms and conditions before choosing your service provider. For its part BT Wholesale will not be charging ISP for failed connections.

    However, our over riding message is this: We’re confident that we will be able to provide a reliable service for most of MK.

    Please see our answer to question 6b below for further details on costs.


    b, BT Trial - Charging

    I had an email from an ISP informing me they will be participating in the trial and would I like to submit an order.

    I asked the ISP a couple of questions:

    1. Would the trial be free? A: No. The trial will be charged at normal rates. At the end you will have a fully working line

    2. What is the cancellation period, should the trial prove to be unsuccessful? A: 1 month.

    Not so sure I want to be paying full price to be a guinea pig for an unproven technology!

    There are a number of ISPs participating in the trial for you to choose from and it is worth examining their terms and conditions. For its part, BT Wholesale will be refunding their customer ISPs on lines we’re unable to provide broadband service for. (Please read our regularly updated BT/MK ‘01908’ Long reach Trial Communications for more on costs.)

    We’re confident that we’ll be able to provide broadband service on most of the 01908 numbers because we’re not trialing a new product; we’re assessing how far we can extend reliable broadband service in terms of line length and decibel loss.

    During the trial we aim to serve broadband on 01908 lines which hitherto have been rejected because of line length or decibel loss. Some of these lines will initially fail because of decibel loss attributed to the customer’s internal cabling. Our solution is to send in a BT engineer to correct the customer’s wiring where necessary, and to fit a new faceplate to the main telephone socket if appropriate. You will not be charged for this service.

     
  7. BT Trial – Village of Nash

    I live in Nash which is 8.25km, by BT estimates, from Shenley Church End. This exchange is enabled for Broadband but we are too far!

    I read with interest about the plan to trial to 10km and beyond. We are about to get satellite in the village but hope that we could trial to see if we could use the existing land lines instead?

    What do you think the chances are of us doing the trial?

    Your chances of joining the trial are very good because the BT long reach trial is open to open to those with numbers starting with 01908 who have gone to a broadband availability number checker and been returned a response stating they can’t get broadband due to their line length.

    To find out if you can get broadband check your number at your chosen ISP site or visit     http://www.bt.com/broadband

     
  8. What happens if I type my number into the broadband availability checker and find I’m told: "Good news!...our initial test indicates that it may be possible to provide ADSL broadband on this telephone line”. Can I join the trial? How do I join the trial?

    The answer you refer to is a "may be you can get broadband", so place an order as normal. If your line fails the subsequent tests we carry out in the background, and you're told that your line is currently unable to support broadband because of line length, then join the trial.
 

More Questions and Answers

May 2004
February 2004
November 2003

Meeting Details

Details of the meeting are to follow.

Many thanks to all the members that sent in questions and to the members that attended the meeting.

Read about our February Meeting, and our previous meeting in November.

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