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BT Broadband - Forest Hill Exchange Upgrade
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Moreno


Posts: 14
Joined: May 2011
Post: #61
24-06-2011 10:21 AM

Wow,

That was a very well worded and polite way of representing the disappointment, anger, and resentment that I, for one, feel towards BT. You would have hoped that a company with the history and reach of BT's would, for once, pull their finger out and do something correctly or near to schedule! http://www.se23.com/forum/images/smilies/cursing.gif

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kannanni


Posts: 8
Joined: Jul 2011
Post: #62
22-07-2011 06:32 PM

hi there,


i live in the kirkdale area of forest hill, our fttc cab was installed early april..
just out of curiosity i decided to e-mail BT's CEO ian livingston to enquire or exchange-s activation status. this is the reply i got from him: (The information on line gives the best date that is available. Even if the exchange has been enabled this does not mean Infinity is available to all areas and similarly even if a new FTTC cabinet has been put in, there may be various works required to enable it. You should register your interest via BT.com and we will inform when the service will be available.
Ian) btw i have already registered my interest already twice.

im not sure if it was just coincidence but on the same day, at about 5pm evening , we saw about 5-6 guys wearing green bt jackets,pulling and laying yellow looking thick cable underground through manholes in our road leading to the cabinet next to the bust station. they finished late at about 10:30 in the evening.. im not sure if this is a good sign though..


please share any news/gossips (if any) regarding activation status of our exchange



regards,
kannanni

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jgdoherty


Posts: 372
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #63
29-07-2011 10:23 AM

As we come to the end of July, there is not a lot to update specifically about progress on the Forest Hill upgrade really, however......

Ian Livingstone, Chief Executive, BT Group plc announced on 27 July that:

"Our super-fast broadband network [ie the FTTC/FTTP stuff] has now passed over 5m premises and the customer base has almost trebled in the last six months."

His oblique reference to trebling numbers probably masks how few customers are actually connected as opposed to the numbers of premises that the new network has "passed".

As most of us probably know, the latest promised date of June 2011 has passed and no super-fast connections are available. The usual sources of up-to-date info are silent or still leave the revised delivery dates at either September or December (2011).

BT's online sources give different answers as to whether super-fast services are even scheduled for this area.

For some of us, the existing quality of service continues to fluctuate wildly with my service at 1.8 km from the exchange dropping from a fairly solid 9-9.5 mbps to 6.2mbps - an unprecedented 30% drop.

All-in-all this is an ongoing disastrously poor performance by BT and Openreach.

If anyone has found any additional source for accurate updates - please share your findings.

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NewForester


Posts: 379
Joined: Feb 2008
Post: #64
08-08-2011 11:41 AM

If you haven't already done so, may I encourage those speed demons who are champing at the bit for FTTC to register their interest with Be? They are in planning mode at the moment and will use your registration to help them understand where there's the most demand.

Be/O2 put their own equipment into the exchange and currently use BT's cable from the exchange to your house. I am not sure if they will use BT's fibre from the exchange to your house, but it would offer us an alternative if BT cannot get their act together.

The address for registrations is https://www.bethere.co.uk/web/beportal/fibre

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Moreno


Posts: 14
Joined: May 2011
Post: #65
16-08-2011 12:48 PM

This is encouraging (a little at least). I've been using BE both at home and for clients I work with for the last few years and they have been brilliant. They have consistently outclassed the competition in terms of real life line speeds both up and down the line on their ADSL 2+ network. If they can offer a service in our area at some point soon I would jump at the opportunity to upgrade my existing service from them to Fibre.

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kannanni


Posts: 8
Joined: Jul 2011
Post: #66
19-09-2011 12:51 PM

Hi,


Just checked bt infinity checker and activation date has sliped again from 31st of sep to the 31st of december.

i'm not quite sure if we are going to get it this year at all

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Moreno


Posts: 14
Joined: May 2011
Post: #67
19-09-2011 12:53 PM

When I enter my phone number it has slipped to no date whatsoever. It used to say July and then September.

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jgdoherty


Posts: 372
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #68
10-10-2011 10:51 AM

Last week BT Openreach announced that their 110Mbps fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) service is going into "early market deployment launch" on the 31st of October. This means FTTP will come out of trial and it will be additionally be available for purchase through other service providers. This announcement clarifies for the first time that we in Forest Hill were never going to see go-live for FTTP until after those trials were complete and that all previously published data was therefore inaccurate.

Only 6 areas are planned to be live on this date and Forest Hill (LSFOR) is not amongst them.

So September has passed and whilst the completion of the trials phase is good news and it possibly means that we might finally see super-fast broadband network in Forest Hill, we here have no further firm information as to when this might occur. I have seen no confirmation of a possible December (2011) go-live.

I cannot establish when or if the FTTP install is complete for the exchange but I have seen extensive work being done on the installation of DP's and manifolds

Rumours had it that if and when we could connect to fibre, the copper connections woud have to be retained for voice services a la POTS. BT has confirmed this in that FTTP is going live without a voice component and that Fibre Voice Access is expected to launch next year.

BT Openreach also confirms that as this is an 'early deployment', only tentative steps are being taken and service levels are not being guaranteed until there has been further analysis of the service.

Curiously and in typically BT comedic style Openreach has separately announced that at the point at which the 110 mbps service will go-live, the delivered speed will be upgraded to 300Mbps in early 2012. This announcement must be viewed as having its feet firmly planted in the "more jam tomorrow" ethos as opposed to the much more preferrable "you can connect to super-fast broadband network today".

For levels of existing services, performance continues to fluctuate wildly by as much as 40-50% and particularly high number of drop-outs and internet disconnects in the early days of October are being experienced.

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Sherwood


Posts: 1,412
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #69
10-10-2011 11:07 AM

I was speaking to a BT engineer working in my road recently. He said the programme had slipped behind schedule by 3 months.

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Moreno


Posts: 14
Joined: May 2011
Post: #70
10-10-2011 11:38 AM

....I was speaking to a BT engineer working in my road recently. He said the programme had slipped behind schedule by 3 months.

Are you sure it was months and not years that he said?

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Sherwood


Posts: 1,412
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #71
10-10-2011 12:22 PM

He said Lewisham Council require 3 months notice before BT can dig up the pavement to install new cables. Therefore, the programme has slipped behind schedule.

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jgdoherty


Posts: 372
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #72
11-10-2011 09:14 AM

Whilst most local authorities treat BT's proposals as permitted developments, some do require more input from BT than the usual consultation documents .

Lewisham is not one of those authorities and it normally only calls for planning appliations where substantial pieces of above-surface kit may be included in the proposed installation. The normal sized green street cabinets do not fall into this category.

BT do have to obtain permits along with all other utility organisations for all excavation activities on the footpaths and highways of the borough. These do not take 3 months to obtain and there is web-site where you can view all permits that have been granted.

This appalingly managed programme may now be considered to be some 21 months in delay. BT obfuscated the issue by starting with an FTTC installation for the exchange and switched mid-stream to FTTP/H.

The problems are all of BT's making. Poor management and an absence of accountability for the delivery of this project is where the culpability for this fiasco lies.

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junegapi


Posts: 106
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #73
11-10-2011 11:46 AM

A good example of the poor management of the installation of Broadband is the amount of work it is taking and re-taking several times is in Honor oak Road at the junction with Manor Mount. BT or its contractors have been installing and re-installing, each time digging up the pavement, the green boxes ad nauseam. Whether my BB performance has suffered or not, who knows, I don't. But it is slower when the schools close from 3.30 pm onwards.

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kannanni


Posts: 8
Joined: Jul 2011
Post: #74
11-10-2011 06:33 PM

Hi all,


just to let you all know that after i searched again on bt infinity's website for avaiability i was shocked to see that FTTC infinity is as from today avaiable to order in my area!!
i am only 80 metres away from the cabinet and i was quoted 40 meg down and 10 up by both the website and infinity sales lady.
So... i called infinity sales up, ordered it and have an install date *still to be confirmed* for next tuesday. i took the unlimited option £20 for the first 3 months,all i had to pay was £6 quid for the new wireless hub. Still waiting for an order confirmation e-mail that apparently can take up to 48 hours to arrive.

i did receive the username and password for the new bt e-mails though.

so guys, whoever is interested for infinity check their website .

good luck.

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jgdoherty


Posts: 372
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #75
11-10-2011 10:56 PM

Congratulations Kannanni

This all sounds to be a liitle too good to be true - however if BT state they can connect you to upto 40 Mbps Infinity they almost certainly will.

Do you know what exchange you are connected to - I re-checked this evening and Forest Hill is still not offering Infinity.

Sounds like they are stiffing you for the six squid contribution to the Home Hub 3 (HH3).

Better that than the misleading upgrade screens currently being used for existing BT customers where it is inferred that you get the HH3 as part of your upgrade but then find BT want a £46 contribution.

But then that is BT.

Do let us know which BT exchange you are connected to.

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kannanni


Posts: 8
Joined: Jul 2011
Post: #76
12-10-2011 07:14 AM

Hi jgdoherty,


I am connected to Forest Hill exchange, but apparently does not switch all their fttc cabs live at the same time... mine has gone live yesterday and holpefully they will switch them all on before the end of the year.


as according to the 40/10 speeds they quoted, they can be achieved if not too far from exchange and acceptable copper exchange from fttc cabinet to your vdsl modem, i am not to fussed to get the maximum as long as its fast enough and reliable.

bt infinity has so far used only vdsl profile 18c which offers at max 40/10, but according to bt infinity users forum, they have just started to change users to the new vdsl profile 17a which supports speeds up to 120/20 or maybe more..

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jgdoherty


Posts: 372
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #77
12-10-2011 07:41 AM

A big congrats kannanni and thank you for the update on the cabinets.

Looks like you may be one of the first Infinity users in Forest Hill - I think this milestone should be marked in someway by BT - perhaps BT could refund your six squid or put a plaque outside your house even.

Your information also dispels one theory that BT customers could only have one type of product per exchange ie FTTC or FTTP/H - you are being offered FTTC whilst we know that a major cable lay has been undertaken based on the architecture required for FTTP/H. Perhaps, alternatively, your cabinet was one of the original FTTC installs completed before the change in design to FTTP/H.

Are you particularly close to the exchange as well as your nearest cabinet ?

Anyway - good luck and good surfing !!

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kannanni


Posts: 8
Joined: Jul 2011
Post: #78
12-10-2011 01:23 PM

hi,


thanks for your comments Smile, i'm not really going to use their wireless hub,as i trust my networking needs only to my beloved netgear wndr3700.

regarding my distance from the exchange, according to samknows it's about 1.6 km in total..in kirkdale se26.

fttc cab was installed way back in april.. maybe that's why they left it as an fttc project..


just received a confirmation sms from bt confirming installation date.

will keep you updated.

wish you luck in getting fibre, fttc/p/h in a near future.

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jgdoherty


Posts: 372
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #79
12-10-2011 02:30 PM

Hi

I see your Netgear WNDR3700 is dual band - compared with the HH3 which I only discovered yesterday is not.

I have seen the HH3 installed in two new locations and have to say that the range in its coverage is impressive compared with other "n" class routers. It effectively reached internal blind spots in multi-storey buildings thereby eliminating them. Have not observed the HH3 over any lengthy period of time, therefore cannot provide any insight on its reliability.

What DSL modem do you currently use to connect the Netgear to ?

No doubt the HH3 probably will be a good piece of back-up kit, unless of course you want to dispose of it.

As far as the Netgear dual band is concerned does the router and the connected kit have to be manually configured to use the alternative band or can they be set to automatic and switch if the 14 Channels in the 2.4Ghz band are congested ?

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kannanni


Posts: 8
Joined: Jul 2011
Post: #80
12-10-2011 07:30 PM

Hi,


to be honest i've never seen the homehub 3 in action, but will test if for sure and will let you know about the results, i had a quick look on the net and apart of the autoswitch for the wireless did not offer any other extras like vpn,qos,ddns update,wireless mac filtering or ip reservation, i wont buy a wireless router if it does not offer these features..

regarding wndr 3700. i have not seen or heard a consumer router of this range to beat it as yet, it has all i need, wireless top notch on both bands, i have 1 wired pc,wired tv, 1 laptop and 2 android phones connecting just fine for more than 12 months, vpn,qos,mac filtering,and usb/hdd media streaming hd works fine.

it does not have a auto switch for wireless channels, i do that manually,
http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/, if you install this on a windows laptop it will scan all wireless channels around and you can just pick up yourself an empty channel. i have never had a wireless drop since using this router on both bands 2.4 and 5 ghz

netgear router is tested with a bethere connection adsl 2+ - connected to bethere router/modem in bridge mode - manually setup. guide avaiable from google.

it will work with any adsl or vdsl providing bridge mode for adsl and manual settings, dhcp/auto for virgin cable from their modem or superhub in bridge mode, bt infinity connection guide also avaiable in google.

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