UK.gov suspends broadband connection voucher scheme The government has suspended its broadband connection voucher scheme, following last month's announcement that more than 40,000 SMEs had got their hands on the funds. In September, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport warned small businesses that time was running out to sign up to the scheme that helps them get …
"..because it's not just as simple as phoning a supplier and asking for a line?"
... Oddly enough, no it's not always that simple as I found out very recently when dealing with a certain company that doesn't run it's service over a Openreach cabling.
In this particular instance I suspect they trousered the UK.gov cash and then fabricated the requirement for eye-wateringly expensive civil works (aka chiseling a redundant "5mm" deep channel across tarmac) in order the sink the deal. I believe my cynicism is legitimate because one of their cables already runs from the exact same hole in the ground to the exact same bit of house already through some conduit.
Soon I'll see how easy Openreach make it. Not counting my chickens on that one either tbh. :)
I really never understood the sense of giving money to SME's to help pay for broadband, in 50 cities where broadband was already widely available (due to their higher than average populations and hence this has attracted lots of "providers").
Whereas, I'm in a small town, with limited choice of broadband provider and with much lower connection speed (as many of the local business area's are a considerable distance from the local BT exchange).
I would have loved to have been allowed to apply for funding so I could have got a fibre broadband connection, instead of having to rely on 1-2Mb/s ADSL.
"I really never understood the sense of giving money to SME's to help pay for broadband, in 50 cities where broadband was already widely available (due to their higher than average populations and hence this has attracted lots of "providers")."
I think it was a sweetener for the folks who didn't qualify for the multi-billion pound BT subsidy^WRural Broadband project.
"I would have loved to have been allowed to apply for funding so I could have got a fibre broadband connection"
Try out in the sticks ... currently running at 160kbps ... yep, you read that correctly. We can't apply under the scheme as we aren't in the city to massage the 'average speed' figures with a fibre connection. I'm just going outside to check the string then shout into my tin can ...
I'm fairly certain that I've heard of line of sight radio comms and receiver dishes being used to chalk up multiple connections to a single high capacity access point. The resulting multiple connections having some contention issues during peak periods yet still qualifying the operator for pocketing 3 grand per dish.
Not 100% sure as was only half paying attention to a fairly casual conversation, hence the anonymous coward posting: maybe I'll go back and do a bit of digging...
Radio links are all part of the (non-BT) BDUK deployments (and are common in Metropolitan Area Network deployments), in one, the high-capacity access point was located in the church steeple (sorry can't remember the details).
With respect to the Connection Vouchers, wireless solutions are permitted, however, to qualify, the minimum speed to your premises has to be at least 30Mbps for broadband or 20Mbps upgradable to 30+Mbps for leased-line.
You really couldn't make all this up could you?
Millions wasted tarting up a few cabinets so a few near them can go faster, and 'connection vouchers' for those in cities who have already noticed you don't go very fast on a cabinet anyway, and still nothing done for the millions on long lines all over the country. Homes passed is a con, and fibre broadband through old copper phone lines is a con. Satellites will be next, as Gfarce is just another con as well. We'll still be on copper in another decade thanks to the all powerful monopoly leading government by the nose. A superfarce.
"We'll still be on copper in another decade thanks to the all powerful monopoly leading government by the nose. A superfarce."
You may have got the wrong culprits:
http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/how-the-uk-lost-the-broadband-race-in-1990-1224784
The article states the reason we didn't get FTTP years back is because of the politicians putting their competition ideology ahead of benefiting the British public... It would seem that Ofcom is still wedded to the competition ideology, rather than getting the best for UK customers.
The original Connections Voucher scheme had a pot of £100m, which a year ago was underspent due to having little uptake. So the scheme was broadened and a further £40m put into the pot earlier this year; which we are now being told has all been spent.
However, "in June 2015 BT returned £129m of broadband rollout funding to the government after takeup of broadband services exceeded expectations.
This money will be "reinvested into further coverage across the UK", in the words of the current Minister of Fun, Conservative MP John Whittingdale." [Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/13/rural_broadband_reaches_3_million_still_behind_schedule/ ]
So just what is this £129m being spent on?
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