Compton Fibre Newsletter No.7

Dear neighbour,

FTTP is now available in Attwoods Drove
and Martins Fields

From 5 January 2021, residents in the SO21 2AX, 2AY and 2AZ postcodes who use the Openreach availability checker have been seeing this message:

Great news. Ultrafast Full Fibre is available at your address

If you live in that area, you can now order BT's Ultrafast Full Fibre service online - visit https://www.bt.com/broadband/full-fibre.

One resident reports that if you ring BT they have more offers available than are shown on the website.

When you place an order

Please tell me by sending an email to info@cfp.comptonshawford.uk

I need to keep track because the funding for this project depends on people taking up the service to redeem the DCMS vouchers.

When will Compton Street get FTTP?

No news yet from Openreach about availability for the postcode areas SO21 2AT, SO21 2AU, SO21 2FF and the 3 properties at the western end of SO21 2AS who can't get Superfast Broadband.

Advertised work to clear a duct in Compton Street (up to 3 working days from 8 Jan) is presumably related to the new fibre delivery.

Here's a screen shot from https://one.network/?120266569 with details about the work.

(This link will probably stop working after the dates listed).

Nearby properties should have received a leaflet about the works.

Which FTTP service providers can I choose?

And what will it cost?

When we started this project, apart from BT, there was a limited choice of ultrafast fibre suppliers. Several household names are now on the list of Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) providers.

FTTP providers now include the companies shown below.

(click on a logo to view that company's broadband packages).

I expect several of these suppliers will soon update their offerings to recognise our area, but I don't have any information.
If you find out any details, please let me know.

Also offering FTTP but not (yet) on the list of FTTP providers:

Notes: PlusNet and EE are both owned by BT, but neither is on the list of FTTP providers.

EE does offer an FTTP service but that seems not to include fixed line telephone calls.

PlusNet do not have an FTTP service, even though they ran an FTTP trial.

Questions and Answers

I've applied for a small business voucher - do I have to have a business contract for my fibre broadband?
A: No. Small businesses can use residential contracts.
Can I/do I have to keep my old landline?
Unlike previous generations of broadband, with full fibre you don't have to have a landline contract. The fibre installation uses a cable that has a copper strand in it as well as the fibre. So you can connect your old phone and should be able to retain your old phone number if you want to and if your chosen supplier supports it. Check with your supplier.

There's a much longer set of Q&As here: https://cfp.comptonshawford.uk/2020/02/questions-and-answers/

What happens next?

I'm waiting for some answers from Openreach and will send out further updates as the service is rolled out.

Over the next week or so I'll try to contact everyone individually who had a voucher validated by the DCMS to see if you have any queries.

We may also do a leaflet drop to all properties in the area covered by this rollout.

About this newsletter: We set up this newsletter so that we can send you occasional updates about the project. You can always keep an eye on the project website at cfp.comptonshawford.uk.

If you have any questions, please reply to this email.

with best wishes

Adrian Walmsley
Community Lead
Compton Community Fibre Partnership Ltd

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Compton Community Fibre Partnership Ltd
company registered in England and Wales with company number 12517142