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Broadband speed


Marvin
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Problems with Broadband in Gulberwick  

22 members have voted

  1. 1. Problems with Broadband in Gulberwick

    • Oh YES!
      10
    • Oh NO!
      10


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The SIC are a Local Authority and IMHO should concentrate on basic services, let alone decide to blooming run a cable.

I would disagree and say this is EXACTLY the kind of forward/out-of-the-box thinking that is needed by local authorities to achieve savings. The reality is central government has little interest in Shetland, and £1.5M is a very small amount. If it offers a clear return on investment and can benefit the local economy, even attract new business, then it seems like a very sound investment.

 

As mentioned satellite technology is expensive, and community groups aren't required to make this project work but quite rightly shouldn't be excluded either, and if there is a business case, then perhaps even given help to fund it.

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Shetland Telecom, say YES ! But it will take a month.

 

So Shetland Telecom are offering services to individuals/businesses in as little as a months time?

 

Please can someone confirm what the timetable is.

 

Yes, backhaul services i.e. access to transmission network. These services are available to telcos and ISPs (like Shetland Broadband).

 

The timetable is that we are waiting on Cisco to provide hardware.. Should be good to go in a couple of weeks.

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I think there is too much emphasis on getting faster broadband for rural areas and not enough on getting reliable broadband. Better in the last few days but for most of this year I have had almost daily cuts in service. Maybe only for a few minutes but they certainly cause problems when I am trying to download something or to place an order.

 

Perhaps we should also be asking for cheaper broadband for rural areas. I am paying far more to my ISP than I would in urban areas for a slower service with more problems. And no real chance to sign up with others offering cheaper services as I find the same thing with all of them.

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The timetable is that we are waiting on Cisco to provide hardware.. Should be good to go in a couple of weeks.

Ahh ok. Had a chat with Shetland Broadband and they tell me there is infratructure to be put in place before they can offer it, so looking likely to be summertime before individuals/businesses can take advantage.

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Just in case you missed it, I know folk look for these sorts of things. The consultation paper has closed that will enable the "super" fast broadband to be rolled out to all but 10% of you. They plan to make it easier to install more overhead cables as it is cheaper (hmm, summint mentioned on another thread of a similar vein).

 

Unless you are not super fast, you may get your views in.

 

http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/consultations/condoc_restrictions-telecoms-lines-NOV2011.pdf

 

http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/consultations/IA_restrictions-telecoms-line-NOV2011.pdf

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It was actually pretty good. It was a good turnout (about 40) and it was a good cross section of the community. The bit that surprised me a little was that most of the conversation was about mobile coverage. I think people can see things happening with broadband but not a lot happening with mobile.

 

Snipped a lot, but thanks for the info, its nice to know some more. I find it very unsurprising that mobile coverage is a talking point, anyone who is on the move outside the town will know how poor it is, and the bandwidth is terrible given the tech level of mobiles now. Great that I can watch Sky on my mobile, but I need to go and find a wifi connection.... (Thankfully BT allow me to hook onto 2 million other peoples wifi). And on the subject of watching Sky - I can only get satellite TV in the wilds of Cunningsburgh, so when you compare the TV & Mobile issues to the Broadband issues, our current provision is actually pretty good in relative terms, reliability aside.

 

Not saying I wouldnt like better Broadband ofc, but of the 3 its current provision is the best and would be at the bottom of my whine-list :D

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Its all part of the same problem. Mobile masts/cells need connectivity to a backhaul network. If the cost of connection is extremely high then it is unlikely that any new masts will appear. That, coupled with the low population density means that building a business case for improvements to coverage is a tad difficult. The only way of improving coverage is to make the cost of accessing backhaul affordable. The same backhaul network is needed for broadband .... so it all can be improved but it needs to work together.

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Its all part of the same problem. Mobile masts/cells need connectivity to a backhaul network. If the cost of connection is extremely high then it is unlikely that any new masts will appear. That, coupled with the low population density means that building a business case for improvements to coverage is a tad difficult. The only way of improving coverage is to make the cost of accessing backhaul affordable. The same backhaul network is needed for broadband .... so it all can be improved but it needs to work together.

 

So the Faroese cable can be used to assist in the provision of improved mobile coverage in the longer term - good news.

 

I'm sure this will have been answered in the case-making for the link, but why wasnt an improved micro-wave link a good option to improve the backhaul? Is it owned solely by BT and they lack interest?

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Its all part of the same problem. Mobile masts/cells need connectivity to a backhaul network. If the cost of connection is extremely high then it is unlikely that any new masts will appear. That, coupled with the low population density means that building a business case for improvements to coverage is a tad difficult. The only way of improving coverage is to make the cost of accessing backhaul affordable. The same backhaul network is needed for broadband .... so it all can be improved but it needs to work together.

 

So the Faroese cable can be used to assist in the provision of improved mobile coverage in the longer term - good news.

 

I'm sure this will have been answered in the case-making for the link, but why wasnt an improved micro-wave link a good option to improve the backhaul? Is it owned solely by BT and they lack interest?

 

There are two microwave systems linking Shetland to mainland Scotland, one is owned by BT, the other is owned by Cable & Wireless. Each organisation has their business model for them.

 

There is a limit to how many microwave links you can co-site, and indeed the number of frequencies available from OFCOM. Additionally, the Shetland links have some of the longest links technically feasible without being at the top of a mountain.

 

Microwaves are affected by atmospherics, especially on long links. So, there have been times that BT and CW links have been both badly affected at the same time.

 

The fibre cable has the potential to carry 400 times the capacity of those microwave links.

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^ what Hairyian says

 

Upgrading of microwaves (even if it wre technically possible) isn't really a viable option when fibre is available. We also wanted to acheive a resilient connection. The bandwidth we are using is in Shefa2 and Farice1 (via Torshavn). So if the cable between Shetland and the mainland breaks, our bandwidth is re-routed via Torshavn and down the other cable.

 

The network is also resilient on two different networks all the way to London.

 

........and, if all else fails it can be re-routed to Iceland and down Danice to Copenhagen.

 

It's the telecom equivalent of wearing three pairs oh draars.... :-)

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