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Re: [LUG] Some good news for devon

 
On Fri, 27 May 2011, raymond.knowles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:


Gordon,

Your cynicism is entirely justified.
I
understand that Railtrack have some spare fibre between
Devon and Paddington, so that might be cheaper that laying
new fibre.
Oh, there's lots of fibre - run by many companies, that's not really an issue. One issue, however is that it's all dark.. Because when you light it up and start passing data over it, it's then taxed by HMG. 

But that's known and understood.
The issues is, and always will be the last mile. At both ends. At the consumer end it's connecting their premises - and this is where FTTC is favourable because everyone has copper to a cabinet somewhere not too far away, (and lets face it, digging roads up is costly!) at the other end you need to buy Internet from someone - or run your own Internet company. (when you still need to buy Internet from someone and peer with as many others as possible) 

But all that is well understood too.
I've already built and run broadband systems in Devon & Cornwall actually not sure I'd want to do it again with todays technology... You can't please everyone... I'm really concerned that most of that money will be sucked up by some corprat entity without the end-users really seeing much benefit. £132m to light up the whole of Cornwall (and they're still some years from finishing the lot) - Devon is bigger than Cornwall and arguably more rural, so that £15m, even it matched to £30m by private money & local councils isn't going to go very far at all... 

Gordon


 >

Regards etc,
Ray.


----Original Message----



From: gordon+dcglug@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: 27/05/2011 12:38



To: <list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subj: Re: [LUG] Some good news

for devon


On Fri, 27 May 2011, Andrew Pearce wrote:




Looks like part of Devon will have their broadband
connections upgraded

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/27/broadband_rollout_devon_norfolk_wiltshire/


Sounds good, but ...

There's a lot of this about

today - e.g.


  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13565269>



However, read the small-print...

Basically £30 million

has been allocated to be shared between Devon &


Somerset... there will also be money from local councils

and private

investors (and I understand it's on a

'matched funding' basis)


So.. What can we do with £15

million?


BT has just spent £132 million on upgrading 8

exchanges in Cornwall... So

£16.5m per exchange. So £15m

isn't going to go far at that sort of

level...

But I

know I'm being cynical... However infrastructure costs
money, digging

up roads costs money, running the fibre

back to London (or renting stuff

already there) costs

money... And then you need to pay BT openreach anyway

to

make the actual connection - unless you're doing it
wirelessly or

digging up the road to run your own

fibre/copper to the premises..


But remember some time

ago I posted about a new network for Devon? Maybe

Siemens

will step-up and use their new network to carry the data...
Maybe

not ... But I suspect there are a few shiny suited

salesdroids knocking

on the doors of country hall as I

type...


I'd love to be part of it, but ... (anyone want

to form a company, get

some VC and do it with me???)




Gordon--
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list>FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq





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