Summer 2013 report
(With later slight revisions to tie in with other changes to this website.)
The contract signed between the County Council and BT's Open Reach division looks like benefiting most of us who want a better broadband service in Woodhouse parish or Swithland. The improved "superfast broadband" SFBB service should be available some time between September 2014 and summer 2015 (or somewhat later for Swithland). Details are not finalised but the following is an edited extract from the outline map published on the LCC website:
The official version which was published on www.leics.gov.uk/broadband/ lacked the geographic details which we have overlaid here. LCC (who expect to publish more detail next spring) have neither approved nor disputed this interpretation. We must emphasize that the areas indicated here are based on what BT call their "high level modelling" and may change when they have considered the area in detail.
Achievable speed will decrease with distance from a BT cabinet. The Government define superfast broadband as having a download speed of at least 24Mbps - we get less than 8 at present. With the technology proposed 24mbps should be available up to about 1.2Km (by wire) from a BT cabinet, and the dotted line on the map is based on this. Those outside the dotted line should still be able to obtain a significant improvement.
The intention seems to be to upgrade the service to Swithland as a second stage, probably some time before Summer 2016.
Some fringe areas served by our exchange seem to be excluded from the current plans. Those in such areas may take some slight comfort from the fact that LCC is committed to ensuring a minimum of 2Mbps everywhere eventually. A poor target in our view but improvements in technology may well provide more.