Categories
broadband Business

Superfast Broadband: Openreach Launches FTTC Exchange Availability Checker Map

BT Openreach has launched its own FTTC Exchange Availability Checker map (or in BT parlance Superfast fibre broadband map). This comes over a year after a similar tool was provided on this blog. Openreach asked me to pull that map.

This new one does go some way towards replacing the one on the blog though it doesn’t go into the detail by cabinet. I may look at reproducing it using just the exchange data – it is easy enough to do.

For now I will content myself with letting you know about Openreach’s version. No grudges.

Just a couple of observations re the Domain name Openreach is using – superfast-openreach.co.uk. Following the recent discussion on prefixes I wonder whether BT has bagged the hyperfast-openreach, ultrafast-openreach and uberfast-openreach domains. They should don’t you think?

Finally I’m somewhat miffed to see that there is no date for my exchange in Lincoln although another exchange in the city has already been done.  If you live in North Hykeham you are quids in. Must be some benefits to living there I suppose.  Now Tref stop that. I can see why people get emotional over not having superfast fibre broadband.

If you want high quality superfast broadband for your business email me at [email protected].

Trefor Davies

By Trefor Davies

Liver of life, father of four, CTO of trefor.net, writer, poet, philosopherontap.com

5 replies on “Superfast Broadband: Openreach Launches FTTC Exchange Availability Checker Map”

Good to see the map, but unfortunately it doesn’t show the cabinets – I’m less than 2k from my exchange, have a reasonable 15mbps download but slow 200kbps upload and often drops out. FTTC has been promised to my cabinet for 18months, one out of 3 in the main road. The other two are complete, mine is missing and presumably for planning permission issues. So it seems everyone on my cabinet is stuck. I guess I wait for 4G LTE. (Oh, 3G here is 1meg).

Perhaps of worthy note that the checker is listing FTTP exchanges as well as FTTC.

It is a shame though as you mention this doesn’t give more specific information on scheduled availability at particular postcodes. Would be nice to see when further FTTP expansion is planned in Milton Keynes as there are a large number of ‘slow spots’ here off the same exchange that can deliver 100meg to other postcodes.

I would wager that’s even more frustrating than being in a rural location and getting slow speeds as at least the guy in the next street is in the same boat as you rather than laughing in your face with all his extra speed 😉

Tref,

Do you happen to know when BT decide on which cabinets will be enabled; is this before or after an exchange makes the provisional ‘planned for 2012’ list? I suppose what I’m asking is: is it worth making registrations after the exchange is announced, in order to increase the likelihood that a cabinet is enabled for FTTC?

Thanks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.