It's here!

Order now complete on a Fibre broadband package Here's my connection speed:

that's 80Mbit/s download speed and 20Mbit/s upload speed on line speed,
real-world data transfer (speedtest.net anyway) gives pretty close to this:

Our line length is under 30 metres.

A neighbour with 1.3KM line length is getting 30Mb/s

Cabinets Accepting Orders after Openreach data glitch resolved

An issue preventing some users of cabinet 3 from ordering FTTC has been resolved. Some properties were incorrectly being reported as 'too far from the cabinet' by the Openreach tool despite being well within range of a new cabinet.

A property with a line length of approx. 1.3km from house to cabinet is able to order fibre broadband at an estimated speed of 21Mbps.

If your phone number reports as being 'too far from the cabinet' yet you are able to trace your telephone line length to be under 2km, it may be worth investigating if your line length really is too long or there is a glitch in Openreach data.

Thanks go to Highlands and Islands Enterprise for liaising with Openreach to get this resolved.

The below is based on a survey of local telephone numbers against Openreach availability checker on 21st August 2017:

https://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/when-can-i-get-fibre.aspx

Cabinet 1 – in the village – has been live since Dec 2015
Cabinet 2 – Letterwalton/Pony Park/Tyree/North Benderloch - accepting orders
Cabinet 3 – South Shian opp. Shenavallie junction – accepting orders
Cabinet 4 – (opposite Ardbhatan), towards South Shian  - accepting orders
Cabinet 5 – (Barcaldine, near junction with Glen Salacah) – Not yet live. ETA November 2017

It should be noted that the usual adverts by BT/Openreach announcing the arrival of fibre have not been seen - e.g. posters on the cabinet or sales calls by BT, so even though ISPs are accepting orders, given that the cabinets are so new there may well be delays in provisioning.

Cabinet 3 also live for some users...

...but not others...

Cabinet 4 now Accepting Orders

Cabinet 4 (Ardbhatan) now Accepting Orders

Cabinet Summary - new cabinets LIVE! and new rollout dates

Cabinet 1 - in the village - has been live since Dec 2015

Cabinet 2 - Letterwalton/Pony Park/Tyree/North Benderloch IS NOW LIVE and ACCEPTING ORDERS!

Cabinet 3 - South Shian opp. Shenavallie junction - is apparently now LIVE, but not yet accepting orders. ETA Aug 2017

Cabinet 4 - (opposite Ardbhatan), towards South Shian is not yet connected for fibre and power, but new BT poles and overhead lines have been installed this week. ETA Jan 2017

Cabinet 5 - (Barcaldine, near junction with Glen Salcah) - not yet connected for fibre and power. ETA November 2017

BT availability checker shows cabinet 4 as still being connected. Cabinet 3 (Shenavallie) is activated but not yet accepting orders; presumably awaiting cabinet 4 to be wired up.

Fibre Cabinet	Fibre Status	Phase	Properties Passed	Vendor	Approx Post Code
Cabinet P1	FTTC Available from 18th December 2015	Phase BDUK HIE 12a	149	Huawei	PA37 1PY
Cabinet P2	FTTC being Activated, live due by August 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1RY
Cabinet P3	FTTC being Activated, live due by August 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1QU
Cabinet P4	FTTC being Connected, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1QR
Cabinet P5	FTTC being Connected, live due by November 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1SL

one month on and 'still within the next month'

what is the point of these predicted timescales if they are not followed?
Last check on 22 June was "within the next month"

Over one month on and...

27/07/2017

We're performing our final quality checks and making sure everything is ready for your fibre order.

You can't order a fibre service today but typically it'll be available to your premises within the next month.
Find out more about the fibre journey.

Exchange name: Ledaig
Exchange status: Fibre enabled
Cabinet number: 3
Technology: -

Availability checker - "within the next month"

22/6/17 openreach where and when:

Exchange name: Ledaig 
Exchange status: Fibre enabled 
Cabinet number: 3 
Technology: -

We're performing our final quality checks and making sure everything is ready for your fibre order.

You can't order a fibre service today but typically it'll be available to your premises within the next month.
Find out more about the fibre journey.

Fibre being pulled through.

Fibre being drawn through new ducts from cabinet 3 opp Ferlum, towards Barcaldine Castle

power being connected to cabinet 3

SSE engineers running power to the new cabinet 2nd June 2017.
ETA still says January 2017

4G / LTE is the way to go?

This is the speed we get in Benderloch in a mobile 'not-spot' via 4G/LTE modem, external antenna and EE data sim:

This is comparable with a mid-speed FTTC connection and around 5x faster download/ 35x faster upload than our current ADSL. Ping latency matches our ADSL connection at present (both are tested over 802.11ac wifi).

Cost is £23/month for 16GB data use and 'up to 60Mb/s' speed on EE. Other masts for other networks are available in the area, and more upgrades are in planning for the area.

I see this as a viable alternative to waiting for FTTC rollout.

The biggest downside to 4G is the unknown contention for capacity at the cell site - how will a single cell site handle a large number of subscribers, or a small number of high-consumption subscribers?

Presumably when hoards of tourists all come and take photos and upload them to Facebook, this will start to slow down. Likewise if everyone suddenly migrated to 4G for their home internet connections, would everyone suffer?

Time will tell

Barcaldine Castle Voda/O2 mast upgrade to 4G

Barcaldine Castle Voda/O2 mast upgrade to 4G

17/00538/PP | Upgrade of existing telecommunications site (including extension to existing lattice mast) | Telecommunications Mast South West Of Barcaldine Castle Benderloch Oban Argyll And Bute

Fibre rollout now 2 months overdue

No progress updates on fibre rollout. Green cabinets are installed at P2,P3 and P4.

Some overhead cable works taking place locally in February 2017 - whether related or not I don't know.

No change to the anticipated rollout dates for any cabinets (Status as at 22 March 2017)

Cabinet P1 - Opposite Village hall - FTTC is live but reported 'full' so not accepting new orders?

Cabinet P2 - near BT Exchange/Tyree, Benderloch north - (planning ref 16/02101)
Cabinet P3 - Ferlum/Shenavallie junction, South Shian road -(16/01861)
Cabinet P4 - Ardbhatan, South Shian road -  (16/01864)
Cabinet P5- opp Gair Na Mara Barcaldine (moved slightly)-  (16/01862) (v2: 17/00534)

Don't know what has happened to:
PCP006 - opposite Barcaldine Primary School - ETA unknown (16/02840)

FTTC cabinet latest 20 Dec 2016

Cabinet P2	FTTC being Connected, live due by March 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1RY
Cabinet P3	FTTC being Connected, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1QU
Cabinet P4	FTTC being Connected, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1QR
Cabinet P5	FTTC doing Field Survey, live due by June 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1SG

PCP002 - near Exchange/Tyree, Benderloch north - ETA June 2017 (16/02101)
PCP003 - Ferlum/Shenavallie junction, South Shian road - ETA Jan 2017 (16/01861)
PCP004 - Ardbhatan, South Shian road - ETA Jan 2017 (16/01864)
PCP005 - opp Gair Na Mara Barcaldine - ETA June 2017 (16/01862)

PCP006 - opposite Barcaldine Primary School - ETA unknown (16/02840)

Benderloch Cabinet lists

Ledaig Benderloch FTTC fibre broadband cabinet locations: (and planning refs for detailed map)

PCP001 - Opposite village hall - Live Dec 2015
PCP002 - near Exchange/Tyree, Benderloch north - ETA June 2017 (16/02101)
PCP003 - Ferlum/Shenavallie junction, South Shian road - ETA Jan 2017 (16/01861)
PCP004 - Ardbhatan, South Shian road - ETA Jan 2017 (16/01864)
PCP005 - opp Gair Na Mara Barcaldine - ETA June 2017 (16/01862)
PCP006 - opposite Barcaldine Primary School - ETA unknown (16/02840)

Cabinet P1	FTTC Available from 18th December 2015	Phase BDUK HIE 12a	149	Huawei	PA37 1PY
Cabinet E_2	Fibre Not Available	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei
Cabinet P2	FTTC doing Field Survey, live due by June 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1RY
Cabinet E_3	Fibre Not Available	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei
Cabinet P3	FTTC being Connected, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1QU
Cabinet E_4	Fibre Not Available	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei
Cabinet P4	FTTC being Connected, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1QR
Cabinet P5	FTTC doing Field Survey, live due by June 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei	PA37 1SG
Cabinet E_6	Fibre Not Available	Phase BDUK HIE 16a		Huawei

ETA January 2017..?

ETA for two of the Benderloch cabinets now back to January 2017 rather than June 2017.
Cabinets P3 and P4 (Shenavallie and Ardbhatan if the stickers on the new green cabinets are anything to go by) now due go-live by January 2017 rather than June 2017 which is nice.

Fibre Cabinet	FTTC Status	Phase	FTTP Status	Properties Passed	Vendor	Approx Post Code
Cabinet P1	FTTC Available from 18th December 2015	Phase BDUK HIE 12a		149	Huawei	PA37 1PY
Cabinet E_2	FTTC doing Design, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei
Cabinet P2	FTTC doing Field Survey, live due by June 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei	PA37 1RY
Cabinet E_3	FTTC doing Design, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei
Cabinet P3	FTTC being Connected, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei	PA37 1QU
Cabinet E_4	FTTC doing Design, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei
Cabinet P4	FTTC being Connected, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei	PA37 1QR
Cabinet P5	FTTC doing Field Survey, live due by June 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei	PA37 1SG
Cabinet E_6	FTTC doing Design, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei

Moss Road End fibre?

New all-in-one cabinet for Moss road end

16/02493/TELNOT | Installation of telecommunications apparatus | Land South West Of Cuil North Connel Argyll And Bute

https://publicaccess.argyll-bute.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=map&keyVal=ODDUPSCH0A900

Fibre heading down this way?

Benderloch BT Fibre cabinets ETA July 2017?

Here's today's Estimate planned go-live dates for additional cabinets in Benderloch:

Cabinet P1	FTTC Available from 18th December 2015	Phase BDUK HIE 12a		149	Huawei	PA37 1PY
Cabinet E_2	FTTC doing Design, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei
Cabinet P2	FTTC doing Design, live due by July 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei
Cabinet E_3	FTTC doing Design, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei
Cabinet P3	FTTC doing Design, live due by July 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei
Cabinet E_4	FTTC doing Design, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei
Cabinet P4	FTTC doing Design, live due by July 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei
Cabinet P5	FTTC doing Design, live due by July 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei
Cabinet E_6	FTTC doing Design, live due by January 2017	Phase BDUK HIE 16a			Huawei

I presume, the four "January 2017" E2/E3/E4/E6 planning applications are for the green streetside 'all-in'one' cabinets already submitted to A&B Council - namely:

Ardbhatan, Benderloch

Tyree, Benderloch

Ferlum, Benderloch,

Gair Na Mara, Barcaldine

Doing some reading, "Cabinet E_%" refers to an Exchange bundle - or a group of Exchange-Only lines (telephone lines that connect straight back the Exchange, not via a green cabinet, and hence currently can't benefit from FTTC fibre broadband).

Cabinet "P%" refers to a physical cabinet "PCP" on the street. My understanding is that an Exchange-only line can be marked for upgrade, but since there is no physical cabinet then it is referenced "E_%" until the plan for the cabinet is finalised and a "Cabinet P%" is created. It then takes sometime for the entry in the database for the E reference to be removed, so there will be one "E_%" entry and one "P%" entry for each new cabinet installed for an Exchange-only bundle. The numbering schemes for the Exchange bundles and the PCP cabinets may not necessarily match as it appears they increment the P% numbers as they are created rather than matching the corresponding Exchange bundle.

So I infer from this that the go-live date for FTTC at these new Benderloch cabinets is July 2017

more Gigaplus Argyll masts

more masts in planning for Colonsay , Luing, Mull (Pennyghael) and Jura.

Benderloch mast location is stated in planning application 16/0216/PP (Luing Network Access Statement) as 56.5813 -5.558622 but this is the Glensanda mast location.

Gigaplus Argyll mainland mast locations

Another mast has been submitted to planning for Glensanda Quarry, which will theoretically cover much of the Benderloch/Barcaldine/Appin coastline and inland too.

It can be seen in the planning documents that an additional mainland mast for Benderloch is also proposed.

http://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/files/7EF0E339CDB129012DC83EBE96BFF906/pdf/16_02555_FUL-NETWORK_ACCESS_STATEMENT-996387.pdf

16/02555/FUL | Erection of 9m lattice tower and satellite dish | Land 2140M NE Of Glensanda House Glensanda Morvern

Highland.gov.uk planning portal

Gigaplus Argyll Coverage map

link to PDF showing mast locations, map and approximate coverage areas of each mast


https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/Planning/StreamDocPage/obj.pdf?DocNo=21411041&PDF=true&content=obj.pdf