Hull ISP KCOM to Start Migrating DSL Broadband Lines to FTTP

An Engineer says:

Openreach have no FTTC in Hull. The options are FTTP from KCom or FTTP from somewhere else.

As it stands people decline to be moved they lose their Internet access and phone line.

This has to happen sooner or later.

Companies do indeed have some discretion as far as the services they provide customers go. Copper phone lines and broadband are not a right. Only reason Openreach aren’t doing it is LLU.

Ad47uk says:

@Alex A, Maybe people don’t want their garden/drive dug up, it is not so bad if they go over head, like openreach do, but if they go underground I have seen some of the mess that is left behind. We are having zzoomm FTTP laid in the city and looking at some of their work, if I had a decent driveway I would be a bit worried about allowing them to dig it up. My driveway is mainly stones, so not a big problem.
I have also heard of people damaging their fibre, the copper wires on my pole have been there for over 50 years and still work fine, even doing stuff they were not intended for.

VoIP, I use VoIP and have been for years, I don’t have a phone connected to my landline, but the problem is if I have a power cut that is it, no phone, also VoIP have to pass though different servers, if one of them fail, again, no phone.
the person I was on about above, has an alarm system, for his wife, that uses a phone line, it may work on VoIP, but if the power went. Open reach used to provide a battery backup, but I see now they don’t. Surly they should be forced to do so and Kcom?

@An Engineer

I thought that was the case of Openreach not having FTTC as that was one place in the U.K where Open reach did not have a monopoly, they had another company with a monopoly instead.

I thought Kcom was the only supplier in Hull, so how can people go elsewhere? I am surprised that this have not been changed, to be honest.

I don’t remember calls via the operator, I did use them a couple of times when I was a teen, but not a lot, I like the old rotary phones, better than some of the rubbish that is produced now, saying that my BT synergy4100 cordless phone is still working, and they are around 18 years old, I did buy another handset around ten years ago as I decided I wanted 4 handsets and I did replace the batteries a couple of years ago, so not too bad.

I remember when I was a child, someone across the road having a trim phone, could hear it halfway down the road. Not many people had phones then, I used to use the phone box up the road, we did get one when my brother decided to set up a mobile disco, but I was told, not to touch it 🙂

I know fibre is the next step, I just don’t like this forcing people. ~Once they change to fibre, even at the slower speed, are they going to be bombarded with emails, text or leaflets saying, update to a faster speed?
I know of someone who has that with FTTC, they went on the lower speed as that is all they required and get emails every few months saying we have an offer on Fibre65, update now for a pound a month extra. Which is fine, but it will not stay a pound a month extra. I can’t get any faster than my 36Mb/s, so I don’t get these emails, but then again, maybe plusnet don’t send them out.

Well up here, we have Zzoomm now putting fibre down, they have arived up my estate and also a couple of roads away, it also seems as if Openreach have started as well. They are like buses.
I am under contract with Plusnet for another 12 months, gives me time to think what I am going to do and also allow the bugs and problems get sorted out. Zzoomm seems to have a fair few of them.

An Engineer says:

I know of at least 2 alternative networks building full fibre in Hull, so there are challengers.

If you mean challenging the compulsory move to FTTP I would assume it’s already had regulatory approval.

I’ve no doubt some won’t be happy with an ONU consuming electricity in their home, or its appearance, though. I suppose I think of this in terms of analogue phone being the novelty, the power coming from elsewhere, and that the analogue NTE is not attractive either.

Ad47uk says:

@Alex A, not digging up my drive in Hull, I live nowhere near it, but we do have a lt network here digging around and the mess they are making me think if they do that on the road, what will they do to peoples drives?
If they are using p[oles and existing ducts, then it is not too bad.

@An Engineer, i meant alternative providers, if Kcom is the only one in hull then it is no different from open reach being a monopoly in other parts of the country. You say there are alternatives, 2 of them, but does everyone in hull have access to them?

Here in Hereford we are having zzoomm and it looks like open reach is now moving their backside in providing FTTP, but strange how they are up on my estate at the same time as zoom, maybe Open reach are scared of losing customers, because I think they certainly will. Ok i know open reach don’t have consumers, but they still get money from internet providers and if internet providers lose customers to zzzoomm, so do open reach.

Does a ONU consume a lot of electric?. I can’t see them using that much to be honest, but yes some people may not like it. I know of someone who turns their router off when they go out and when they go to bed, no matter how many times I tell them not to.

Analogue phones are normally reliable, in all the years I have had a home phone myself, I had one problem and that was what started off the problem I had with my broadband at the same time. My parents only had one problem, years ago and that was water in the junction box, now I have had a few problems over the years with broadband, mainly the routers being unreliable.

i presume it will come here at some point when OR covers the whole city, but I think it will be years.

Ad47uk says:

@An Engineer so not available to all of Hull and this is the problem or one of them anyway, little choice. Do over providers exists on Kcom like we have on open reach?.

I think open reach will take a long time to do the whole of the U.K, the only reason they are here where I live I think is because of Zzoomm, but I saw zzoomm doing something on the poles a few days ago, so maybe open reach was doing something for them. As i said, it will take a long time before openreach have done the whole of the U.K, so forcing people to fibre is not going to happen for most. Anyway, what about those who are on providers that don’t offer FTTP? Not sure if there are any left, even Plusnet is now doing FTTP, but not advertising it yet.

We will wait and see, I am happy with my FTTC, it does what I need and at an ok price, just need to have better routers.
That is the other thing about FTTP, more electronics to go wrong and also fibre is easy to damage. Been a few people already around the city complaining that their fibre is damaged.