Posted: 09th Sep, 2010 By: MarkJ

The national
Civic Voice campaign group, which aims to make places in the UK more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive by having ugly signs and objects (e.g. road signs and bollards) removed, has turned its attention to the new generation of "
super-fast" 40Mb fibre optic ( FTTC ) based broadband services being rolled out in St Albans and elsewhere around the country.
The situation is similar to one that we first covered during March of this year, when BT engineers trying to install an FTTC cabinet in
St Albans (The Ridgeway) were thwarted after angry residents blocked them from completing its construction (
original news).
In fact BT's large new 1.8m tall, dark green, FTTC junction boxes (street cabinets) have been slated on numerous occasions in other areas too, with people accusing them of being "
unsightly" and causing an obstruction. Residents in Muswell Hill, North London (
here) and Brighton and Hove / Middlewich (
here) have in the past raised almost identical concerns.
Now Vanessa Gregory of Chiswell Green (St Albans) has teamed up with other members of Civic Voice to take on BT Openreach as part of a national campaign to control the operators proliferation of "
super-fast" FTTC broadband boxes around the country.
Ms Gregory told the St Albans Review newspaper: "We are not against broadband - I know it is vitally important for many businesses and very useful for people. But the boxes are huge ugly things and a blight on the street scene.
The nation needs broadband but it does not have to be at the expense of the street environment. BT Openreach and other broadband infrastructure have responsibilities to the millions of people whose local environment is affected as well as to broadband customers."
Ms Gregory and members of Civic Voice are expected to meet with BT Openreach on 22nd September, where they hope to force BT into being more flexible with FTTC cabinet design and colours (pink and purple, anybody? :laugh:). They will also encourage BT to develop "
alternative technologies", allowing the removal of street cabinets once redundant.
In fairness BT are guilty of, at times, failing to inform local authorities and councils about the exact locations of their new cabinets. Likewise some of BT's rivals have found ways of hiding the cabinets underground, raising them only when necessary, which is something that BT itself could consider.
Some 77,000 homes and businesses in Hoddesdon, Waltham Cross, St Albans, Lea Valley and Watford (Hertfordshire towns) are now able to get BT's super-fast broadband service, which aims to reach 66% of UK premises by 2015. We would be happy to have an "ugly" FTTC cabinet on our street, as would many others, if it meant getting a decent broadband speed. Credits to Thinkbroadband for spotting the news.