FTTP Update
It’s been a while since I last gave an update on the status of FTTP in the parish and that’s because there’s not much – irritatingly – to say.
You’ll have hopefully seen coils of black fibre cable and boxes go up on telegraph poles. Early August there was a ‘road closure’ in Aston Rowant for duct work on behalf of Openreach.
I’ve been pressing my contact for more information. In response he has said that the “build plan is all still going ahead. Work continues on the exchange and fibre spine in readiness for the fibre rollout for the area.” He added that “a lot of the work starts outside of the immediate area. Hence why residents won’t see activity.”
He also noted that with many Community Fibre Partnerships all closing at a similar point in time Openreaach is somewhat under the kosh.
My contact’s gut feel is for completion sometime Q2 2023. It’s not ideal, but you’ll recall that I noted a few months ago that we were lucky to get our scheme approved before the funding round closed… if we hadn’t, we’d be waiting until at least 2025/6.
We’re going to have to be patient.
Lastly, if you were one of the residents who, for whatever reason, didn’t receive or validate a gigabit voucher, don’t worry – you’ll still be able to join FTTP when it rolls out, without penalty.
I’m happy to field any questions.
Cllr. Adam Bernstein