At the Broadband Champions Event in April, the Connecting Cambridgshire project team indicated that we should expect to hear more in May about when the first phases of the roll-out plan would be announced.

 

On the very last day of May, it happened … with a caveat that “there is still a lot of planning to be done before we can announce further phases”. The good news is “Better broadband is on the way!”

According to the bulletin, plans to roll-out better broadband to reach communities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough by the end of 2015 are on track.

 

Connecting Cambridgeshire has mapped out some of the first areas across the county being considered to receive the new fibre-based infrastructure bringing faster broadband speeds.

 

Over 50 rural parishes and urban areas are under consideration for the first phases of the roll-out delivering connectivity which will enable better broadband speeds of up to 24 Mbps and more.

 

A high level map giving an indication of parishes/areas with some premises under consideration for the first phase of the roll-out can be viewed on the Connecting Cambridgeshire website and also at the bottom of this article.

 

There are only two areas in South Cambridgeshire that are in this phase, Papworth Everard and Willingham. The rest of the areas being considered are in Huntingdonshire, Fenland and East Cambridgeshire districts.

 

This map will be updated as the programme progresses to include subsequent phases. The project team will also provide a Parish Checker allowing residents to find out how their area fits in to the programme, and what they can do to promote the benefits of better broadband and help more people get online.

 

Planning the roll-out

 

The Connecting Cambridgeshire team is working closely with BT through its Openreach division carefully planning the roll-out to make the best use of public money so that it reaches as many businesses and communities as possible by the end of 2015.

 

In the first phase of the project this means targeting those areas that will require the least work to upgrade the infrastructure connecting them to faster broadband services. In reality, what BT is trying to do is make use of the infrastructure that has already been put in place during its commercial rollout. For example, St Neots was part of the commercial rollout, and it is likely that Papworth will be served from there, just as the fibre for the Caxton Exchange (Race to Infinity winner) was brought in from St Neots.

 

Over the coming months Openreach (and their contractors’) engineers and surveyors will be seen out and about around the county as they are busy carrying out detailed planning and surveys to re-design the network.

 

The process also involves working with both the highways and planning authorities to ensure that the process is as swift and efficient as possible. If surveys reveal unexpected issues it may affect when an area is connected.

 

Phases

 

The first phase of the roll-out is scheduled to deliver connectivity from December 2013 through to June 2014, with the first cabinets going ‘live with fibre’ by the end of 2013. Broadband services from a range of internet service providers will be available to premises on a rolling basis during this period as infrastructure is built and completed.

 

Connecting Cambridgshire project team  will be able to announce further details of this and subsequent phases of the roll-out plan at regular intervals from September 2013, as further information is made available.

 

The map provides a guide of the general areas in which Openreach will be working and does not necessarily indicate inclusion in the first phase as this will be dependent on the outcome of surveys and more detailed planning.

 

The rollout of this project will involve a number of different solutions over various phases and this may mean that some parishes/areas will fall within multiple roll-out phases.

 

The improved coverage will be achieved through existing commercial network plans combined with the Connecting Cambridgeshire programme’s intervention areas. Without this intervention, around a third of premises across the county would not be able to receive superfast broadband by 2015.

 

Website updates

 

The Connecting Cambridgshire project team  is working on updating the Connecting Cambridgeshire website over the coming months to provide more detailed information about the roll-out and encourage take-up of broadband, including:

 

• Adding a map and Parish Checker allowing residents to find out how their area fits in to the programme, and what they can do to promote the benefits of better broadband and help more people get online.

 

• Closing the registration campaign at almost 25,000 registrations and replacing the registration button with one that says ‘Keep Me Updated’ so people can give us their contact details to be kept informed about the programme.

 

• Encouraging people to become Digital Champions to help us to promote the benefits of better broadband and help more people get online. Some of you have already volunteered so let us know if you can help with this. See the webpage for more details.

 

Answers on a postcard …

 

To keep local communities informed, the team is producing a Connecting Cambridgeshire postcard as a cost-effective way to briefly explain the broadband roll-out programme and where to find out more information.

 

The postcards will be distributed to Openreach engineers and surveyors to give to interested people when they are out and about carrying out surveys etc. We also plan to make the postcards available to broadband champions, parishes, and local councillors to help to direct queries from residents once work begins in your areas.

Click on the map below to view it in closer detail.