Author Topic: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure  (Read 4476 times)

Michael Rolls

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 72679
Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« on: Jan 10, 2020, 08:24:45 PM »
A couple of years ago the SNP promised that every Scottish home and business would have 'superfast' broadband by the end of 2021. Now guess what? Not a chance - it might happen by the end of 2023 - but then...
What also intrigued me is that Ofcom claim that 92% of Scottish homes have access to superfast BB - well, not around here they don't, nor does my B-i-L in Perth. 1,000 mps is quoted, although it not clear from the report whether the 92% are getting that sort of speed - I get 12-13 mps and B-i-L even less - and he lives in the middle of the city.
It would be nice if the SNP would get on with the day job of running most of the country's services - you know, minor things like health, education and the police - instead of banging on about indyref2
Mike
Thank you for the days, the days you gave me.
The older I get, the better I was!

Diasi

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13480
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #1 on: Jan 10, 2020, 09:28:14 PM »
A couple of years ago the SNP promised that every Scottish home and business would have 'superfast' broadband by the end of 2021. Now guess what? Not a chance - it might happen by the end of 2023 - but then...
What also intrigued me is that Ofcom claim that 92% of Scottish homes have access to superfast BB - well, not around here they don't, nor does my B-i-L in Perth. 1,000 mps is quoted, although it not clear from the report whether the 92% are getting that sort of speed - I get 12-13 mps and B-i-L even less - and he lives in the middle of the city.
It would be nice if the SNP would get on with the day job of running most of the country's services - you know, minor things like health, education and the police - instead of banging on about indyref2
Mike

Perth has Virgin Media cable & Openreach FTTC with 87.9% of residents able to access ultrafast / superfast broadband.

Only Virgin Media offer 1,000 Mbps or Gig1 Fibre Broadband as it's more commonly known.
 
Make every day count, each day is precious.
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal".  (Cassandra)

Michael Rolls

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 72679
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #2 on: Jan 10, 2020, 10:43:58 PM »
My B-i-L is with Virgin and certainly isn't getting 'superfast' or anything remotely like it
Mike
Thank you for the days, the days you gave me.
The older I get, the better I was!

klondike

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23258
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #3 on: Jan 10, 2020, 10:44:10 PM »
From my experiences with VM in the past there can be a world of difference between the speed mentioed on your bill and the actual speed delivered at times when you need it.

Although I pay for BT based FTTC I could easily manage on plain ADSL or for that matter 4G which I will probably change to full time as that's all I have at my static caravan and it works better at home than it does there.

Didn't Boris promise Nationwide full fibre within the next few years too. I think there is as much chance of that as there is of getting it free from Corbyn.
So long and thanks for all the fish

Diasi

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13480
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #4 on: Jan 11, 2020, 06:45:33 AM »
From my experiences with VM in the past there can be a world of difference between the speed mentioed on your bill and the actual speed delivered at times when you need it.

Although I pay for BT based FTTC I could easily manage on plain ADSL or for that matter 4G which I will probably change to full time as that's all I have at my static caravan and it works better at home than it does there.

Didn't Boris promise Nationwide full fibre within the next few years too. I think there is as much chance of that as there is of getting it free from Corbyn.

When we were with Virgin Media we got the quoted speeds of 100Mbps, which was later increased to 200Mbps, on the speed test sites.

Users often confuse their ISP line speed with the actual speed that they get from the third-party server from which they're downloading.

It's like someone complaining that their Ferrari won't do it's rated 200MPH because it only managed 15MPH at the bottom of the M1.

https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/perth-and-kinross,S12000048
Make every day count, each day is precious.
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal".  (Cassandra)

Michael Rolls

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 72679
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #5 on: Jan 11, 2020, 07:05:21 AM »
Hang about - that link shows 'superfast' as 24+ mps - and it only shows a fraction over that figure. That I can believe - I was going by the figure of 1,000 mps quoted in the article. Re-reading the article, the relevant minister, Paul Wheelhouse, said only about half of the homes in Southern and Central Scotland would be connected by the end of 2021, and went on to say 'the entire programme in the south of Scotland, and the vast majority of the central belt will use full fibre technology providing speeds of 1,000 mps' which is why I assumed 'superfast' meant 1,000 mps.
Mike
Thank you for the days, the days you gave me.
The older I get, the better I was!

Michael Rolls

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 72679
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #6 on: Jan 11, 2020, 07:06:27 AM »
Oh, and what he is now saying will be 50% achieved by the end of 2021 is what the SNP promised to achieve 100% by the end of 2019. Probably about par for the course for SNP promises.
Mike
Thank you for the days, the days you gave me.
The older I get, the better I was!

Diasi

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13480
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #7 on: Jan 11, 2020, 07:17:23 AM »
Hang about - that link shows 'superfast' as 25+ mps - and it only shows a fraction over that figure. That I can believe - I was going by the figure of 1,000 mps quoted in the article. Re-reading the article, the relevant minister, Paul Wheelhouse, said only about half of the homes in Southern and Central Scotland would be connected by the end of 2021, and went on to say 'the entire programme in the south of Scotland, and the vast majority of the central belt will use full fibre technology providing speeds of 1,000 mps' which is why I assumed 'superfast' meant 1,000 mps.
Mike

Yes, there's a widespread misunderstanding of both how broadband works & the terminology.

Personally I don't see why any public money should be spent on 1,000Mbps broadband just so that 10 students in a house-share can all play Call of Duty simultaneously.
Make every day count, each day is precious.
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal".  (Cassandra)

Ashy

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 32147
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #8 on: Jan 11, 2020, 08:45:33 AM »
I suppose it is not unheard of for politicians to promise something they don't understand with no idea how it could be done.

Michael Rolls

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 72679
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #9 on: Jan 11, 2020, 09:10:32 AM »
Surely not!
Mike 😊😊
Thank you for the days, the days you gave me.
The older I get, the better I was!

klondike

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23258
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #10 on: Jan 11, 2020, 11:36:53 AM »
The problem with cable broadband is that it offers high headline speeds but is incapable of delivering that speed if lots place a demand on the low capacity local network. That is why VM used to throttle bandwidth hogs. They didn't stop doing that because they vastly increased their network capacity they stopped it because the ASA prohibited them from advertising unlimited if they did.

The real problem lies with the upstream which because of the way the technology works is limited more in total bandwidth than the downstream. You won't get another block of data down until you have acknowledged receipt of the last one you got. That doesn't require much bandwidth but if you don't have it available getting 100Mbps for a chunk of data then having to wait for the next chunk means a slow overall speed.

The thing that can easily saturate upstream is seeding a torrent (peer to peer files sharing method). On VM you share a high speed but limited capacity connection with 2-400 others. If you have a couple of folks hammering hookey torrent downloads in your local area the result can be worse than poor ADSL and VM can take an age to increase local capacity. I was with them 4 or 5 years and experienced two periods of abysmal performance that lasted months each.


Before taking a cable contract you have to ask yourself if you are feeling lucky.
So long and thanks for all the fish

Michael Rolls

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 72679
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #11 on: Jan 11, 2020, 11:44:55 AM »
Well, around here cable is the stitch on a sweater, nothing to do with computers! I am on a lane 3 miles long which boasts 12 houses scattered over its length, with several of them a couple of hundred yards or more off the lane itself. Somehow, I doubt we will see cable, no matter what rubbish the SNP spout
Mike
Thank you for the days, the days you gave me.
The older I get, the better I was!

klondike

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23258
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #12 on: Jan 11, 2020, 12:13:55 PM »
VM are billions in debt and don't do major new cabling. They sometimes extend into a new build in a cabled area. The cost to run fibre to your community would almost certainly not be economic and 12 properties are unlikely to tip the balance of an election.

My prediction would be that you'll get nothing better for quite a while because apart from you nobody would benefit.

Satellite would be possible and you might be in a 4G area if near a major road.
So long and thanks for all the fish

Michael Rolls

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 72679
Re: Superfast broadband - another SNP failure
« Reply #13 on: Jan 11, 2020, 12:19:11 PM »
I agree totally! Regarding satellite - I did wonder about it, but my current speed copes with my needs, and the fact that my neighbour had to cut down some of his trees to get reliable service on his Sky set-up does make me wonder
Mike
Thank you for the days, the days you gave me.
The older I get, the better I was!

mick607

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3995