Fibre Broadband: Little Bolas gets connected

ConnectingShropshireApproximately twenty premises in and around Little Bolas on the southern edge of Hodnet parish have become the first in the area to be able to connect to fibre optic “super-fast” broadband. However, many of their neighbours will have to wait until the end of next year to see any improvement in their internet connections, and even then many local homes and businesses will only be guaranteed a 2mbps connection speed.
Recently ‘Connecting Shropshire’ have contacted the Parish Council with the news that one of the cabinets in Great Bolas (Great Bolas 1) was upgraded to fibre-optic cable in early April and it is now live and accepting orders for fibre broadband. They added that in order to connect to the faster fibre broadband, people will need to contact their chosen internet service provider to upgrade their broadband package. They advised that broadband speeds won’t automatically increase as a result of the new cabinet’s installation without users taking out the additional service.
People in the area concerned should visit Connecting Shropshire’s website to check which exchange area and cabinet serves their premises and to check the availability of fibre broadband.
Plans are being put in place to upgrade the Hodnet telephone exchange, which has three cabinets serving about 550 premises and 100 premises on exchange-only lines. At present it is hoped that this work will starts by the end of 2015, though Connecting Shropshire states that it is too early to provide any firm details. Not all premises connected to the Hodnet exchange will benefit from the upgrade due to the long line lengths of copper cable, even if all three cabinets are fibre-enabled.
Hodnet is expected to benefit from a share of an additional £1,454,257 that was awarded to Connecting Shropshire in 2014 to provide over 1,000 additional rural premises with access to faster fibre broadband. This funding will extend the coverage of fibre-based broadband in Hodnet Parish to 114 more premises, in addition to those which will be reached as part of the main Connecting Shropshire programme. The work to bring fibre broadband to these additional premises is likely to be carried out during 2016.
Additionally, eligible businesses can apply for a connection voucher worth up to £3,000 under a scheme which is being administered by Digital Birmingham on behalf of Connecting Shropshire. More details available from voucherapply.com or with specific queries on the vouchers please email.
For those too far from an exchange, the outlook is less encouraging. The best Connecting Shropshire can offer is a commitment to provide all premises in their programme area with access to at least 2mbps by the end of 2016. This means that residents of Peplow, who are close neighbours of Little Bolas, will not be able to share their access to fibre broadband technology. Peplow is on the borders of three exchange areas: Childs Ercall, Great Bolas, and Hodnet. Premises in the south of the area are connected to Great Bolas cabinet 3 which Connecting Shropshire is not planning to fibre-enable. Even it is upgraded by Superfast Telford the premises in Peplow are on the whole more than 3Km from the exchange and this is beyond the technical limit for a fibre broadband service. A similar difficulty stands in the way of those connected to the Childs Ercall exchange and almost certainly to those in Peplow linked to the Hodnet exchange.
Anyone who wants to try and improve their connection can check out Ofcom’s Practical tips for improving their broadband speed. Alternatively, there is a possibility of subscribing to a satellite or wireless broadband service. Information about these is available on the ‘useful links‘ section of the Connecting Shropshire website.