Follow-up on the Announcement

I have reached out to both Superfast Berkshire and to Call Flow in the hopes of understanding a little more about what is going on relative to our upgrade.  Nothing back from SFB but the Call Flow folks did confirm that my predictions of a speed increase to 10-14Mbps was "broadly correct".

WE DID IT!

Just got a note from  Councilor Kellaway informing me that Cabinet P9 from the Littlewick Green Exchange is being upgraded to FTTC as part of the Phase II rollout for SuperFast Broadband!

Activism helped and I think that having Councilor Kellaway interested may well have helped push the peanut across the line.

The work will start this month with planning and is expected to be completed mid-2016.   That is the good news.  The bad news is that we do not know much more than that at this point.  We don't know if our existing providers will be offering the improved service and we don't know how fast that service will be though my prediction, as documented here, is for speeds in the range of 10-12Mbps.

Stay tuned for more to come.  

Out of Our Hands

We finally closed the loop with Councilor Kellaway and he has connected us with Harjit Hunjan who works for the Council and is responsible for liaison with Superfast Berkshire.  We have raised a couple of issues that we hope will be looked into but at this point feel there is little left that we can do.   The bidding process is underway and will be followed shortly by selection of the areas to be targeted for improvements.

Below is the email stream from the point of my email to Councilor Kellaway:


Sent: May 5 at 10:25 AM

Re: Canvassing Call

Harjit and Councilor Kellaway:

We appreciate your looking into this matter for us.  

Roger and I discussed our situation subsequent to my email of 30 April and during that conversation we realized that we had no idea who is actually making the ultimate decision as to what communities will be served.   From this correspondence, and from the SFB website as well, it seems that the decision will be made ultimately made by the vendors based on what communities they bid on?   Temple is not being served now because BT Openreach has decided that we were not profitable!

We were glad to hear that the Council will be involved in this process.  It is, after all, our money that is being allocated, augmented of course by the central governments matching funds.  If this is purely left to the vendors, and their profitability metrics, then we fear our community will forever remain in the stone age of Internet connectivity.

Hopefully the council can work with SFB to ensure that the evaluation criteria balances the needs of a community like Temple against the stated goals of Superfast Berkshire when the councils money is to be allocated?   There is one more question that could be asked if Temple is not covered by one of the new vendor proposals.   That is, could the contract that is already in place with BT Openreach be considered for an upgrade to the cabinet that currently serves Temple (and part of Burchetts Green)?   This would at least get us speeds in the range of 8-12Mbps which is sure a lot better th

​an​

​

​

​

under

 ​

2Mbps!

If you could help with the above it would be greatly appreciated.    There is probably a very limited time when any influence can be exerted. 

With Thanks,

Will Kostelecky

---

Sent: Friday, May 1, 2015 2:17 PM
Subject: RE: Canvassing Call

Dear Mr Kostelecky.

 

I have had an opportunity to discuss the points that you have raised within your email with Colin Batchelor, Thames valley Superfast Berkshire - Project Manager. Colin has confirmed that the details as outlined in his previous correspondence to you on 19/45/2015 broadly remain the same.

The Council is however working  closely with Colin and his colleagues in finalising the arrangements for the Phase 2 of the Thames Valley SFB that seek to procure solutions for expanding superfast coverage to in excess of 95% by end of 2017. 

 

For the Royal Borough the project potentially would cover a geographical Intervention area of 198.4 km and 6,508 premises.  The Council is involved in the tendering process, however Until the procurement process is concluded we will know the extent of the coverage.

Although there is no guarantee, Temple Village and Temple Mill Island may well  be identified by suppliers with their proposed solutions and we have noted the broadband issues that you have raised for the area. The procurement process will commence on the 5^th of May and conclude with contract(s) hopefully being awarded by late June.

 

I will however ensure that as the at the earliest opportunity possible that we provide you with more details of the outcome of the procurement. 

 

Kind regards

 

Harjit

 

Sent: 30 April 2015 06:16

Subject: Fw: Canvassing Call

 

Mr. Hunjan:

 

Per the below message from Councilor Kellaway in response to my inquiry regarding the possibility of Temple being addressed by the procurement underway by Superfast Berkshire.  

 

Can you please help us understand where Temple stands in the procurement process and if there is anything that we, or Councilor Kellaway, can do to help our chances of seeing some improvement?  I would hope that a community of 100 homes getting less than 2Mbps of speed on our current connections would put us high in the rankings of areas needing attention. 

 

I am copying Roger Thurston on this message as he is representing the Temple Island Owners Association which accounts for the majority of the residents of Temple.

 

Thank you in advance for your response,

Will Kostelecky

 

Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2015 12:14 PM
Subject: Re: Canvassing Call

 

Will many thanks for your e-mail.  I am sorry we missed you.  You and the people of Temple are  not forgotten but our representations on your behalf are frustrating.  I will send you the two latest responses and comments.  The man in the council handling the contacts is Harjit Hunjan and I suggest you contact him as well as me in the future.  Best regards Richard Kellaway

Sent from my iPad

 
On 25 Apr 2015, at 08:33, Will Kostelecky wrote:

Mr. Clark, Mr. Kellaway, and Mr. Saunders:

 

I was very sorry to have missed your canvassing call this week.   I would very much have liked to discuss a role that local representation can play in helping our community.   The issue is the state of our Internet connectivity and the possibility that the Superfast Berkshire initiative might be able to help us.

 

Temple is a village of 100 homes that has been cast adrift from the world of the High Speed Internet, much less from what is now being called the Superfast Internet.  This is not a new topic to some of you as there have been a number of people in the community, myself included, that have reached out to Mr. Kellaway.   Attached is my letter of January 20th.  Hopefully he has taken our matter to action though I have not heard back from him as a confirmation that this is true.

 

A stated goal from the Superfast Berkshire website is that all homes in Berkshire would have access to the Internet at speeds above 2Mbps.  Well, we certainly do not.   Our average is around 1.5Mpbs and some residents struggle to get even that speed.   Access to a high speed Internet connection has become as essential as power, running water, and bin collection and as such features in the your own parties manifesto for 2015 pledging '"Near universal superfast broadband" for rural areas'.

 

Moneys are in the process of being allocated now.   The moneys that are being allocated now include funds provided by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead   If there was ever a time when our local representatives could have an influence it seems that it would be now. 

 

Can you please help us?  

 

Thank you,

Will Kostelecky

 

Super Fast Broadband for Temple

				Super Fast Broadband for Temple There is a government consultation under way in regards to the lack of coverage of some areas of the country by mobile operators.   I found some of the wording in t...
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Spring is Here and Decisions are Near

Spring has sprung and as I write this we are approaching June when decisions are going to be made in regards to where Superfast Berkshire is going to invest in improving the state of Internet connectivity.

I am not feeling good about our chances.   The funds being allocated now for our area were largely provided by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.    Given this it seems that an active role by our local representatives could be crucial.  I have reached out to Mr. Kellaway, as have others, and unfortunately we have not heard back from him.

I have reached out again (copy of my email is below) and hope that others in the community will also make one last effort.

Mr. Clark, Mr. Kellaway, and Mr. Saunders: I was very sorry to have missed your canvassing call this week.   I would very much have liked to discuss a role that local representation can play in helping our community.   The issue is the state of our Internet connectivity and the possibility that the Superfast Berkshire initiative might be able to help us. Temple is a village of 100 homes that has been cast adrift from the world of the High Speed Internet, much less from what is now being called the Superfast Internet.  This is not a new topic to some of you as there have been a number of people in the community, myself included, that have reached out to Mr. Kellaway.   Attached is my letter of January 20th.  Hopefully he has taken our matter to action though I have not heard back from him as a confirmation that this is true. A stated goal from the Superfast Berkshire website is that all homes in Berkshire would have access to the Internet at speeds above 2Mbps.  Well, we certainly do not.   Our average is around 1.5Mpbs and some residents struggle to get even that speed.   Access to a high speed Internet connection has become as essential as power, running water, and bin collection and as such features in the your own parties manifesto for 2015 pledging '"Near universal superfast broadband" for rural areas'. Moneys are in the process of being allocated now.   The moneys that are being allocated now include funds provided by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead   If there was ever a time when our local representatives could have an influence it seems that it would be now.  Can you please help us?   Thank you, Will Kostelecky and Sara Carter

It would be great if one of our elected representatives would champion our cause.  Without a champion I am afraid we are lost as I know that other council members are fighting for their constituents.

Elevator Pitch

If one were to find oneself in an elevator with someone that could help us with our Internet connectivity speed dilema then the following talking points are just what you would need:

• Our Internet speeds are atrocious with downloads running at less than 2Mbps making it impossible to do many things that others on the Internet take for granted (like streaming a movie or making a video call with Skype).
• Nearly 80% of Temple residents have now used the SFB website to register their interest in improving Internet speeds for our village.
• Superfast Berkshire (SFB) has solicited bids for Phase II of improvements for Internet speeds with proposals coming in the Spring and a decision thereafter. 
• We are hoping to be prioritized for a solution given that our speeds are below 2Mbps which was the first of two goals set out by SFB. 
• Local influence is particularly important in getting us prioritized as Phase II includes £326K of funding for Windsor & Maidenhead with half of that provided by the council and the other half being matching funds from SFB. 
• There is a chance that Temple might not be included in a vendor bid in which case we could still get relief by having the phone cabinet that supports us upgraded under the contract that already exists between SFB and BT Openreach but using the new funding. 

Note that the last point is crucial in my mind as I fear we will be too small to capture vendor attention for a bid on our behalf.

A New Year and a New Call for Action

The decision of how to invest the remaining funds available for Superfast Berkshire as to how and where to improve Internet connectivity in our area is to be made this spring.   In light of this there is still time, and a distinct need, for letters and emails to be written asking for help from our local representatives.   Below are the addresses for our Councillor and for the leader of the Windsor Maidenhead Burough as well as a template letter.

CONTACTS

Councillor Richard Kellaway	Somerley, Startins Lane, Cookham Dean, SL6 9TS By Tel: 01628 482605 By email: cllr.kellaway@rbwm.gov.uk
Councillor David Burbage MBE	The Leader's Office, Town Hall, St Ives Road Maidenhead, SL6 1RF By Tel:  01628 796322 By email: cllr.burbage@rbwm.gov.uk

Our local parish is led by Mrs Mandy Robson Brown and she is supportive of our campaign.  You may want to copy her on correspondence to the above so she is aware of your feelings.

Mrs A.M.Robson Brown
Bisham Parish Council

Hocket Hill, Cookham Dean, Maidenhead, SL6 9UF

Email: mandy@robsonbrown.com

Tel: 01628 628485

TEMPLATE LETTER

January 20th, 2015

Councillor Richard Kellaway

Somerley, Startins Lane,

Cookham Dean, SL6 9TS

Subject:   Broadband Speeds in Temple and the Superfast Berkshire Initiative

Dear Sir:

I am a resident of Temple and am hoping that you can help us improve the state of our Internet connectivity with the assistance of Superfast Berkshire.

I struggle to get 1.5-2Mpbs of download speeds from my Internet connection.   This is truly poor performance and gets me a grade of “F” from Speedtest.net (the de facto standard for Internet speed testing).   At these speeds much of what other people take for granted from the Internet, such as the ability to stream a movie or to hold a Skype video call, become challenging if not impossible.  This can also makes working from home problematic.  These factors are also leading me to fear that our poor connectivity could have an impact on home sales as Internet connection quality becomes an increasingly important criterion for buyers.

My hope is that Phase II of the Superfast Berkshire improvement program can help us.   My understanding is that a decision will be made this spring in regards to how best to invest the funds available.   As you likely know, the first of two stated aims for Superfast Berkshire is to “Ensure all Berkshire premises could access basic broadband, at speeds of 2Mbps or faster”.  The second aim is that “At least 90% of Berkshire premises could access superfast broadband, at speeds of 24Mbps or faster”.   Temple is clearly standing in the way of Superfast Berkshire achieving the first aim of the program.

I hope that you will help to support our campaign to see improvements implemented for the residents of Temple.   In an ideal world we would be assigned a priority that would see our situation addressed ahead of implementing a 24Mbps solution for an area that is already better served than Temple!

Thank you in advance for anything that you can do for us.   

Sincerely,  

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cc:       
D. Burbage MBE
A.M.Robson Brown

Community Activism Update

There have been a number of letters written to our local representatives asking for help.   I think it is fair to say that we have raised some awareness with both our local councilors and with Theresa Mays office as well.   It is not too late to write a letter yourself if you are reading this and have not done so.

My process with this matter started when I learned that we had been bypassed by BT for the commercial rollout of Fibre.   I only learned this when out of frustration I contacted their executive offices and was able to have a conversation with Chris Wright who seemed to have the unenviable job of talking to aggravated customers such as myself.

I have since reached back out to that office with the following message:

Chris: It has been a while since my initial contact with BT in regards to the state of our internet connectivity here in Temple.   In that time we have been working to better organize the residents of Temple in hopes that community action might help gain us some attention to our issue.  We have succeeded in getting 70% of the community registered on the Superfast Berkshire website and expect this number to cross 90% later in December when we do another flyer to all residents.   We have also had a number of residents raise a dialog with our representatives both in the Borough and with our MP.    Again, we hope to see still more correspondence following our next flyer as our poor connectivity is an issue over which concern is mounting. This leads me to a couple of questions that I hope that you might be able to help me with.   First, is there a process where-by BT Openreach will revisit the commercial parameters for the upgrade of a cabinet?   Even if this process still results in a negative decision, I would hope that the margin by which it fails, if indeed it does, might be smaller than the past iteration.  Second, will BT Openreach be participating in the tender process that is underway from Superfast Berkshire and will our cabinet (and the hopefully lower cost for an upgrade) be included in that process?   Lastly, If not, could it be?  Thanks in advance for your time in responding to my query. Regards, Will Kostelecky

I have since gotten a call back from BT though it was only to ask for patience until next week when she (Stacey) has had a chance to research the matter.

I have no idea whether any of this activism will matter in the end but it can not hurt.   Please write a note yourselves if you have not already.   The addresses and a template letter are located on this blog.