Openreach - your Communications Provider - you

If you are a Reseller and you need to escalate an issue you must do this through your CP supplier.

Q. How do I get help with my telephone line or Broadband service?
A. If you have a problem with your phone or broadband service, or an issue about  the work that has been done at your premises by an engineer, please raise this with your  service provider  (the company  that bills you for the service).They will liaise with Openreach as necessary.      
 
Q. What will happen then?
A. If necessary, your chosen service provider will then contact Openreach to raise a fault or query. Your chosen service provider is our customer, with whom we have a contract which stipulates certain standards of service.
  
Q. What if I can't raise an order and my intended service provider says the problem is with Openreach?
A. If you choose a service provider and they have problems raising an order with us they do have escalation points within Openreach to resolve the  problem. We can only deal directly with your intended provider.

We've prepared a list of FAQS which we hope will answer your questions. If your enquiry is specifically about if and when you can get superfast broadband, you should contact your service provider.You can also find more information about superfast fibre access, and our current exchange roll-out plan, on the Superfast Fibre Access microsite. 

ROLLOUT QUERIES 

Q. When will I get superfast broadband?
A. Whilst Openreach are rolling out superfast fibre access to 40% of the UK by the end of 2012, with the best will in the world, we can't answer that one. It's down to your internet service provider to advise you as they sell the service hosted on our network.

Q. What do you do then?
A. We provide and maintain the network that links homes and offices all over the country their local telephone exchanges, via the familiar green cabinets you see in your neighbourhood. 

Q. But you clearly state on your website that you'll be bringing Superfast Fibre Access within the reach of 40% of homes in Britain by next year. Is that true or not?
A. Yes. It is true. But providing access is one thing and providing communications services is quite another. We're wholesalers. We provide the network access our customers require to deliver your communications services. Think of it as an empty pipe. We don't send anything through the pipe. You do that, courtesy of your communications provider. 

Q. What's the difference between Superfast Fibre Access and superfast broadband?
A. Superfast Fibre Access is the pipe we provide for your communications provider. Superfast broadband is the service that your communications provider sells to you using that pipe.

Q. Can you give me any idea of when I'll be able to get superfast broadband?
A. The best we can do is tell you when we should be making the required access available to our customers - the people that provide communications services to residential and business customers in Britain. You can view the rollout programme on an exchange by exchange basis here. From then on, it's down to how soon your communications provider starts to sell superfast broadband where you live or work. P.S. Don't lose heart if you don't see your exchange on the list now. We'll be announcing the next batch of exchange and associated network upgrades in the autumn. Yours could well be among them.

Q. Why is it taking so long for you to upgrade your network?
A. To provide the access our customers need to make superfast broadband available to you, we need to do a lot of work in exchanges and in green cabinets nationwide. We're also overlaying part of our existing copper network with fibre (the part between exchanges and green cabinets). It's logistically impossible to do this work in one fell swoop. That's why we've invested in a rolling programme to upgrade the network as soon as we practically can.

Q. I've heard that Superfast Fibre Access is coming my way. When will I be able to order superfast broadband?
A. When we've done our bit in an area, we let our customers (communication providers) know that the exchange there is Ready For Service. This will allow them to then proceed and install their own equipment in the exchange and start selling services like superfast broadband to you.  Look out for advertising or direct mail, or contact your communications provider and ask about their plans.

Q. My existing communications provider says they won't be selling superfast broadband.  How can I find out who might be selling it where I am? 
A. Check out the websites of the major High Street brands. You can be sure that one or more of them will be delighted to supply you with a superfast broadband service. That's the advantage of Superfast Fibre Access. It leaves you free to choose the right communications provider for you from a list of well over 400. This kind of competition also helps to control retail prices. 

Q. How can I check the superfast broadband speed where I live? 
A. Please contact your communications provider.

Q. I want to register my interest in superfast broadband,  so that I can be told when it’s coming to my area. What do I do?
A. Contact your communications provider.

Q. How do you decide which exchange areas get Superfast Fibre Access? 
A. Working closely with our customers, we consider various criteria. They include population density, likely demand, the layout of our existing network, the cost of deployment and, obviously, the potential return on our investment. 

Q. I represent a group (community, business or public body) that may have private funds to invest, in order to bring superfast broadband to our area. Who can we talk to?
A. We would be delighted to engage with you to understand your priorities and proposed approach to the business case. If an investment is coming from public subsidy, we would expect to be one of a number of bidders, as part of an open tender. Even so, we would still be happy to advise on the potential for delivering Superfast Fibre Access over a fixed line network.  If you have secured funding for such a project, or are well on the way to doing so, feel free to contact us at ngb@openreach.co.uk. Otherwise, queries are best directed to Contact us.

CABINET QUERIES 

Q. I've been told that my cabinet won't be capable of delivering superfast broadband.  Is that it for me?
A. No. It's not necessarily the end of the road for you! We're looking at solutions to overcome the technical limitations of some cabinets. For example, it may well be that we'll be able to by-pass your cabinet altogether and install pure fibre route from your home or office to the exchange. If that course of action proves to be an economically viable proposition for us, your communications provider could well be offering you download speeds of up to 100Mbit/s in the future!

Q. I want to complain about the fact that my cabinet won’t be capable of delivering superfast broadband?
A. We understand your frustration and whilst there are current commercial and technical restrictions, technology develops and the position may change moving forward. Please can we ask that you keep a close eye on the Openreach website for any future developments.

Q. How do you decide where you're going to put the new Superfast Fibre Access cabinets?
A. New cabinets are located as close as possible to existing cabinets and always within 100m of them. We carefully consider various factors, such as safety (to pedestrians and other road users), visual impact, impact on the security of adjacent property boundaries, as well as ease of access for installation and maintenance. 

Q. Do you need planning permission before installing cabinets?
A.  Planning permission is not usually required, with the exception of sites in national parks, conservation areas and other areas of special interest.  You can find more detailed information on the relevant legislation here.

Under Part 24 of the Town & Country Planning Act  BT as a Code Operator has deemed planning permission to install Cabinets so no notification at the planning stage is required in most cases under this piece of legislation. However if the Cabinet is to be installed in Article 1 (5) land i.e. National Parks , Conservation Areas etc then a Prior Notification application must be sent to the Local Planning Authority (LPA). They then decide if the application has to go through the process and if it does they have 56 calendar days in which to consult interested parties and consider the application. The LPA can refuse the application on the grounds of siting and appearance only. However if no written rejection has been received within the 56 days installation can commence. Under Para 5 of the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 BT must notice the LPA of our intention to install any Cabinet. The LPA do not have the power to veto any site but they can request conditions to be attached to the installation and they have up to one calendar month to do this. However BT can reject these conditions if they feel they are not reasonably practicable. In order to install the Cabinets BT must notice the Highway Authority via the New Roads & Street Works Noticing system when they intend to work in the street. This allows the Highway Authority to ensure there is no clash with other Utilities who may be working in the same area and so avoid any unnecessary congestion.

Q. I'm a councillor. I'm getting more and more complaints from my constituents about the locations in which you're installing your new Superfast fibre  cabinets. Is there any process in place to tell me about this kind of thing in advance?
A. When we select an area for a network upgrade, we make every effort to brief the relevant authority via the Chief Executive’s office and their regeneration/planning departments. We also provide literature and naturally keep in close contact during the actual installation process.

Q. Are you liable for burglary or damage to private property resulting from the location of a cabinet?
A. Like any other utility with the right to install apparatus in the street in order to serve the community, we have no legal liability should a cabinet be used to gain illegal access to private property resulting in theft from that property or damage to it. However, we do obviously try to install cabinets in an intelligent manner. And we are continually evaluating improvements to cabinet design that minimise such eventualities.

Q. What safety issues do you take into account before installing cabinets?
A. All cabinet locations are subject to a risk assessment when they are surveyed before installation. We consider a number of criteria, such as visibility issues when exiting driveways. If an intended location fails to meet these criteria, we look for an alternative location.

Q. Why are your cabinets painted green?
A. We order them that way from the manufacturer, for aesthetic reasons. If a council planning team requests another colour, perhaps to match the special character of an area or to better blend in with existing street furniture, we will consider such requests. However, we'll only agree to change the colour of our cabinets in exceptional circumstances.  

FIBRE TO THE PREMISES QUERIES 

Q. I've heard trials are underway of an even faster superfast broadband service based on Fibre to the Premises. Is that correct? If so, what are your plans for extending these trials?
A.  You're referring to what’s known as a pure fibre optic network (i.e. fibre all the way from your home or office to the exchange). We've already installed just such a network at Ebbsfleet in Kent – a greenfield development where the first occupants are already benefiting from speeds of up to 100Mbit/s. When completed, Ebbsfleet will be the UK's first mass scale pure fibre optic network, serving 10,000 homes and businesses.  We're carrying forward that learning to Fibre to the Premises trials in two brownfield areas (Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes; and Highams,  Park, London). Both should start this summer.

Q. What's the difference between a greenfield site and a brownfield site, and why it is more cost-effective to deploy Fibre to the Premises on a greenfield site?
A. A greenfield site has never been built on before, making it far easier and far more cost effective to provide Fibre to the Premises. With a brownfield site, the cost of deployment rises considerably, as we have to dig up the street all the way to your home or office, causing far more disruption in the process. The case for Fibre to the Premises is basically one of economics. We need to provide a cost-effective solution for our customers (communication provider) so they can provide you with one. If it's not cost-effective for us or them it is unlikely that the cost will be attractive for you either.

Q. What's the difference between Fibre to the Premises and Fibre to the Cabinet?
A. Fibre to the Premises provides a pure fibre path from your home or office to the exchange, delivering speeds of up to 100Mbit/s. Fibre to the Cabinet provides a fibre path between the cabinet near you and the exchange. We use the existing copper network to cover the few hundred yards between you and the cabinet. It's the copper that causes the pinch-point, while still delivering faster speeds than are available today (i.e. up to 40Mbit/s).

NOT SPOT QUERIES 

Q. I live in a rural location. I can't even get broadband now at the proper speed. Will I ever get superfast broadband? 
A. The cost of extending our fibre network beyond cities and large towns is huge. As a business, we have to recoup such costs. In areas where the take-up of superfast broadband is likely to be comparatively small, we would be forced to charge our customers a premium for providing the required access. They would obviously expect you to pay a similar premium. In short, the cost to you would be prohibitive. This hasn’t prevented us from exploring the challenges of upgrading our network in rural areas. We’re doing precisely that in Radstock near Bath and at Yaxley in Cambridgeshire. However, the reality is that it could well take a government subsidy to bring superfast broadband to you.  

Q. Who can I talk to locally about working together to generate funding for the deployment of Superfast Fibre Access?
A. The types of organisation involved in such activity vary from area to area. As a first step, we suggest making contact with your local authority, as they will be better placed to suggest who to speak to.

Q. What if you can never make a business case for providing Superfast Fibre Access in rural areas and no government subsidy is forthcoming? Are there any alternatives?  
A. Yes. We've developed Broadband Enabling Technology expressly for this eventuality. It could help nearly 1.7 million households like yours to experience broadband speeds of up to 2Mbit/s for the first time. Not earth-shattering, but a likely improvement on where you are now. This technology is already being tested by 1000 people served by 80 'rural' telephone exchanges around the country and it's working well.  If we're able to secure external funding for Broadband Enabling Technology, we should be in a position to start roll it out across the countryside.