Ultrafast broadband for Millbrook
Connecting Millbrook to the rest of Cornwall, the UK and the World.
UPDATE – 15/05/2021: Openreach have now moved the project to the “build” phase. Things
will go quiet now for the next few months as their team survey the area
to build the scope of works/estimates for the project, i.e. identifying
any areas where traffic management/highways permissions may be required,
tree-cutting, wayleaves etc. They should send an update as each milestone is reached. Their SLA is
12 months from now, hopefully it will be quicker than that.
They will
let us know when the build is complete and those people that pledged a
voucher will have to place an order with their chosen communications
provider (CP) for service.
Thank you to everyone in the community who pledged a voucher to the scheme.
UPDATE – 07/03/2021: Openreach have started a Community Fibre Partnership to provide fibre to 127 properties in Millbrook. All properties on the list will receive a letter explaining the process from Superfast Cornwall. To check if your address is included just go to openreach.com/connectmycommunity and enter your details. If your address is found then you are part of the Millbrook Ultrafast Community Project and you can sign up for the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (please read the T&Cs) which will fund the project at no cost to you. As soon as the funding threshold has been reached Openreach will start work on the project. Please sign up on this site as well as it allows us to keep track of the applications and to apply for additional funding through Superfast Cornwall if required. See below for more details.
What is "Ultra Fast" Fibre broadband?
‘Ultrafast’ broadband is a connection with speeds of more than 300Mbps, but less than 1Gbps (one gigabit per second, or 1000Mbps) and is typically delivered vai fibre optic cables running the entire route between your house and the nearest exchange.
Why are we doing this?
We’re in the 5%
Around 5% of the UK isn’t currently covered by fibre broadband or planned future rollout and parts of Millbrook fall into that group. This doesn’t seem fair, so we want to work in partnership with Openreach to get ultrafast broadband to all of our community. FTTP (Fibre to the property) is what we are after.
We’ve set up Millbrook Community Broadband to facilitate the funding of a new fibre broadband cabinet that will be connected to the national fibre network. Openreach will fund a large portion of the cost and if enough homes and businesses sign up then the government will fund the remainder under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.
We need Ultrafast broadband to support an increasing number of internet devices in the home
- mobile phones
- iPads and tablets
- laptops
- e-readers (such as Kindle)
- desktop PCs
- games consoles
- Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, Google Chromecast, Sky Now
- Internet TVs
- Sky+ boxes
All these devices compete for the same limited bandwidth, and basic slow broadband services prevent us from enjoying the activities that everyone else can take for granted. If you have more than a couple of members in your household the problems are even worse!
A large (and rapidly increasing) number of services use broadband from entertainment, gaming and business tools,
to medical and education services.
- Streamed video services, such as YouTube, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, NowTV, Netflix, Amazon and BT TV.
- TV and video download services, such as Sky, Anytime Plus and Apple iTunes
- Fast downloading of HD video content
- Streamed music services, such as Spotify
- voice and video telephony services, such as Skype and Apple FaceTime
- Online backup services.
- Google Docs, Office 365
- Microsoft teams
- Video Conferencing apps such as Zoom and Skype.
- Development tools such as Github
- Patient video calls
- Online prescription services
- Online support for vulnerable individuals
- Home learning for school & university students
Community Fibre Partnerships
Partnering with Openreach to get faster broadband to the Millbrook community
WHAT WE ARE DOING
Gather property interest
Stage one of the community fibre partnership application is gathering an expression of interest from the local properties (both business and residential) who want/need superfast fibre broadband. THERE ARE NO COSTS INVOLVED, we just need the full address of the property.
Openreach
Stage two is to meet with Openreach to discuss the project and inform them of the interested properties. Openreach will confirm the scope, then perform some initial checks.
Receive costs
Openreach will then provide a ballpark cost for providing a new fibre infrastructure for our community. This will allow us to decide whether to proceed to the next step.
Rural broadband vouchers scheme
We can then apply for the government voucher scheme. Each property can apply and are entitled to £1,500 for a residential property or £3,500 for a business.
Fund any shortfalls
If there is any shortfall between the total cost and the funding from Openreach and the government we will seek additional funding. This will be either through the community, local businesses or crowdsourcing.
Get Ultrafast broadband!
Phew, all the steps are completed and Openreach install super fast fibre broadband. This is the step we are all looking forward to!
Support the community
We can’t make it alone. We need your help. If you don’t have superfast broadband, add your details below. The more people that sign up the more funding we can get from the government to hopefully make the installation of fibre broadband happen as soon as possible and for free.
Register interest in Ultra Fast Fibre Broadband