Gigabit Broadband for Ollerton with Marthall

Would you like faster broadband?

Your broadband is probably rubbish and that’s because the “cabinet” you’re connected to is miles away in Mobberley and you’re connected by the old copper wires used for your phone. Ollerton with Marthall Parish Council is investigating the options for getting what is called “fibre to the premises” (FTTP) or “gigabit broadband” installed in this area. This would allow you have download speeds between 300 and 1000Gbps, which is probably around 30-100x faster than what you currently have

At the moment we need to see if you’re interested. If you are then please fill out the form above and we will be in touch.

We realise you’ll have a host of questions, please use the comments at the bottom of the page to ask any questions but we’ve included some possible questions and answers below…

What will it cost?

At the moment we don’t know. It depends on how many people are interested so we can share the cost. It depends on any grants we can get to help pay for it and it depends on who installs it.

It is worth pointing out that BEFORE the COVID pandemic and everyone started working from home or home schooling, it was estimated that gigabit broadband added around 5% to the value of your home, so even if it was £1,000 per household (for example) if your house was worth £300,000, installing it would potentially add £15,000 of value to the property.

How long will it take?

Again an almost impossible question to answer. With the pandemic and a potential backlog of jobs it’s hard to say. However the hard work was done in the autumn of 2019 when Openreach dug the road up to install gigabit broadband to Mr Rooney’s new house. So it should only take a day or so once started.

Why is a new fibre cable needed?

Although a fibre optic cable was laid along Pedley House, Pedley and Marthall Lane in autumn 2019, it was a private cable so we can’t use that. We can however use the pipeline so it will be cheaper now.

Once it’s available will it just be faster?

No unfortunately your ISP will be charging you for either “Fibre to the Cabinet” or “ADSL broadband” and you’ll need to upgrade to “Fibre to the Premises” (gigabit broadband). This usually costs about £10-50 a month more (depending on how fast you choose to have a connection)

There is also a one off connection fee to connect your house to the cable. For more info we would suggest going to your ISP’s website and searching “FTTP”

Will I have to change ISP?

No nearly all ISPs offer a FTTP (gigabit broadband) package. It might be that you choose to change ISP because another ISP is cheaper.

Will my WiFi still work?

You will have a new router provided as part of the FTTP (gigabit broadband) install, so you might end up with a new name for your WiFi but that can be changed back to the old name. The WiFi signal may get better with a new router but WiFi is effectively a problem in your house, not the broadband itself.

How many people will be on the cable?

Depends how many sign up for it. Its unlikely that anyone in Mobberley will sign up because they’re near the cabinet and already have good broadband, so this leaflet has just been sent to people who live on Pedley House, Pedley, Pinfold and Marthall Lane. “Contention” issues caused by everyone using the internet at the same time will not affect what we’re proposing, there are simply not enough people being asked for it to ever become an issue.

Shall we not just wait for Openreach to do it?

Several years ago the Government allocated £5 billion to deliver gigabit broadband to the “hardest to reach” 20% of UK premises that will not be reached by commercial investment. In the Spending Review 2020 the Chancellor downgraded that amount to £1.2 billion. That means not everyone will get it. Ironically though if we “show willing” then we would potentially be first in the queue for the reduced funds. So trying to “go it alone” might actually mean we don’t have to pay because we can show there is a market for gigabit broadband in this area.