Well, barring any more last minute hitches, it seems that with no fanfare whatsoever, Winterbourne Stoke has been connected up to the outside world with fibre. I know we thought we had been here before and only yesterday, we were preparing to announce yet another unforeseen delay, but today, all the broadband providers are showing that we can sign up up for superfast broadband today.
I signed up earlier today and am told that BT are offering a “guaranteed” 44 Mbps at New Street. PlusNet are offering 34 Mbps. I haven’t bothered to check with any others yet.
Those of you who signed up with Wiltshire Online may have received an email from them showing the likely speeds at your property. Mine looked like this:
So, it would seem that BT are claiming glass half full speeds and PlusNet are claiming the glass half empty speed. I expect that other ISPs will fall between these two extremes – subject, of course, to where you are in the village and what you are prepared to pay. Please note, that unless you specifically ask for fibre, and pay for it, your internet speeds won’t automatically improve.
This has been a long time coming and many villagers have helped to keep the pressure on BT and Wiltshire Council over nearly a decade. Thank you to all of them for their efforts and persistence – having been told categorically back in 2008 that we would never have a fibre broadband service some of you kept pushing!
Please let us know how you get on with a fibre connection, or if you don’t sign up for the new service, whether your existing broadband improves at all, stays the same or gets worse!