Why we will finally see fibre closer to home in 2007.
Let's just remind ourselves, when was the review of rateable value of fibre due to kick in so it was based on far more reasonable rates than when the rates were set during the telecom boom? Oh, that'll be 2007......
Wonder about timetables set by incumbents etc? They are caused, more often than not, by outdated policy that has no chance of keeping up with the changes in the world. If you looked into similar policies about environmental credits etc, you would find exactly the same. There's no regulating on your feet going on, just olde worlde bloody slow grind that doesn't keep up with the necessary changes.
This is why small and innovative will win out in achieving GOOD things. They might not make as much profit, but they don't fall as hard when they can't keep up either.
Reading: Richard Branson's autobigraphy - difficult not to like the man. Even if I'm not sure what his latest project is for!
Desilting the ducts
Seems that the problem of crud in the ducts that hold the copper is a growing problem nationwide. BT engineer told me tonight they pressurise the ducts to try and clear the water out 'cos it's not just degraded, and fullocrap, but waterlogged too.
Heard from the M25 bunch that this silt has been a major issue when BT just laid a 12core fibre to the single lucky guy who now has real broadband in their community - paid for by The Guardian and BT (almost jointly as the cost of works nearly doubled 'cos of the desilting!). Must be someone else with a story to tell today about desilting as that is only 2 and these things come in threes, like the three 'That's not bloody broadband' problems today! (BT tech support guy was horrified at seeing 400kbps connection on an ADSL Max line on a live test with remote desktop running - "That's not broadband is it?" "Errrr, no, we start at 512kbps".)
Mind is still boggling that no-one can make BT connect others to a 12 core fibre from the street cab (node) when there are 50 potential customers sitting within spitting distance of this editor from the Grauniad. Or that even BT engineers don't know that many of us think 400kbps is a bloody miracle (Here's a glass raised to rate adaptive that has got us beyond 200kbps). Time to write to Ofcom again? Or just send them a link.....
Best bit was though: the canny halfway useful BT engineer, along with the four people before him on the call who couldn't solve the problem, had NEVER heard of Firefox!!
