Broadband Provision in Wiltshire

October 2010

Maggie Rae, Director of Public Health and Wellbeing, County Hall, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8JD

Report Author: Dr Sally Hunter Corporate Research Team Wiltshire Council sally.hunter@wiltshire.gov.uk

Executive summary Introduction and background Digital technology is at the heart of today’s society, with the significance of internet access for a wide range of social, economic, educational and civic purposes continuously increasing. All telephone exchanges in Wiltshire are enabled to provide a broadband internet service, but the broadband speeds attainable vary widely throughout the county. Contrasts in the quality and speed of broadband provision are a national issue and two central government programmes – the Universal Service Commitment (USC) and Final Third – have been established to ensure, respectively, provision of speeds of at least 2mbps1 in the shorter term and access to ‘next generation’, super-fast broadband services in areas the market would not reach (the ‘final third’ of the country) in the longer term. Broadband Delivery UK has been established within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as the delivery vehicle for these programmes. This research project has been carried out to provide an evidence base describing broadband provision in Wiltshire, with particular reference to the USC and Final Third programmes. Exchanges providing broadband services in Wiltshire There are 106 exchanges providing broadband services in Wiltshire, 85 located within the county and 21 located outside and providing services to areas around the county boundary. The numbers of premises served by each exchange and the services offered vary widely, with exchanges in urban areas serving greater numbers of premises and generally offering more services. Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) services, enabling higher levels of local competition, are available through 18 exchanges in Wiltshire, covering around 60% of residential premises. BT’s ‘high speed’ broadband product (Wholesale Broadband Connect), offering download speeds of up to 24mbps and upload speeds of up to 2.5mbps, is currently available through four exchanges in Trowbridge, Salisbury, Chippenham and Devizes. ‘Next generation’ broadband services, enabling super-fast broadband services by replacing copper telephone lines with fibre-optic cable, are currently available to only around 34% of households in Wiltshire through Virgin Media’s cable service. They will also be available through BT’s Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) roll-out in Trowbridge and Chippenham by end 2010 and Calne by end 2011. Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) business broadband services, enabling uploading much faster than standard connections, are available through nine exchanges in Wiltshire, typically those serving the largest number of premises, and Ethernet business services are available through the four exchanges in Trowbridge, Salisbury, Chippenham and Devizes. Variability in broadband download speeds The potential broadband download speeds achievable through the BT network in Wiltshire have been mapped to produce an overall picture of standard (i.e. not next generation) broadband provision in the county2. The highest speeds available are centred on the exchanges in the towns and some villages with large, predominantly rural

1 Megabits per second. 2 Based on data collected from the BT online postcode checker between Sept and Nov 2009.

areas in between experiencing significantly lower speeds. The variation in speedssummarised as follows:

can be

• Maximum speeds of 8 to 9mbps (at the time of data collection) available only in

the centres of Trowbridge, Salisbury, Chippenham and Devizes in an area comprising around 0.2% of the geographic area of the county and containing 6% of households and 18% of businesses.

• The highest proportion of households (62%) and businesses (52%) are located within approximately 14% of the county that has been mapped as having potential download speeds of between 5mbps and 8mbps.

• The largest geographic area of the county (46%), containing around 26% of households and 23% of businesses, is mapped as having potential download speeds of 2 to 5mbps.

• Around 40% of the county, an area containing 5% of households and 7% of businesses, has potential broadband speeds of below 2mbps, the USC minimum level.

Mosaic lifestyle classification data for households in the zones outlined above reveals that the zone with the lowest speeds has the highest proportion of households in rural isolation, and also the highest proportion in the wealthier lifestyle groups. The zone with the fastest speeds has the highest proportion of young city dwellers and also the highest proportion in the lower income groups. These data furthermore suggest that while the majority of rural communities are reasonably served when it comes to broadband, with exchanges located in a number of villages, around 20% of households in rural isolation are expected to have broadband speeds of below 2mbps compared to around 5% for the county as a whole. A number of locations within the area identified as having speeds below 2mbps are further described as being “very unlikely to receive a fixed 256kbps3 or 512kbps service due to the long length of the line”; around 1% of households in the county fall into this category. Profiles of areas below the USC level As an aid to prioritisation, the zone identified as having download speeds of below 2mbps has been sub-divided into 68 profile areas. The number of households within these profile areas ranges from fewer than 10 to over 1,000 and the number of businesses from fewer than five to around 100. Mean potential download speeds within these areas range from 0.4mbps to 1.8mbps, with the most commonly reported speeds varying from 0.25 to 1.5mbps. The number of postcodes within each area described as being “very unlikely to receive a fixed 256kbps or 512kbps service due to the long length of the line” ranges from zero to 45. Some 70% of postcodes falling into this category are located within only 12 of the 68 profile areas and 85% are within 19 areas. Broadband characteristics of Wiltshire’s market towns The highest standard potential download speeds of 9mbps are available in the major urban centres of Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Devizes. The most commonly

3 Kilobits per second.

quoted download speed for postcodes in Salisbury, Trowbridge and Devizes was 9mbps, but only 6mbps for Chippenham. For the other market towns, the most commonly quoted and maximum download speed was 6.5mbps. Mean quoted potential download speeds range from 5.3mbps in Malmesbury to 6.6mbps in Devizes. Next generation services are currently available in nine of the 21 market towns, and will also be available in Chippenham by the end of 2010 and Calne by end 2011. Survey of measured broadband speeds The broadband speeds described in this report are estimated potential maximum download speeds for a given postcode on the BT online postcode checker. The difference between these speeds and the actual speeds experienced by a particular household has been examined in an online survey which asked Wiltshire residents to test their speeds and report the results. The average tested standard broadband download speed reported in this survey was 2.8mbps, with the most commonly reported speeds being around 0.5mbps and 1mbps. This average speed is low compared to national figures obtained by Ofcom, showing an average tested download speed of 4.1mbps. Around 30% of survey respondents used BT as their Internet Service Provider (ISP), a much higher figure than for any other ISP. The average download speed for all standard broadband ISPs was around 2mbps to 3mbps, while the average download speed reported by users of Virgin Media’s next generation cable service was 9mbps. Around 90% of survey respondents reported using the internet for personal browsing and around 60% of Wiltshire Council employees and 45% of other Wiltshire residents reported using the internet to work from home. Around 10% of respondents also reported using the internet to run a business from home. A comparison of the standard broadband download speeds reported in the survey with quoted BT data for the postcode shows that the reported measured speeds are an average of 1.4mbps below the BT postcode estimates, although with a high degree of variability. Comparison of speeds within the four mapped speed zones showed an average tested speed of around 1mbps within the zone mapped as having speeds of below 2mbps. The average tested speed reported within the zone mapped as having speeds of between 2mbps and 5mbps was around 2mbps, with around 60% of survey responses from within this zone reporting speeds below this level. Within the two zones mapped as having the highest potential download speeds (5 to 8mbps and greater than 8mbps), the average reported tested speed was around 4mbps. 3G coverage in Wiltshire A series of 3G coverage maps by mobile operator was produced by Ofcom in 2009, based on theoretical predictions and giving an indication of areas where it is possible to make and receive calls over a 3G network, rather than access higher data rate services. These maps indicate that the north and west of Wiltshire and the area around Salisbury are well served by multiple 3G networks, but that a band exists, running approximately north-east to south-west through the county, where coverage is absent or provided by a limited number of suppliers.

Summary of current situation with respect to USC and Final Third benchmarks At the present time around 40% of the geographic area of the county appears to have potential broadband download speeds of below 2mbps – the USC minimum level. This area contains around 5% of households and around 7% of businesses. Within this area there are a number of postcodes that are described as being very unlikely to receive a fixed 256 or 512kbps service due to the long length of the line, with around 1% of households in the county falling into this category of particularly poor service. Around 46% of the geographic area of the county, an area containing around 26% of households and 23% of businesses, has been identified as having potential download speeds of between 2mbps and 5mbps. However, a survey of actual measured download speeds suggests that average speeds experienced by households within this area are around 2mbps and that around 60% of households in this area may have speeds of below this level. This area could therefore be considered as borderline for meeting the USC level. Around 1% of the geographic area of the county, an area containing around 34% of households, is currently served by Virgin Media’s cable ‘next generation’ service and so these areas will definitely not form part of the “final third” - the approximately one third of the country where it is not expected that commercial provision of a ‘next generation’ broadband solution will occur. Planned developments in broadband provision The only known planned development in broadband provision at the time of the preparation of this report is the roll-out of BT’s FTTC service to Chippenham and Trowbridge by end 2010 and to Calne by end 2011. Under this development scenario, by end 2011 the difference in speeds between the more and less advantaged areas will take on a four-tier structure:

• Highest headline speeds available to those 34% of households with Virgin Media’s cable service (<50mbps)

• Somewhat lower headline speeds available in the three exchange areas with BT’s FTTC (<40mbps)

• Moderate headline speeds available in two exchanges enabled with BT’s WBC but not FTTC (<24mbps)

• Much lower headline speeds of up to around 8mbps available in all other areas. Relative business case for next generation deployment Next generation broadband services are currently in place or planned in most exchange areas with a household density of 150 households per km2 or greater, and so these areas are assumed to have a strong business case for commercial deployment. Devizes, Bradford on Avon and Corsham are the only exchange areas in the county that fall into this category but are not currently provided with a next generation service. A moderate business case is assumed where the household density is around 60 to 150 households per km2 and a weak business case where densities are around 60 households per km2

and below, with the majority of exchanges in the county falling into this weak category. In both these categories existing data show that market provision of a next generation solution may occur, generally in areas adjacent to locations with higher household densities where there is a stronger business case.

Potential solutions available There are a number of potential solutions that may be employed to address both those areas falling below the USC minimum level and those areas where a commercial roll-out of a next generation service is unlikely. With regard to the USC, a number of projects throughout the UK are providing wireless broadband to rural areas and it is technically possible to provide such a service to almost any area, with speeds in excess of 2mbps. A number of Wiltshire’s schools have broadband connections through the South West Grid for Learning and there is a possibility that local communities with speeds below the USC minimum level could ‘piggy back’ on these connections in some way, potentially via wireless connections using the schools as a hub. Commercial satellite broadband services are currently available that are capable of providing a broadband service with speeds exceeding 2mbps to most areas of the UK, although the take-up of this service is limited by the high costs of hardware and installation. There is considerable interest at a national level in the utilisation of existing infrastructure to aid in the deployment of fibre optic next generation networks, particularly to rural areas that are hard to reach by standard means. In this regard, the sewerage and electricity networks are of interest in Wiltshire. Coverage of the sewerage network in the county is not comprehensive, with larger settlements connected, but large parts of rural Wiltshire not so, and so while there may be some potential that this infrastructure could be used to roll-out fibre optic broadband to some larger settlements with weaker business cases for commercial roll-out, this potential solution would not address issues in many rural areas. The electricity overhead distribution network has significant potential to be used to deploy next generation broadband solutions. Wiltshire is served by two distribution network operators, one of which, Western Power Distribution, has a sister telecommunications business that is currently involved in a trial with Virgin Media to use existing electricity poles to extend the reach of Virgin’s broadband and other services into rural areas. A potential full roll-out of BT’s FTTC product to all exchanges in Wiltshire could provide a next generation solution to most settlements, although due to the nature of the technology those households with long telephone lines from the cabinets, presumably mainly in the rural areas with current poor broadband services, would not benefit from such a roll-out. A detailed assessment of the feasibility of solutions is outside the scope of this project. However, the information contained within this report provides a general understanding of the issues any chosen solutions will need to address with regard to ensuring premises have broadband access above the USC level and providing next generation access to less commercially attractive areas. It also demonstrates the potential of some possible solutions to address these issues. Given the nature of the issues identified and intelligence gathered in conjunction with this study from government and industry, it would seem that a ‘mixed economy’ of solutions is most likely to be required, with this mix encompassing both the technologies used and the nature of investments, ownership and ongoing maintenance of any new networks.

Contents

1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................1 1.1. National and regional bodies working to deliver improved broadband .........2 1.2. Wiltshire research project aims ....................................................................3

2. BT exchanges providing broadband services in Wiltshire ...............................4 2.1. Numbers of exchanges and premises served ..............................................4 2.2. Exchanges enabling local competition through LLU services.....................14 2.3. Availability of ‘high speed’ broadband services ..........................................18 2.4. Availability of ‘next generation’ broadband services ...................................23 2.5. Business services.......................................................................................29 2.5.2. Ethernet...................................................................................................31 2.6. Ofcom market classification........................................................................33

3. Broadband speeds .............................................................................................36 3.1. Potential speeds achievable though the BT network..................................36 3.2. Characteristics of households and businesses in the different standard broadband speed zones....................................................................................38 3.3. Areas with poor or no broadband service...................................................42

4. Profiles of areas with a poor broadband service and of Wiltshire’s market towns .......................................................................................................................44

4.1. Areas with speeds below the Universal Service Commitment level ...........44 4.2. Market towns..............................................................................................55

5. Survey of measured broadband speeds in Wiltshire ......................................58 5.1. Average download speeds .........................................................................58 5.2 Variations in download speed by day and time ...........................................59 5.3. ISP usage and average download speeds .................................................59 5.4. Internet use among survey respondents ....................................................61 5.5. Comparison of survey download speeds to BT potential speeds ...............62 5.6 Upload speeds ............................................................................................65

6. 3G coverage in Wiltshire....................................................................................66 7. Summary of current situation and overview of potential solutions...............68

7.1. Summary of the current situation in relation to USC and Final Third benchmarks.......................................................................................................68 7.2. Planned developments in broadband provision..........................................70 7.3. Relative business case for next generation deployment ............................72 7.4. Potential solutions available .......................................................................74

1. Introduction Whether in terms of everyday living or business and commerce, digital technology is firmly placed at the heart of today’s society. The previous government’s Digital Britain4 report makes the point that first generation broadband provided a boost to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of some 0.5%-1.0% a year. It follows from this that, at the local level, a high quality digital infrastructure is likely to be an important driver and facilitator of economic development. There is also an ever increasing reliance on digital technology to facilitate the access to and delivery of council services. The wider digital inclusion agenda is of growing significance, with digital access increasingly vital for a range of social and educational, as well as commercial and civic, purposes5. For several years, all of the BT exchanges in Wiltshire have been DSL-enabled6, providing a broadband service, and a number of settlements have also been served by Virgin’s fibre-optic cable network. Nonetheless, both potential and actual broadband speeds vary greatly across the county, with speeds in the more advantaged areas being many times those in other areas, to the detriment of some local communities and businesses. For example, the 2008 Rural Facilities Survey7 found that around 14% of settlements in rural Wiltshire did not have access to a broadband service with a speed of at least 2mbps8. Such contrasts in the quality and speed of broadband services are not, of course, confined to Wiltshire, and are of growing concern to central government. The Digital Britain report details two national programmes aimed at upgrading the quality of broadband provision, over, respectively, the next few years and the longer term. In the first instance, the USC aims to ensure the provision of ‘potential’ broadband speeds of 2mbps across the whole of the UK. The original target date for this commitment was 2012, but this has since been postponed by the coalition government to “within the lifetime of the current parliament”, which could mean 20159. Secondly, the Final Third project is a longer term programme to improve access to ‘next generation’ broadband speeds in those areas where commercial provision is unlikely to be considered viable. This will essentially involve establishing a new network infrastructure.

4 http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/broadcasting/6216.aspx 5 Wiltshire Council Digital Inclusion paper for Corporate Leadership Team (CLT), Ian Baker. 6 Digital Subscriber Line: a family of technologies capable of transforming ordinary phone lines into high-speed digital lines. 7http://www.intelligencenetwork.org.uk/community/rural-communities-and-services/ 8 Megabits per second. 9 http://www.samknows.com/broadband/news/broadband-target-postponed-in-the-uk-10780.html

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1.1. National and regional bodies working to deliver improved broadband Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) 10 has been created within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as the delivery vehicle for the USC and Final Third policies. Its four main goals are as follows:

1. Effectively use the funds provided11 to meet the USC; 2. Increase the penetration of high speed connectivity and plan for the use of public

money, from whatever source, if necessary; 3. Explore the potential for re-use of public networks and assets to reduce the cost

of making high speed connectivity available to poorly served areas in the UK, and;

4. Work with and influence the other areas of the public sector (e.g. Ofcom) involved with and responsible for the delivery of the coalition government’s policy objective to ensure the rapid roll-out of high speed connectivity services across the country.

To achieve these goals, BDUK is engaging with stakeholders, including industry, public sector bodies, Ofcom, regional bodies and community groups to:

• Develop the commercial models that will be used for implementing the USC • Agree the minimum service specification required to achieve the policy objectives

of the USC • Plan the deployment of the superfast broadband market testing projects12 to

ensure that the maximum information is gained for targeting potential future government intervention, and

• Investigate the detail of reuse of public sector networks and assets, identify challenges and develop solutions.

The South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) is working at a regional level through the Connecting South West partnership, with partners including the SWRDA, local authorities, Business Link, the private sector and business intermediaries13. CSW has no direct funding, but aims to bring partners together to achieve the following:

• Identification of issues and opportunities • Joint solutions • Best practice dissemination • Championing the South West agenda with government departments, service

providers and key stakeholders.

10 http://www.bis.gov.uk/BDUK 11 Around £250 million remaining from the Digital Switchover fund. 12 BDUK will be delivering 3 market testing projects in rural areas. Information from these will be used to better target possible government intervention and investment in superfast broadband in future. The aims of these projects are to collect practical data to investigate the actual cost of deployment of superfast broadband in rural and hard-to-serve parts of the country; the impact of utility infrastructure sharing on changing the economics of private sector investment; practical commercial and technical issues from re-using existing public sector networks and; the relative impact of demand registration, aggregation and other parallel stimulation activities. 13 http://www.southwestrda.org.uk/working_with_you/working_with_partners/broadband.aspx

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The SWRDA is working with BDUK on the selection of suitable areas and projects for the superfast broadband market testing projects.

1.2. Wiltshire research project aims This research project has been formulated to put in place an evidence base describing broadband provision in Wiltshire, with the specific aims to:

• provide a comprehensive picture of broadband speeds throughout the county, mapping existing infrastructure that currently delivers broadband, or that could potentially be upgraded or harnessed to improve broadband delivery, and;

• provide a database of sufficient quality to permit Wiltshire Council to effectively deliver its own programmes, and for the council and local partners to lobby government, Broadband Delivery UK, the SWRDA, the infrastructure providers and others, with a view to continually improving broadband provision throughout the county.

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2. BT Exchanges providing broadband services in Wiltshire This section of the report outlines the locations of the exchanges providing broadband services in the county and examines the range of services offered. All data in this section were obtained from the website Sam Knows14 in July 2010, unless otherwise stated.

2.1. Numbers of exchanges and premises served There are 106 exchanges providing broadband services in Wiltshire (Figure 1 and Table 1), of which 85 are located within the county and the remaining 21 are located outside and provide services to areas around the county boundary. Those exchanges that are located outside the county but provide services in Wiltshire are located in seven other local authority areas: Swindon (4 exchanges), West Berkshire (2 exchanges), Hampshire (5 exchanges), Dorset (3 exchanges), Bath and North East Somerset (1 exchange), Gloucestershire (3 exchanges) and South Gloucestershire (3 exchanges). The geographic areas served by each exchange have been mapped on the basis of postcode level data of exchange connection, obtained from the Sam Knows website in November 2009. A number of areas have not been mapped as being served by any exchange (the white areas on Figure 1) as there were no postcodes within these areas from which to obtain information, and these areas are assumed to be generally unpopulated. The numbers of premises served by each exchange and the services offered vary widely, with exchanges in urban areas serving a much greater number of premises and generally offering more services. As shown in Figure 2, the exchanges in the major urban areas of Salisbury, Trowbridge and Chippenham serve the by far the largest number of residential premises, followed by the larger towns of Melksham, Devizes, Warminster, Calne, Westbury, Bradford-on-Avon and Wootton Bassett15. The numbers of non-residential (business) premises served shows a similar pattern, with the exchange in Salisbury serving the highest number, at around 1,400, followed by Chippenham, Trowbridge, Melksham and Devizes (Figure 3). The number of premises paying business rates in Wiltshire has also been calculated for each exchange area and is shown in Table 116.

14 www.samknows.com 15 The Toothill exchange, located in western Swindon also serves a large number of residential premises, of which only a small number are located in Wiltshire. 16 Note – this figure excludes Communications and Traffic Monitoring Stations, Advertising Rights, Car Parks and Public Conveniences.

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Figure 1. BT exchanges providing broadband services in Wiltshire and the approximate geographic areas served by each exchange.

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Map Label Exchange Name

Residential Premises

Non-residential Premises

Business Rates Premises in Wiltshire*

LLU Available.

Number of LLU Operators

Cable Available.

21CN WBC status

FTTC status

Ofcom class.

SDSL Available.

Ethernet Available.

1 Salisbury 20,331 1,454 1,778 Yes 5 Yes Enabled as of 31/03/2010

Not Available Market 3 Yes Yes

2 Trowbridge 17,334 629 1,083 Yes 7 Yes Enabled as of 15/02/2009

Scheduled for 2010 Market 3 Yes Yes

3 Chippenham 14,767 831 986 Yes 8 No Enabled as of 21/03/2009

Scheduled for 2010 Market 3 Yes Yes

4 Melksham 9,467 588 599 Yes 6 Yes Not Available Not Available Market 3 Yes No

5 Toothill (Swindon) 9,287 256 8 Yes 3 Yes Scheduled for 2011

Scheduled for 2010 Market 3 Yes No

6 Devizes 8,984 571 719 Yes 6 No Enabled as of 31/03/2010

Not Available Market 3 Yes Yes

7 Warminster 8,169 410 512 Yes 4 Yes Not Available Not Available Market 3 Yes No

8 Calne 8,166 346 395 Yes 8 No Not Available Scheduled for 2011 Market 3 Yes No

9 Westbury Wilts 7,013 425 567 Yes 4 Yes Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

10 Bradford-on-Avon 5,397 278 334 Yes 1 No Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

11 Wootton Bassett 5,133 406 408 Yes 3 Yes Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

12 Shaftesbury (Dorset) 4,317 364 37 Yes 1 No Not Available

Not Available Market 2 No No

13 Corsham 4,021 253 277 Yes 1 No Not Available Not Available Market 2 Yes No

14 Amesbury 3,836 206 284 Yes 1 Yes Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

15 Marlborough 3,746 353 422 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

16 Malmesbury 3,499 303 319 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

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17 Wroughton (Swindon) 3,247 137 0 No - Yes Not Available

Not Available Market 2 No No

18 Tidworth 3,241 103 100 No - Yes Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

19 Hungerford (West Berkshire) 3,073 286 23 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

20 Downton 3,001 150 139 Yes 1 No Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

21 Durrington Walls 2,632 100 82 No - Yes Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

22 Wilton 2,463 133 199 No - Yes Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

23 Batheaston (Bath & NE Somerset) 2,326 110 11 Yes 1 No Not Available

Not Available Market 2 No No

24 Cricklade 2,256 130 125 Yes 1 No Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

25 Purton 2,229 136 63 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

26 Pewsey 2,173 157 201 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

27 South Cerney 2,098 138 49 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

28 Box 2,078 100 85 Yes 1 No Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

29 Bradenstoke 1,963 62 69 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

30 Lavington 1,890 99 109 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

31 Ludgershall 1,857 73 70 No - Yes Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

32 Hawthorn 1,762 115 154 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

33 Idmiston 1,631 62 44 No - Yes Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

34 Bulford Camp 1,543 61 33 No - Yes Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

35 West Wellow (Hampshire) 1,466 162 35 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

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36 Tisbury 1,393 100 99 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

37 Limpley Stoke 1,363 59 20 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

38 Mere 1,329 82 105 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

39 Lockerley (Hampshire) 1,242 104 1 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

40 Burbage 1,157 41 62 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

41 North Trowbridge 1,139 52 80 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

42 Shrewton 1,116 66 50 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

43 Netheravon 1,109 31 28 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

44 Alderbury 1,097 38 45 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

45 Keevil 1,063 37 65 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

46 Seagry 1,062 71 81 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

47 Bromham 1,051 70 54 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

48 Winterslow 1,050 52 26 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

49 Chiseldon (Swindon) 1,048 39 1 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

50 Bourton (Dorset) 1,006 45 18 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

51 Aldbourne 1,000 56 54 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

52 Haydon Wick (Swindon) Unknown Unknown 0 Yes 2 No Not Available

Not Available Market 2 No No

53 Bratton 987 36 42 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

54 Great Bedwyn 986 59 52 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

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55 Sherston 901 72 72 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

56 Castle Combe 891 109 56 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

57 Sutton Veny 864 56 89 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

58 Marshfield (South Gloucestershire) 862 85 5 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

59 Ramsbury 856 50 55 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

60 Handley (Dorset) 818 59 7 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

61 Codford St Mary 814 32 37 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

62 Donhead 798 45 27 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

63 Hullavington 787 30 24 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

64 Seend 785 62 58 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

65 Kemble (Gloucestershire) 779 45 41 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

66 Chirton 752 34 49 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

67 Crudwell 745 48 74 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

68 Upavon 722 31 25 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

69 Broadchalke 718 41 38 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

70 Whiteparish 653 74 59 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

71 Minety 652 81 31 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

72 Didmarton (South Gloucestershire) 643 51 18 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

73 Broad Hinton 637 48 30 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

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74 Collingbourne Ducis 637 34 57 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

75 Maiden Bradley 637 26 33 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

76 Earldoms 633 59 28 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

77 Stapleford 633 25 31 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

78 Kington Langley 630 53 33 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

79 Chapmanslade 619 20 30 No - Yes Not Available Not Available Market 2 No No

80 Teffont 619 69 58 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

81 Cannings 599 49 47 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

82 Kempsford (Gloucestershire) 568 32 2 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

83 Woodborough 538 26 39 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

84 Inkpen (West Berkshire) 527 39 6 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

85 Brinkworth 524 75 74 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

86 Badminton (South Gloucestershire) 513 44 10 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

87 East Knoyle 474 54 41 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

88 Fovant 467 31 27 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

89 Lacock 446 50 52 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

90 Rockbourne (Hampshire) 436 30 0 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

91 Lockeridge 407 22 31 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

92 Farley 401 30 15 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

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93 Hindon 395 47 52 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

94 Coombe Bissett 377 29 22 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

95 Avebury 350 26 24 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

96 Middle Woodford 349 28 32 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

97 Hilmarton 336 39 13 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

98 Cholderton 318 21 10 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

99 Ogbourne St George 302 19 15 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

100 Westonbirt (Gloucestershire) 266 18 1 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

101 Chute Standen 264 27 9 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

102 Linkenholt (Hampshire) 261 14 0 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 No No

103 Kellaways 255 33 11 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

104 Wylye 226 11 18 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

105 Martin Cross (Hampshire) 175 17 11 No - No Not Available

Not Available Market 1 Yes No

106 Oxenwood 110 18 6 No - No Not Available Not Available Market 1 No No

Table 1. BT exchanges providing broadband services in Wiltshire (data from www.samknows.com, combined with business rates information from Wiltshire Council internal sources). LLU = Local Loop Unbundling; 21CN WBC = 21st Century Network Wholesale Broadband Connect (exchanges upgraded to ADSL2+ and able to offer “high speed” broadband with headline download speeds of <24mbps); FTTC = Fibre to the cabinet (enables the provision of “super fast” broadband with headline download speeds of <40mbps); SDSL = Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (service for business allowing equivalent upload and download speeds). * Numbers of premises paying business rates in Wiltshire County, excluding Communications and Traffic Monitoring Stations, Advertising Rights, Car Parks and Public Conveniences.

Figure 2. Estimated numbers of residential premises served by the exchanges providing broadband services in Wiltshire (data from www.samknows.com).

12

Figure 3. Estimated numbers of non-residential premises served by the exchanges providing broadband services in Wiltshire (data from www.samknows.com).

13

2.2. Exchanges enabling local competition through LLU services There are 18 exchanges offering Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) services to areas of Wiltshire (Figure 4 and Table 1). LLU enables communications providers to offer a complete range of broadband and voice services without having to route through BT’s main network17. This allows higher levels of competition and can reduce costs for consumers. Although these services are offered through only 18 of 106 exchanges, they are available to around 60% of the residential premises served by the 106 exchanges. This is due to the fact that these, and most other services driven by competition, are available generally only via those exchanges serving the greatest numbers of premises (Figure 5). The numbers of communications providers offering services via LLU varies considerably, with the greatest number of providers active in Chippenham, Calne, Trowbridge and Melksham (6 to 8 providers), followed by Salisbury, Warminster and Westbury (4 to 5 providers - Figure 6 and Table 1).

17 A guide to Local Loop Unbundling. BT Openreach.

14

Figure 4. Exchanges offering LLU services in Wiltshire (data from www.samknows.com).

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Figure 5. Provision of LLU services compared to the estimated number of residential properties served by each exchange (orange bars indicating where LLU services are available - data from www.samknows.com). Exchange numbers correspond to those in Figure 1 and Table 1.

16

Figure 6. Numbers of communications providers offering LLU services via enabled exchanges in Wiltshire (data from www.samknows.com).

17

2.3. Availability of ‘High Speed’ Broadband Services Wholesale Broadband Connect (WBC) is BTs service provided via exchanges upgraded to ADSL2+18. This enables ‘high speed’ broadband, with headline speeds of up to 24mbps. A version of this product known as Annex M can also provide upload speeds of up to 2.5mbps. These much faster than average upload speeds are expected to be particularly relevant for businesses that rely on uploading as much as downloading, such as media companies, and those who use facilities such as videoconferencing19. WBC is currently only offered through four exchanges in Wiltshire; Trowbridge, Chippenham, Devizes and Salisbury (Figure 7 and Table 1). Data collected in 2009 indicated that only two exchanges were enabled for WBC services at that time – Trowbridge and Chippenham (Table 2). The exchanges in Salisbury, Devizes, Corsham and Bradford on Avon were due to be enabled in March 2010 and a further 27 exchanges in March 2011. However, more recent data collected in July 2010 (contained in Table 1 and Figure 7) indicates that although the Salisbury and Devizes exchanges were enabled in March 2010, the exchanges in Corsham and Bradford on Avon were not. This programme therefore appears to have been delayed and it is currently unclear when these and the other 27 exchanges are due to be enabled, and if this is still planned to go ahead. Interestingly, the exchanges that the early data indicated would be enabled for WBC services in 2010 and 2011 are often exchanges serving a relatively small number of premises (Figure 8). Figure 9 shows the geographic distribution of these exchanges, which are mostly in the north and west of the county and the south west corner. A number of the exchanges in larger towns such as Warminster, Westbury, Amesbury and Marlborough did not feature in this list and it is currently unknown if and when these locations may be enabled with WBC services.

18 Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line version 2+. ADSL is the most common way of delivering broadband in the UK. This version of ADSL offers up to 24mbps download speeds. 19 http://www.samknows.com/broadband/news/faster-upload-service-launched-by-bt-10798.html

18

Figure 7. Exchanges offering WBC services in Wiltshire (data from www.samknows.com).

19

Exchange Name 21CN WBC status: 2009 information

Batheaston RFS date set 31/03/2011 Bourton RFS date set 31/03/2011 Box RFS date set 31/03/2011 Bradford-on-Avon RFS date set 31/03/2010 Bradenstoke RFS date set 31/03/2011 Brinkworth RFS date set 31/03/2011 Calne RFS date set 31/03/2011 Cannings RFS date set 31/03/2011 Chippenham Enabled as of 21/03/2009 Chirton RFS date set 31/03/2011 Corsham RFS date set 31/03/2010 Crudwell RFS date set 31/03/2011 Devizes RFS date set 31/03/2010 Donhead RFS date set 31/03/2011 Earldoms RFS date set 31/03/2011 East Knoyle RFS date set 31/03/2011 Hawthorn RFS date set 31/03/2011 Hilmarton RFS date set 31/03/2011 Hindon RFS date set 31/03/2011 Hullavington RFS date set 31/03/2011 Keevil RFS date set 31/03/2011 Kellaways RFS date set 31/03/2011 Kington Langley RFS date set 31/03/2011 Lacock RFS date set 31/03/2011 Limpley Stoke RFS date set 31/03/2011 Lockeridge RFS date set 31/03/2011 Malmesbury RFS date set 31/03/2011 Marshfield RFS date set 31/03/2011 Melksham RFS date set 31/03/2011 Mere RFS date set 31/03/2011 Ogbourne St George RFS date set 31/03/2011 Salisbury RFS date set 31/03/2010 Seend RFS date set 31/03/2011 Tisbury RFS date set 31/03/2011 Trowbridge Enabled as of 15/02/2009 Woodborough RFS date set 31/03/2011 Wootton Bassett RFS date set 31/03/2011

Table 2. Plans for enabling exchanges with WBC services as at 2009 (RFS date – Ready for Service date (data from Samknows, 2009). Superseded by data in Table 1.

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Figure 8. Availability of WBC services compared to the estimated number of residential and non-residential premises served by each exchange (data from www.samknows.com). Green bars indicate exchanges enabled for WBC services in 2009 and 2010, yellow bars indicate exchanges that 2009 data suggested would be enabled in 2010, but where these services are not yet available (Bradford on Avon and Corsham) and red bars indicate exchanges that 2009 data suggested would be enabled for WBC services in 2011. Exchange numbers correspond to those in Figure 1 and Table 1.

21

Figure 9. Plans for enabling exchanges with WBC services as at 2009 (data from www.samknows.com). RFS date – Ready for Service date.

22

2.4. Availability of ‘next generation’ broadband services ‘Next generation’ broadband services are those enabling super-fast broadband services by replacing copper telephone lines with fibre-optic cable20. These services are currently available in parts of Wiltshire through Virgin Media’s fibre-optic cable services and will shortly also be offered through BTs Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) roll-out.

2.4.1. Cable broadband services in Wiltshire Cable services, offering headline broadband download speeds of up to 50mbps, are available in a number of exchange areas in Wiltshire through Virgin Media (Figure 10 and Table 1). The availability of cable services does not show a clear relationship with the number of premises served by an exchange (Figure 11). This is to be expected, given that cable services are provided through different infrastructure, but it does seem reasonable to assume that this service would be found in areas with the largest numbers of premises. This is generally the case, although cable services are not available in a number of the larger towns in the county, including Chippenham, Devizes, Calne, Bradford-on-Avon, Corsham, Marlborough, Malmesbury and Downton. The coverage of this network is shown in more detail in Figure 12, based on postcode level data of service availability obtained from Virgin Media’s website21 in November 2009. The total geographic area covered by this network amounts to around 1% of the area of the county, with this area containing around 34% of households.

20 Report for the South West RDA; Next-generation access, Final Report. 24 February 2010. Analysys Mason. 21 http://allyours.virginmedia.com/websales/service.do?id=2

23

Figure 10. Cable service availability by exchange area (data from www.samknows.com).

24

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Figure 11. Availability of cable broadband services compared to the estimated number of residential properties served by each exchange (data from www.samknows.com). Exchange numbers correspond to those in Figure 1 and Table 1.

25

Figure 12. Availability of Virgin Media cable services, mapped on the basis of postcode data (obtained from Virgin Media’s website, November 2009).

26

2.4.2. Next generation services through FTTC The exchanges in Chippenham and Trowbridge are scheduled to be enabled with BT’s FTTC ‘super fast’ broadband services in 2010 followed by the exchange in Calne in 2011 (Figure 13 and Table 1). This will allow for the provision of broadband services with headline download speeds of up to 40mbps in these areas. Speeds attainable via this service decrease with line length from the cabinet, with speeds of around 1mbps to 4mbps supported over 4km to 5km. This suggests that ‘next generation’ speeds will not be available to all locations within these exchange areas and that “long lines” will still be an issue for some locations. Plans to roll-out this upgrade to other areas of the county are currently unknown, including for the exchange in Salisbury, which serves the highest numbers of residential properties (Figure 14).

27

Figure 13. Exchanges scheduled for FTTC services in Wiltshire (data from www.samknows.com).

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Figure 14. Scheduled availability of FTTC services compared to the estimated number of residential properties served by each exchange (data from www.samknows.com). Dark blue bars indicate exchanges due to be enabled in 2010 and light blue bar the exchange due to be enabled in 2011. Exchange numbers correspond to those in Figure 1 and Table 1.

2.5. Business services

2.5.1. Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line services Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) services are business broadband services that allow uploading at the same speed as downloading (<2mbps), making uploading much faster than standard connections. These services are available through nine exchanges in Wiltshire (Figure 15 and Table 1), which are generally those serving the largest number of residential premises (Figure 16). However, comparing the provision of this service to the estimated numbers of non-residential (presumably business) premises22, it appears that this service is available in some areas which have relatively low numbers (about 250) of non-residential premises, e.g. Corsham and Toothill (Swindon), and not in others with larger estimated numbers of non-residential premises, e.g. Westbury and Wootton Bassett, which have over 400 estimated non-residential premises and Marlborough which has around 350.

22 Obtained from Samknows.

29

Figure 15. SDSL service availability by exchange area (data from www.samknows.com).

30

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Figure 16. Availability of SDSL services compared to the estimated number of residential and non-residential premises served by each exchange (data from www.samknows.com). Exchange numbers correspond to those in Figure 1 and Table 1.

2.5.2. Ethernet Ethernet services provide high speed connections between business locations, allowing businesses to extend their private networks between geographically dispersed sites. At present in Wiltshire, only the exchanges in Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Devizes are enabled to offer this service (Figure 17). This service is not currently offered through the exchange in Melksham, in spite of this serving a larger number of non-residential premises than there are in Devizes (Figure 18).

31

Figure 17. Availability of Ethernet services by exchange area (data from www.samknows.com).

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Figure 18. Availability of Ethernet services compared to the estimated number of residential and non-residential premises served by each exchange (data from www.samknows.com). Exchange numbers correspond to those in Figure 1 and Table 1.

2.6. Ofcom market classification The majority of the exchanges serving areas of Wiltshire are classified by Ofcom as Market 1, i.e. with BT as the only Principal Operator23 (PO) (Figure 19 and Table 1). A further 19 exchanges are classified as Market 2, with two or three Principal Operators, and the 8 exchanges serving the largest numbers of premises classified as Market 3, with four or more Principal Operators24 (Figure 20).

23 With the Principal Operators identified by Ofcom as those operators considered to play a significant role in the wholesale broadband access market – BT, Cable & Wireless, O2, Orange, Sky, TalkTalk Group and Virgin Media. 24 Including the Toothill exchange in Swindon Borough.

33

Wiltshire has a significantly higher proportion of premises in Market 1 and 2 exchange areas compared to the national average: around 43% and 25% for Wiltshire, respectively, compared to around 16% and 14% for the UK as a whole (as at 200825). It also has a much lower proportion in Market 3 areas: around 32% for Wiltshire compared to around 70% nationally.

25 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/wba/

34

Figure 19. Ofcom broadband market classification for Wiltshire exchanges.

35

3. Broadband speeds This section of the report provides an indication of the broadband download speeds available in Wiltshire. This overview is based on information obtained from the BT postcode broadband speed checker26 and Virgin Media’s postcode checker27 during September to November 2009. Given the fact that this is a fast moving industry, with the infrastructure constantly being upgraded and developed, the speed maps and data discussed below should be taken as indicative only as it is likely that speeds will have changed somewhat since this data was collected. The overall pattern is however, expected to remain similar.

3.1. Potential speeds achievable though the BT network The potential broadband download speeds achievable through the BT ADSL network for all postcodes in Wiltshire have been recorded and mapped to produce an overall picture of ‘standard’ broadband provision in the county (i.e. not including ‘next generation’ cable services - Figure 20)28. As the speeds used in this study were the maximum potential download speeds modelled as being achievable for a given postcode, the actual speed experienced at any particular location is likely differ. This difference has been examined in an online survey of measured broadband speeds, with the results set out in Section 5 of this report. As would be expected, areas with higher standard broadband speeds are centred on the exchanges, in the towns and some villages. At the time the data were collected, the potential maximum download speeds attainable were 8 to 9mbps in the centres of Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Devizes, where the exchanges are enabled with BT’s WBC. As shown in Table 3, these speeds were available in only around 0.2% of the geographical area of the county, in an area with around 6% of households and 18% of businesses29. The highest proportion of households (62%) and businesses (52%) are located in areas mapped as having potential download speeds of 5 to 8mbps, with the most commonly reported potential download speeds in these areas being 6.5mbps (Table 3). These areas are located further from the centres of Salisbury, Chippenham, Trowbridge and Devizes and around the centres of other towns and villages. The largest geographical area of the county (46%) had quoted potential download speeds of 2 to 5mbps, with the most commonly reported speed in this area being 3mbps. This area contains 26% households and 23% businesses. Around 40% of the geographical area of the county, predominantly rural areas in between the exchanges, had quoted potential download speeds of 2mbps (the governments USC minimum level) or below, with the most commonly reported download speed in this area being 0.5mbps. This area contains around 5% of households and 7% of businesses in the county.

26 http://www.btbroadbandinformation.com/broadband-speed-checker/ Data obtained between 17th September and 25th November 2009. 27 http://shop.virginmedia.com/broadband.html 28 Potential speed refers to the top speed achievable at a given location. 29 Businesses as referred to in this section are premises paying business rates in Wiltshire, excluding advertising rights, car parks, communications masts and public conveniences.

36

Figure 20. Potential standard broadband download speeds attainable through the BT network (data obtained from BT online postcode checker Sept – Nov 2009).

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Broadband Speed Zone

Mean Average Download Speed Reported

Mode Download Speed Reported

% of County Area

Number of Households

Number of Business Rates Premises

0-2 mbps 0.9 mbps 0.5 mbps 40% 10,800 (5%)

900 (7%)

2-5 mbps 3.4 mbps 3.0 mbps 46% 52,500 (26%)

3,000 (23%)

5-8 mbps 6.0 mbps 6.5 mbps 14% 125,700 (62%)

6,900 (52%)

8-9 mbps 8.6 mbps 9.0 mbps 0.2% 12,500 (6%)

2,400 (18%)

Table 3. Key statistics for the mapped potential broadband speed zones (number of households calculated using Experian’s Mosaic household data).

3.2. Characteristics of households and businesses in the different standard broadband speed zones Experian’s Mosaic lifestyle classification tool has been used to examine the characteristics of households within the four mapped standard broadband speed zones outlined above. This tool uses data from a wide range of public and private sources to classify households by broad groups and more detailed types, painting a picture of the most likely characteristics of citizens in terms of their socio-demographic lifestyles, culture and behaviour. The groups as used in this report are summarised in Table 4. Mosaic Group Classification

A Residents of isolated rural communities B Residents of small and mid-sized towns with strong local roots C Wealthy people living in the most sought after neighbourhoods D Successful professionals living in suburban or semi-rural homes E Middle income families living in moderate suburban semis F Couples with young children in comfortable modern housing G Young, well-educated city dwellers H Couples and young singles in small modern starter homes I Lower income workers in urban terraces in often diverse areas J Owner occupiers in older-style housing in ex-industrial areas K Residents with sufficient incomes in right-to-buy social housing L Active elderly people living in pleasant retirement locations M Elderly people reliant on state support O Families in low-rise social housing with high levels of benefit need

Table 4. Mosaic Groups. The proportion of households within each of the mapped broadband speed zones that are classified as belonging to each Mosaic Group is shown in Figure 21. The blue bars indicate households located within the area mapped as having potential download speeds of less than 2mbps. Within this speed zone it can be seen that almost 40% of households are classified as Mosaic Group A (residents of isolated rural communities).

38

This high proportion should be expected given the generally rural nature of this zone. This speed zone also contains a high proportion of households classified as Group D (successful professionals living in suburban or semi-rural locations), followed by relatively high proportions in Groups B (residents of small and mid-sized towns with strong local roots) and F (couples with young children in comfortable modern housing). The same groups are also highly represented within the 2 to 5mbps mapped zone (as indicated by the green bars on Figure 21), with the largest proportion of households within this zone being classified as Group D, followed by Groups F, A, B and also H (couples and young singles in small modern starter homes). The 5 to 8mbps mapped zone has households with more mixed Mosaic Group classifications (indicated by the orange bars on Figure 21), with the highest proportions in Group B then D, followed by Groups F and E (middle income families living in modern suburban homes). This area also has moderately high proportions of households in Groups J (owner occupiers in older-style housing in ex-industrial areas), K (residents with sufficient incomes in right-to-buy social housing), M (elderly people reliant on state support) and H. The mapped zone with the highest potential download speeds (greater than 8mbps – indicated by the red bars on Figure 21) contains the highest proportion of households classified as Group G (young, well-educated city dwellers) and also relatively high proportions in Groups M, H, L (active elderly people living in pleasant retirement locations), K, J, B and I (lower income workers in urban terraces in often diverse areas).

39

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Figure 21. Percentage of households within each mapped broadband speed zone that belong to each Mosaic Group. Looking instead at the percentage of households within each Mosaic Group that fall within each mapped broadband speed zone (Figure 22), it can be seen that for most groups, the majority of households lie within the 5 to 8mbps zone (which should be expected given that the majority of all households are within this zone – Table 3). The only group for which the highest proportion of households are located within another mapped speed zone is Group G (young well-educated city dwellers), for which the majority of households fall within the greater than 8mbps zone. This again should be expected given the nature of this group and the fact that these speeds are only found in the centres of the largest settlements in the county. Interestingly, for Group A (residents of isolated rural communities), while around 20% of households in this group fall into the area mapped as having broadband speeds of less than 2mbps (more than twice as high as for any other group), the majority of Group A households are found within the zones mapped as having broadband speeds of 2 to 5mbps and 5 to 8mbps. This data would therefore suggest that the majority of rural communities are reasonably served when it comes to broadband speed, due to exchanges being located within a number of villages, but that around 20% of households classified as being in rural isolation are expected to have speeds of less than 2mbps compared to around 5% of households for the county as a whole.

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<2 mbps 2 to 5 mbps 5 to 8 mbps >8 mbps Figure 22. Percentage of households within each Mosaic Group that fall within each mapped broadband speed zone. Information on business rates payment by postcode can be used in a similar way to examine the proportion of businesses within each of the mapped broadband speed zones classified by business type30 (Figure 23). The trends observed reflect the predominantly rural nature of the slower mapped speed zones compared to the more urban nature of the faster zones. Within the less than 2mbps mapped zone (blue bars on Figure 23) the majority of businesses are classified as industrial (50%) followed by leisure/tourism (24%). Around 13% are classified as office based31 and 7% retail/ services. The proportion of businesses within the 2mbps to 5mbps mapped zone (green bars on Figure 23) shows a similar overall pattern, although with a greater dominance of industrial businesses (57%), followed by leisure/tourism (17%), office-based (12%) and retail/services (9%). 30 For this study, the business descriptions from the business rates data have been used to classify businesses by type. The Industrial classification includes industrial premises, warehouses and storage sites, minerals, waste and recycling sites and water treatment sites; the Retail / Services classification includes retail units, petrol stations, auto sales and repair units and personal financial and commercial services (such as banks and hairdressers); the Leisure / Tourism classification includes holiday accommodation, food and drink establishments, community centres, clubs and halls, municipal leisure centres and other sites with a leisure function (such as riding stables); the Public Administration & Defence classification includes Council functions, cemeteries and crematoria and defence sites; the Medical / Emergence / Legal classification includes doctors and dentists surgeries, hospitals and care homes, courts and police, ambulance and fire locations; the Education classification includes public and private education and training centres. This data set classifies all office-based functions as simply “office” and so this classification has been used here, with no break down by industry possible. 31 Not able to break down into industry sector due to the nature of the data set.

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For the 5mbps to 8mbps mapped zone (orange bars on Figure 23), comprising the majority of town centres and the peripheries of Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Devizes, most businesses are classified as retail/services (33%) followed closely by industrial (28%) and then office-based (17%) and leisure/tourism (15%). Within the 5 to 8mbps mapped area (red bars on Figure 23), consisting of the centres of Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Devizes, most businesses are classified as retail/services followed by office-based, with relatively low proportions in the industrial and leisure/tourism classifications.

0 10 20 30 40 50

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<2 mbps 2 to 5 mbps 5 to 8 mbps >8 mbps Figure 23. Percentage of businesses within each mapped broadband speed zone classified by business type.

3.3. Areas with poor or no broadband service There are a number of locations within Wiltshire which are “very unlikely to receive a fixed 256kbps32 or 512kbps service due to the long length of the line”33 and around 1% of households in the county fall into this category of particularly poor service34. Postcodes falling into this category are shown in Figure 24. These postcodes highlight a number of villages and groups of villages, as well as more isolated locations where this particularly poor level of service is available. This distribution of these locations is examined further in Section 4.

32 Kilobits per second. 33 Based on data obtained from the BT broadband postcode speed checker between 17th September and 25th November 2009. http://www.btbroadbandinformation.com/bt-postcode-checker 34 Calculated using Experian’s Mosaic estimates of households for mid year 2007.

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Figure 24. Areas with poor or no broadband service (data from BT postcode checker, Sept to Nov 2009).

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4. Profiles of areas with a poor broadband service and of Wiltshire’s market towns As an aid to prioritisation, this section contains profiles of the areas identified as having broadband speeds of below 2mbps (the Universal Service Commitment minimum level) and of Wiltshire’s market towns.

4.1. Areas with speeds below the Universal Service Commitment level The zone mapped as having potential broadband download speeds of below 2mbps consists of a number of different geographic areas, both large and small, spread throughout the county. This zone follows a complex geographic pattern, being composed of the interlocking peripheries of exchange areas where line length becomes an issue for broadband speeds. Some of the larger areas within this zone contain a number of distinct population clusters, separated by sparsely populated areas. These areas have therefore been separated into more functional areas based on the proximity of settlements and topography / line of sight, with relevance for wireless solutions. It is appreciated that this is only one of several methods that could have been used to define profile areas35. As shown in Table 5 and Figures 25 and 26, there is significant variation in the number of households and businesses in the different profile areas identified within the less than 2mbps mapped zone. The areas with the highest numbers of households are typically found in north and west Wiltshire (Figure 25) and the number of businesses also shows a broadly similar pattern, with relatively high numbers also in areas to the north of Salisbury and in the south west of the county (Figure 26). Mean potential download speeds within the profile areas range between 0.4mbps (Areas 13 – West Dean; 46 – Upper Upham; 63 – Tatesbury and 66 – Clarendon Park) and 1.8mbps (Area 41 – Upper Westford / Iford – Table 5 and Figure 27). There are a number of areas with particularly low speeds to south of Swindon and between Trowbridge and Devizes. Average speeds within the profile areas are typically higher in north of county and to the north and west of Salisbury. The most commonly reported (mode) potential download speeds range between 0.25mbps and 1.5mbps. The number of postcodes within each profile area that are described as being “very unlikely to receive a fixed 256kbps or 512kbps service due to the long length of the line” ranges from 0 to 45 (Table 5 and Figure 28). This characteristic shows a broad correlation with the size of the profile area, as would be expected, but an examination of Table 5 shows that around 70% of the postcodes in this category are contained within only 12 of the 68 profile areas (those with 10 or more postcodes in this category) and 85% are within 19 areas (those with five or more postcodes in the category). Building on from the analysis of Mosaic lifestyle classifications of households within the four main broadband speed zones in Section 3.2, those characteristics particularly relevant to the digital inclusion agenda can also be examined for the less than 2mbps

35 It was decided not to use BT exchange boundaries to define the profile areas as one exchange area may contain parts of more than one of the mapped <2mbps areas and even the smaller <2mbps areas are generally part of more than one exchange area.

44

45

profile areas. As identified in Section 3.2, almost 40% of all households within the less than 2mbps zone are classified as Mosaic Group A (residents of isolated rural communities). Within the defined profile areas, this percentage varies from 0% to 100% (Table 5 and Figure 29), with those areas in the south west and north east of the county typically showing the highest proportions in this group. Similarly, the combined total percentage of households within the entire less than 2mbps mapped zone that are classified as belonging to the lower income Mosaic Groups (Groups I, J, K, M and O36) was around 4%. This percentage varies from 0% to almost 50% in the defined profile areas (Table 5 and Figure 30).

36 Group I – Lower income workers in urban terraces in often diverse areas; Group J – Owner occupiers in olders-style housing in ex-industrial areas; Group K – residents with sufficient income living in right to buy social housing; Group M – Elderly people reliant on state support; O – Families in low-rise social housing with high levels of benefit need.

Area number Area name

Area (km2)

Number of households

Number of businesses

Mean download speed (mbps)

Mode download speed (mbps)

Number of postcodes ‘very unlikely to receive a 512 or 256kbps service’

% households in rural isolation

% households in lower income groups

1 Kilmington / Stourton 13.3 125 to 250 10 to 20 0.8 0.5 11 75 0 2 Longleat / Horningsham 22.1 125 to 250 20 to 50 0.7 0.5 9 52 0 3 Salisbury Plain West 148.2 250 to 400 10 to 20 0.9 0.5 4 32 4 4 Fonthill Abbey 3.6 10 to 20 <5 1.0 0 82 0 5 Wardour Castle 1.2 0 to 10 <5 1.0 0 0 0 6 Ferne 1.3 10 to 20 <5 0.5 0.5 0 82 0

7 Lower Nadder Valley / Southern Great Ridge 34.1 125 to 250 10 to 20 1.0 0.5 4 26 16

8 Ebble Valley 51.6 250 to 400 10 to 20 0.8 0.5 25 74 1 9 North Salisbury valleys 32.8 250 to 400 50 to 100 1.2 1.5 2 20 11

10 South Salisbury villages 26.5 250 to 400 20 to 50 0.9 0.5 5 41 2 11 New Forest fringe 4.3 10 to 20 <5 0.7 1 2 75 0 12 Langley Wood 2.0 0 to 10 <5 1.2 1 0 89 0 13 West Dean 4.0 20 to 50 <5 0.4 0.5 3 67 0 14 South Chute Forest 0.9 0 to 10 <5 0.8 0 100 0 15 Salisbury Plain East 80.0 250 to 400 5 to 10 1.0 1 2 35 0 16 Chute Causeway 12.7 10 to 20 <5 1.0 1 0 92 0 17 Manningford Bruce 2.5 50 to 125 <5 0.9 0.5 1 77 0 18 Sparcells 0.4 0 to 10 <5 1.0 0 0 0 19 East Purton Stoke 2.1 0 to 10 <5 1.5 1.5 0 100 0 20 Castle Eaton 6.4 10 to 20 <5 1.3 0 36 0 21 Marston Meysey 0.3 10 to 20 <5 1.0 0 44 0 22 North Latton 2.5 10 to 20 <5 1.2 1.5 0 23 0

23 The Somerfords / Dauntesy / Dauntsey Lock 78.6 700 to 1100 50 to 100 1.1 0.5 20 48 1

24 Oaksey 5.9 50 to 125 10 to 20 1.2 1 0 49 0 25 Cotswold 0.9 0 to 10 20 to 50 1.3 0 100 0 26 Cancourt / Studley 6.1 20 to 50 5 to 10 0.5 0.5 4 37 0

27 Easton Grey / Foxley / Brokenborough 12.7 50 to 125 20 to 50 1.0 1 0 61 0

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28 North Luckington 0.7 0 to 10 <5 1.0 0 100 0 29 Stanton St Quintin / Alderton 23.1 250 to 400 10 to 20 1.1 0.5 3 31 0 30 West Draycot Cerne 1.1 0 to 10 <5 1.3 1.5 0 29 0 31 West Sevington 0.6 0 to 10 <5 1.2 1 0 67 0 32 Nettleton / West Kington 8.3 125 to 250 5 to 10 0.7 0.5 9 49 0

33 North Colerne / Thickwood / Slaughterford 33.3 700 to 1100 50 to 100 0.7 0.5 45 22 5

34 Derry Hill / Stanley 15.2 400 to 700 20 to 50 1.1 0.5 2 13 0 35 West Chittoe 2.5 20 to 50 <5 1.0 0.5 0 92 0 36 Atworth 22.8 700 to 1100 20 to 50 1.0 0.5 12 8 11 37 Whitley East 0.5 0 to 10 <5 1.5 1.5 0 0 0 38 Whaddon 1.7 20 to 50 20 to 50 0.5 0 17 0

39 Compton Bassett / Clyffe Pypard 38.9 400 to 700 20 to 50 0.8 0.5 13 29 0

40 East Avoncliff 0.5 0 to 10 <5 1.2 1 0 0 0 41 Upper Westwood / Iford 1.5 125 to 250 10 to 20 1.8 1.5 0 6 18 42 Dilton Marsh 11.1 50 to 125 10 to 20 1.0 1.5 6 65 0 43 Ashton 6.7 50 to 125 5 to 10 0.9 0.5 2 26 0 44 Worton / Marston 28.2 400 to 700 20 to 50 0.6 0.5 23 22 0 45 North Poulshot 0.4 0 to 10 <5 0.5 0 67 0 46 Upper Upham 10.1 20 to 50 <5 0.4 1 55 0 47 Chilton Foliat 13.9 50 to 125 <5 1.1 1.5 4 51 0 48 Shalbourne / Stype / Ham 28.0 250 to 400 10 to 20 0.6 0.5 15 49 0 49 Clench Common 39.7 50 to 125 5 to 10 0.8 0.5 8 72 0 50 Upper Nadder Valley 23.8 250 to 400 50 to 100 0.9 0.5 13 95 0

51 Mid Nadder Valley - Swallowcliffe 9.0 50 to 125 5 to 10 0.9 0.5 0 65 0

52 Great Ride / Southern Wyle Valley 45.9 125 to 250 5 to 10 0.8 0.5 3 73 0

53 Tollard Royal 29.2 50 to 125 10 to 20 0.8 0.5 9 68 0 54 Salisbury Plain Central 122.8 125 to 250 10 to 20 0.7 0.5 2 33 0

55 Stanton St Bernard / All Cannings / Etchilhampton 43.1 400 to 700 20 to 50 1.0 0.5 15 37 1

56 North Devizes 2.6 0 to 10 <5 1.0 1 22 0 57 Spirithill / Foxham 8.8 20 to 50 <5 0.9 1 1 42 0

47

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58 The Deverills 32.2 125 to 250 5 to 10 0.8 0.5 15 78 3 59 North Marlborough area 42.6 50 to 125 5 to 10 0.4 0.5 2 69 0 60 Wilsford 2.9 20 to 50 <5 1.2 1 0 43 0 61 Stitchcombe / Axford 15.5 50 to 125 5 to 10 0.9 1 0 52 1 62 Savernake / Froxfield 25.8 125 to 250 20 to 50 1.2 1 1 44 16 63 Yatesbury 22.8 50 to 125 <5 0.4 0.25 13 52 8 64 Firsdown 6.7 125 to 250 5 to 10 1.1 1 0 18 0 65 South Newton 4.5 125 to 250 10 to 20 1.3 1.5 0 16 49 66 Clarendon Park 5.7 20 to 50 5 to 10 0.4 0.25 3 52 0 67 Lake 2.9 20 to 50 <5 0.7 0.5 0 20 0 68 Sherfield English 3.6 10 to 20 5 to 10 1.0 1 0 35 0

Table 5. Key characteristics of the profile areas comprising the less than 2mbps mapped zone.

Figure 25. Numbers of households within the defined profile areas comprising the less than 2mbps mapped zone.

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Figure 26. Numbers of businesses within the defined profile areas comprising the less than 2mbps mapped zone.

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Figure 27. Mean potential download speeds within the defined profile areas comprising the less than 2mbps mapped zone.

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Figure 28. Numbers of postcodes within the defined profile areas comprising the less than 2mbps mapped zone that are described as being “very unlikely to receive a fixed 256kbps or 512kbps service due to the long length of the line”.

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Figure 29. Percentage of households postcodes within the defined profile areas comprising the less than 2mbps mapped zone that are classified as Mosaic Group A – Residents of isolated rural communities.

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Figure 30. Percentage of households postcodes within the defined profile areas comprising the less than 2mbps mapped zone that are classified as belonging to the lower income Mosaic Groups (Groups I, J, K, M and O).

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4.2. Market towns The approximate boundaries of Wiltshire’s main market towns are shown on Figure 31, along with the standard broadband speeds available through BT’s ADSL network, mapped in Section 3 of this report, and the coverage of Virgin Media’s next generation cable broadband services. The key features of these settlements in terms of the numbers of households and businesses, the average and maximum quoted download speeds, the availability of next generation broadband services and the percentage of households within the lower income Mosaic Groups, is shown in Table 6. The major urban centres of Salisbury, Trowbridge and Chippenham have, of course, the highest numbers of households and businesses. These settlements, along with Devizes, are enabled with BT’s WBC and so premises were able to receive maximum standard download speeds of 9mbps at the time these data were collected. The most commonly quoted (mode) standard download speed for postcodes in Salisbury, Trowbridge and Devizes was 9mbps, but only 6mbps for Chippenham. Chippenham also has a relatively low mean standard download speed of 5.5mbps (Table 6). All of these large settlements show a wide range of quoted download speeds, as indicated by the large standard deviation shown in Figure 32. The presence of the large, relatively modern housing estates on the west and south east of Chippenham, which lie within the 2mbps to 5mbps and 5mbps to 8mbps mapped broadband speed zones, would appear to account for the lower average speeds in Chippenham compared to the other major settlements. For the other towns considered here, the most commonly quoted and maximum quoted standard download speed was 6.5mbps. Mean potential download speeds range from 5.3mbps in Malmesbury to 6.6mbps in Devizes (Figure 32). Next generation broadband services are currently available in 9 of 21 the towns considered here, and are due to also be available in Chippenham by the end of 2010, through BT’s FTTC. Also by the end of 2010, Trowbridge will become the only town in the county to have next generation services provided by two different providers: Virgin and BT. The average combined percentage of households within the towns considered that are classified as belonging to the lower income Mosaic Groups (Groups I, J, K, M and O37) is 29%. The settlements with the highest combined percentage of households in these groups are Pewsey (41%), Westbury (38%), Melksham (38%), Calne (37%), Warminster (37%), Mere (37%) and Trowbridge (36%).

37 Group I – Lower income workers in urban terraces in often diverse areas; Group J – Owner occupiers in olders-style housing in ex-industrial areas; Group K – residents with sufficient income living in right to buy social housing; Group M – Elderly people reliant on state support; O – Families in low-rise social housing with high levels of benefit need.

55

Figure 31. Locations of Wiltshire’s market towns with respect to standard broadband download speeds and the locations where next generation broadband services are currently available (through Virgin Media).

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Town Number of Households

Number of Business Rates Premises

Mean Download Speed

Mode Download Speed

Max Standard Download Speed

Next Generation Services Available

% households in lower income groups

Amesbury 3,600 170 5.8 6.5 6.5 Yes 30Bradford on Avon 4,300 250 5.9 6.5 6.5 No 25Calne 7,300 330 5.9 6.5 6.5 No 37

Chippenham 15,000 890 5.5 6.0 9.0

No (scheduled

in 2010) 30Corsham 4,300 230 5.9 6.5 6.5 No 32Cricklade 1,700 70 6.1 6.5 6.5 No 18Devizes 7,700 640 6.6 9.0 9.0 No 31Downton 1,200 30 6.0 6.5 6.5 No 8Malmesbury 2,300 320 5.3 6.5 6.5 No 22Marlborough 3,300 350 5.7 6.5 6.5 No 33Melksham 6,500 380 5.8 6.5 6.5 Yes 38Mere 1,200 60 6.3 6.5 6.5 No 37Pewsey 1,400 120 6.2 6.5 6.5 No 41Salisbury 17,800 1,130 6.2 9.0 9.0 Yes 31Tidworth 2,500 100 5.6 6.5 6.5 Yes 29Tisbury 1,000 50 6.4 6.5 6.5 No 25Trowbridge 15,200 800 6.4 9.0 9.0 Yes 36Warminster 7,200 420 5.8 6.5 6.5 Yes 37Westbury 5,800 230 6.0 6.5 6.5 Yes 38Wilton 1,600 100 6.1 6.5 6.5 Yes 16Wootton Bassett 4,800 340 5.5 6.5 6.5 Yes 19

Table 6. Key characteristics of Wiltshire’s market towns relating to broadband services.

4

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Figure 32. Mean potential standard (ADSL) broadband download speeds in Wiltshire’s market towns (black lines indicate the standard deviation of speeds for each settlement).

57

5. Survey of measured broadband speeds in Wiltshire Research by Ofcom in 2009 confirmed that the actual broadband speeds experienced by consumers are typically significantly below the advertised headline speeds38. The speeds discussed and mapped so far in this report have been the estimated potential maximum download speeds for a given postcode rather than the advertised headline speed (i.e. the speed the ISP markets as the maximum for a particular product). However, speeds experienced in any particular household are still expected to vary from the speed quoted for that postcode area for a number of reasons. In order to compare potential and actual speeds in Wiltshire, a survey was hosted on the Wiltshire Council website from February through to early April 2010 asking Wiltshire residents to run an online broadband speed checker and report the download and upload speeds recorded. The survey also asked the day and time that the test was carried out and what the respondent mainly used the internet for. A total of 794 responses were received, with around 13% from Wiltshire Council employees.

5.1. Average download speeds The download speeds tested and reported by individual survey respondents using standard (ADSL) broadband services are shown in Figure 33; this highlights the high degree of variability in the speeds reported. The average (mean) download speed reported was 2.8mbps, with a median value of 2mbps. The most commonly reported speeds were around 0.5mbps and 1mbps, followed by around 2mbps.

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Figure 33. Frequency of the download speeds reported by individual survey respondents using standard broadband services (green line), overlain by the 5 point moving average (heavy black line). The mean and median download speeds are highlighted by the dashed lines. The mean average download speed reported in this survey of 2.8mbps is low compared to figures obtained in national research. In 2009 Ofcom found an average tested download speed of 4.1mbps nationally, with averages of 4.6mbps for households in

38 http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/features/broadbandspeedsjy

58

urban areas and 3.3mbps for those in rural areas39. The Wiltshire figures reported here clearly do not represent a definitive average for the county (given the size of the sample), and it is possible that people with lower download speeds, who are likely to be less satisfied with their broadband service, may have been more likely to complete the survey. The results could therefore be skewed toward lower download speeds.

5.2 Variations in download speed by day and time There are a number of factors that affect download speeds in individual homes, including the distance of the property from the local exchange, the quality of local cabling, the Internet Service Provider (ISP), the time of the day and internal household wiring. However, some general trends do emerge from the survey results. The data shows no clear variation in download speed by day of the week, but the time of the day does appear to have some impact, with average tested download speeds highest between 8am and 1pm (Figure 34).

0.0

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Figure 34. Variation in average tested download speed by day and time for survey respondents using standard (ADSL) broadband services.

5.3. ISP usage and average download speeds The highest proportion of survey respondents used BT as their ISP (30% of respondents) and then there was a fairly even split between a number of other major providers (Figure 35). Around 6% of survey respondents used the Virgin Media ‘next generation’ cable service.

39 http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/features/broadbandspeedsjy

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30%

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BT

Talk Talk

Tiscali

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Orange

Virgin Media Cable

AOL Broadband

Virgin Media ADSL

O2

Be Broadband

Other

Don't know

Figure 35. Market share of ISPs for the survey respondents. Virgin Media cable shows by far the highest average tested download speed at around 9mbps (Figure 36). The average speeds recorded for the standard broadband (ADSL) providers are all quite similar, ranging from just over 2mbps to just over 3mbps. The high degree of variability in the data means that these averages should not be interpreted to indicate that one ADSL ISP offers better speeds than others (as indicated by the lines on Figure 36, showing the standard deviation of the download speeds for each ISP).

60

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Sky

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Talk Talk

Virgin Media ADSL

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mbps

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Figure 36. Average download speeds recorded for each ISP (with the standard deviation indicated by the black lines).

5.4. Internet use among survey respondents Around 90% of all survey respondents reported using the internet for personal browsing (Figure 37). It is perhaps surprising that this figure is not closer to 100% and almost 20% of those who said that they used the internet to work and/or run a business from home, did not indicate that they also used the internet for personal browsing. Around 60% of Wiltshire Council employees and 45% of other Wiltshire residents who completed the survey reported using the internet to work from home. Just under 10% of Wiltshire Council employees and just over 10% of other Wiltshire residents also said that they use the internet to run a business from home.

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Personalbrowsing

Online gaming Working fromhome

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% o

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rs Wiltshire Councilemployees

Other Wiltshireresidents

Figure 37. Purpose of internet usage amongst survey respondents.

5.5. Comparison of survey download speeds to BT potential speeds The tested download speeds reported by 715 survey respondents could be matched to a postcode for which data was acquired from BT’s online speed checker. These tested speeds were an average of 1.4mbps below the potential speeds quoted by BT, but with a very high degree of variability due to the range of factors involved, and presumably also the fact that the BT estimates are averages for a particular postcode whereas the survey results are for an individual household within the postcode area. Figure 38 shows the potential download speeds mapped on the basis of the BT data overlain by points showing the location of survey respondents and the tested download speeds they reported (for standard broadband only – i.e. excluding cable).

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Figure 38. Reported survey download speeds compared to potential BT speed estimates.

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Figure 39 and Table 7 set out the average tested standard broadband download speeds reported by survey respondents within each of the four zones mapped on the basis of the BT information. These data show that 92% of the survey responses from locations within the areas mapped as having potential download speeds below mbps did show speeds below this level, with the average being 1mbps. Furthermore, almost two thirds (62%) of survey respondents from within the areas mapped as having potential download speeds of between 2 and 5mbps also reported download speeds of below 2mbps, with the average in these areas being only 2.1mbps. This suggests that any potential measures put in place in Wiltshire to ensure the provision of broadband services above the Universal Service Commitment level of 2mbps should also look to address the poor provision within the 2 to 5mbps mapped zone. In the areas mapped as having higher potential download speeds (5mbps to 8mbps and 8mbps and above), the average download speeds reported in the survey were around 4mbps, with 24% to 30% of respondents reporting speeds of below 2mbps. The significant minority of respondents in these areas reporting download speeds below 2mbps is interesting due to the relatively short distances to the local exchange. This may suggest that other factors are involved in these cases.

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Figure 39. Average tested download speeds reported in the survey for locations within the mapped BT speed zones (standard deviation indicated by the black lines).

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BT Broadband Speed Areas

Number of Survey Responses

Average Tested Download Speed

% of Reported Download Speeds Below 2mbps

<2 mbps 119 1.0 92% 2 – 5 mbps 268 2.1 62% 5 – 8 mbps 319 3.9 24% >8 mbps 20 4.4 30% Table 7. Average download speeds and percentage of responses below 2mbps for each of the mapped BT speed zones. 5.6 Upload speeds The average tested upload speeds reported in the survey generally range from around 0.3mbps to 0.5mbps for each ISP (Figure 40). Interestingly, the upload speeds reported by users of Virgin Media’s cable service were the same as those at the upper end of the average for ADSL providers. One ADSL provider (Be Broadband) stands out as having significantly higher upload speeds, with an average of over 0.9mbps, although only very small number of survey respondents reported using this ISP so this figure should be treated with caution.

0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00

Tiscali

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Sky

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mbps Figure 40. Average upload speeds reported for each ISP in the survey responses (standard deviation indicated by the black lines).

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6. 3G coverage in Wiltshire The availability of 3G mobile services is of interest in this study as these services can provide an internet connection. The maximum download speeds attainable are below 2mbps and so these services are not able to meet the Universal Service Commitment level. A series of 3G coverage maps by mobile operator were prepared by Ofcom in January 200940. These maps are based on theoretical predictions and indicate areas where customers have the possibility of making and receiving calls outside over a 3G network, rather than areas where customers are able to access higher data rate services. The combined coverage maps for the five main providers (Three, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodaphone) for the Wiltshire area are show in Figure 41. This map indicates that the majority of the north and west of the county and the Salisbury area are reasonably well served by 3G, with two or more providers having coverage in these areas. By contrast, there appears to be a band running approximately north-east to south-west through the county, encompassing the central and western Salisbury Plain, where coverage is absent or limited to a small number of providers.

40 Ofcom 3G Coverage Maps. 8th July 2009.

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Figure 41. Approximate coverage of 3G networks in Wiltshire (from Ofcom 3G coverage maps, July 200941). 41 The key assumptions used by Ofcom were: Areas where the received signal strength of the primary CPICH (Common Pilot Channel) was calculated to exceed a threshold of -110dBm was used as a proxy for coverage; Outdoor (rather than indoor) coverage was calculated: Primary CPICH power equals 10% of the maximum transit power: The propagation model used was ITU-R Rec P.15402: The indicated coverage represents areas where the threshold is exceeded for 50% of locations 50% of the time: A comparison exercise with drive test data from sample regions was carried out resulting in an additional correction factor of +8dB: All clutter class heights were set to a nominal 10m default for our calculations. Clutter is the height of objects above the terrain, i.e. trees or buildings.

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7. Summary of current situation and overview of potential solutions

7.1. Summary of the current situation in relation to USC and Final Third benchmarks At the present time around 40% of the geographic area of the county appears to have potential broadband download speeds of below 2mbps – the USC minimum level. This area contains around 5% of households and around 7% of businesses. Within this area there are a number of postcodes that are described as being very unlikely to receive a fixed 256 or 512kbps service due to the long length of the line, with around 1% of households in the county falling into this category of particularly poor service. Around 46% of the geographic area of the county, an area containing around 26% of households and 23% of businesses, is mapped as having potential download speeds of between 2mbps and 5mbps. However, a survey of actual measured download speeds suggests that actual average speeds within this area are around 2mbps and that around 60% of households within this area may have speeds of below this level. This area could therefore be considered as borderline for meeting the UCS level. These areas are highlighted on Figure 42. A number of settlements in the county are currently served by Virgin Media’s cable ‘next generation’ service and so these areas will definitely not form part of the “final third” - the approximately one third of the country where it is not expected that commercial provision of a ‘next generation’ broadband solution will occur42. The areas currently provided with this service cover around 1% of the geographic area of the county but contain around 34% of households. The areas currently receiving this service are also highlighted on Figure 42.

42 As set out in the previous governments Digital Britain report.

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Figure 42. Current provision of broadband services in Wiltshire relative to USC and Final Third benchmarks.

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7.2. Planned developments in broadband provision The only known planned development in broadband provision at the time of the preparation of this report is the roll-out of BT’s FTTC service to Chippenham and Trowbridge by end 2010 and to Calne by end 2011. These developments will enable headline speeds of up to 40mbps in these exchange areas, although due to the nature of the technology these speeds will not be available to all households, with speeds decreasing with line length from the local cabinet and long lines still being an issue for households furthest from the cabinets. Under this development scenario, by end 2011 the difference in speeds between the more and less advantaged areas will take on a four-tier structure, with the highest headline speeds available in those areas with Virgin Media’s cable service (<50mbps), somewhat lower headline speeds available in the three exchange areas with BT’s FTTC (<40mbps), moderate headline speeds available in the two exchanges enabled with BT’s WBC but not FTTC (<24mbps) and much lower headline speeds, up to around 8mbps, available in all other areas (Figure 43).

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Figure 43. Planned broadband provision by end 2011.

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7.3. Relative business case for next generation deployment As set out above, only a relatively small area of Wiltshire is currently served by next generation broadband or is planned to be so in the near future. In order to examine the relative business case for providing a next generation solution in the other areas of Wiltshire, the household density has been established for all exchange areas and compared to the current provision of next generation services43 (Figure 44). A strong business case is generally assumed in exchange areas where a next generation service is currently available. Such a service is in place or planned in most exchange areas with a household density of 150 households per km2 or greater. Devizes, Bradford on Avon and Corsham are the only exchange areas in the county that fall into this category of a strong business case for market provision but are not currently provided with a next generation service. A moderate business case is assumed where the household density is between around 60 and 150 households per km2 and a weak business case where densities are around 60 households per km2 and below, with the majority of exchanges in the county falling into this weak category. In both these categories existing data shows that market provision of a next generation solution may occur, with this provision occurring in areas adjacent to locations with higher household densities where there is a stronger business case.

43 It is recognised that this is not an ideal method because exchange areas with Virgin cable services are only partly served and in areas where FTTC planned, not all premises will be served.

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Figure 44. Household density by exchange area. The exchange areas in which Virgin Media cable services are currently available are highlighted in purple and those where BT’s FTTC services are scheduled are highlighted in blue.

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Figure 45. Estimated strength of business case for next generation service provision, based on household density.

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7.4. Potential solutions available There are a number of potential solutions that may be employed to address both those areas falling below the USC minimum level and those areas where a commercial roll-out of a next generation service is unlikely. It should be noted that BDUK is working nationally to address both these issues, with around £250m funding available to meet the USC. It is likely that this funding will not be available until 2011 / 2012. With regard to the USC, there are a number of projects throughout the UK that are providing wireless broadband to rural areas through both commercial and non-commercial enterprises44. It is technically possible to provide such a service to almost any area, with speeds in excess of 2mbps. A number of Wiltshire’s schools have broadband connections through the South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL)45 and the potential for using these schools to act as wireless hubs for rural communities with poor broadband services is explored in a preliminary way here. Through this new system, all of Wiltshire’s secondary schools and most primary schools have been provided with broadband connections with speeds ranging from 2mbps to 30mbps. There is a possibility that local communities with speeds below the USC minimum level could ‘piggy back’ on these connections in some way, potentially via wireless connections using the schools as a hub46. There are a number of locations, particularly in the northwest of the county and to the north and south of Salisbury, where a school with a SWGfL broadband connection of 10mbps or greater is located within, or closely adjacent to, an area identified as having download speeds of below 2mbps (Figure 46). A number of these are locations where the schools are surrounded by postcodes classified as having a particularly poor service (being very unlikely to receive a fixed 256kbps or 512kbps service due to the long length of the line). Such locations show significant potential for this educational broadband system to be used to improve provision for their local communities, although this is not a solution that could be applied in all areas falling below the USC. Commercial satellite broadband services are currently available that are capable of providing a broadband service with speeds exceeding 2mbps to most areas of the UK47. The biggest limitation on this service appears to be the costs, with hardware and installation costs amounting to several hundred pounds. It may also be considered as a short term solution as it does not provide speeds approaching next generation levels.

44 E.g. rural West Midlands - http://www.airband.ltd.uk/wireless.html; the Highlands and Islands of Scotland - http://www.tegola.org.uk/wiki/index.php/Main_Page; 45 Connected to the JANET network, the UK’s education and research network. 46 There are a number of both technical and legal issues that would need to be addressed in order to achieve this including the precise nature of wireless technology that would be implemented (unidirectional and/or omni-directional), negotiating access to the schools connection and potential legal / competition implications of providing a service to these communities (if this were to be free of charge). 47 E.g. http://www.avonlinebroadband.co.uk/

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Figure 46. Schools connected to the JANET network through the South West Grid for Learning and their broadband bandwidths compared to the locations of areas with potential download speeds below the USC minimum level.

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There is considerable interest at a national level in the utilisation of existing infrastructure to aid in the deployment of fibre optic next generation networks, particularly to rural areas that are hard to reach by standard means. In this regard, the sewerage and electricity networks are of interest in Wiltshire. A map of the sewerage network catchments in Wiltshire has been obtained from Wessex Water and compared to those areas of the county with only a moderate to weak business case for commercial next generation deployment (as estimated in Section 7.3 above). Coverage of this infrastructure is not comprehensive, with larger settlements connected but large parts of rural Wiltshire not so (Figure 47)48. There does, therefore, appear to be some potential that this infrastructure could be used to roll out next generation fibre optic broadband to some larger settlements with weaker business cases for commercial roll-out, but this potential solution would not address issues in many rural areas, particularly in the south of the county, that are not connected to the sewerage network. The electricity overhead distribution network has significant potential to be used to deploy next generation broadband solutions. Wiltshire is served by two Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), Western Power Distribution and Scottish & Southern Energy. Western Power Distribution has a sister telecommunications business, Surf Telecoms49, that is involved in a trial with Virgin Media to use existing electricity poles to extend the reach of Virgin’s broadband and other services and examine the use of this method to provide next generation access in hard to reach rural areas50. This trial is scheduled to run until 2011. A potential full roll-out of BT’s FTTC product to all exchanges in Wiltshire could provide a next generation solution to most settlements. The full potential of this possible solution cannot be fully assessed without knowing the locations of the cabinets, but it is known that the provision of a next generation solution by this method is limited by telephone line length from the cabinet and so those households with long lines from the cabinets, presumably mainly in the rural areas with current poor services, would not benefit from such a roll-out. A detailed assessment of the feasibility of solutions is outside of the scope of this project. However, the information contained within this report provides a general understanding of the issues any chosen solutions will need to address with regard to ensuring premises have broadband access above the USC level and providing next generation access to less commercially attractive areas. It also demonstrates the potential of some key possible solutions to address these issues. Given the nature of the issues identified and intelligence gathered in conjunction with this study from government and industry, it would seem that a “mixed economy” of solutions is most likely to be required, with this mix encompassing both the technologies used and also the nature of investments, ownership and ongoing maintenance of any new networks.

48 A number of areas in the east of the county are outside of the Wessex Water catchment areas and will be served by different providers. 49 http://www.surftelecoms.co.uk 50 http://pressoffice.virginmedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=205406&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1452120&highlight

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Figure 47. Wessex Water sewerage catchments in Wiltshire compared to those exchange areas with a moderate to weak business case for commercial next generation deployment.

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Please contact the council by telephone 0300 456 0100, by textphone 01225 712500, or email customerservices@wiltshire.gov.uk