Lincolnshire Broadband Coverage

29th February 2012

Broadband Update

• Broadband is a subjective word• One user’s fast is another user’s poor• We certainly have issues, but we need to

understand the technological reasons why so we can best address the issue

• We also need to understand the drivers of the business model for broadband provision, & how that impacts our districts

• There is no silver bullet solution

Brief History

• Once upon a time the UK led the world with it’s telecommunications system

• A vast and reliable copper cable network connected properties to a local exchange

• Operators established calls by physically connecting one property to another using patch leads, known as circuit switching

• Technology then automated this process

The Voice Network

• The network itself is very simple:≈ The phone is connected to a socket≈ The socket is connected to a street cabinet

via a single copper cable≈ The street cabinet is connected to the

exchange via multiple copper cables≈ The exchange is connected to the national

network – usually via fibre optic cable, but sometimes a radio link

The Voice Network

Twisted Pair

Street Cabinet

Multi-core

Local Exchange

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Modern Communications

• New media content delivered via the internet has driven consumer demand for data services

• These data services all require a high speed digital connection rather than the analogue connectivity used by our voice network

• At first dial-up modems would convert a digital signal to an analogue signal and then back again to allow this to happen, but this inefficient process could only support speeds up to 56k

• The internet quickly rendered the modem obsolete and our insatiable appetite for higher speeds has grown ever since

• This gave rise to the term Broadband

High Speed Broadband

• The fastest medium is fibre optic cable• The bandwidth available over optical cable is limited only

by the equipment connected at either end of the cable• The council network core is fibre cable running at 1Gb• Many major towns were cabled in 90’s for TV services• Installation costs limited installations to major urban

centres with mass-market subscription potential• But, the cable to most properties is still copper• So ADSL technology was developed to provide

broadband over a copper infrastructure and avoid the massive costs of installing new optical cabling to each property

What does ADSL mean?

• Asymmetric - The data can flow faster in one direction than the other. Data transmission has faster downstream to the subscriber than upstream (receive faster than send)

• Digital - No type of communication is transferred in an analog method. All data is purely digital, and only at the end, modulated to be carried over the line.

• Subscriber Line - The data is carried over a single twisted pair copper loop to the subscriber premises

ADSL Limitations

• In general, the maximum range for ADSL is 5.5 km • As the range increases from the exchange, the data rate

decreases – and eventually does not work at all• The range is the physical length of the copper cable from

the switch in the exchange, which may follow diverse paths and can be 0.5km before leaving the exchange

• The speeds advertised are often based on perfect laboratory conditions with cable lengths of 1m or less

• After leaving the exchange, the copper to each street cabinet is unique in terms of it’s quality and ability to carry the necessary frequency – even within the same big cable

• And then the property itself has unique cabling

DSL Limitations

• Each DSL circuit has unique and variable qualities• This results in next door neighbours having different

broadband experiences, sometimes to the extreme• Unsurprisingly, new is usually faster than old copper• Although ADSL speeds have increased up to 24Mbps with

the introduction of ADSL2 and ADSL2+ variants, the technology is limited by the aging copper in the ground

• However, the copper in the ground is adequate for millions of monthly subscribers which drives the business model shared by almost all internet service providers

• So what’s the national agenda to deliver the SuperFast speeds necessary for new consumer demand?

The National Agenda

• The coalition government plans for the UK to have the best SuperFast* Broadband network in Europe by 2015 (*greater than 20Mb)

• Success is 90% UK properties getting SuperFast• The other 10% must all get at least 2Mb• Also every community will have a fibre optic

connection to make SuperFast local• BDUK have allocated Lincolnshire £14.3m

funding to deliver this outcome

The reality

• Fibre to every property is not financially viable at c.£150 per meter to install

• Therefore the national outcome will rely on copper for the property connection – and *VDSL2 as the end connection technology *(V=very high speed DSL)

• Getting fibre to the street cabinet (FTTC)* will enable local VDSL2 switches to work over much shorter copper distances and achieve higher speeds – *where they exist

• VDSL2 can give up to 40Mbps download & 10Mbps upload speeds based on the same frequency splitting technology

New street cabinets (FTTC)

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Solutions

• Other technologies exist to provide fast broadband wherever it is needed

• Fibre, Satellite, Radio, Wireless are all available now – but not at ADSL prices

• All have a similar business model to be viable – enough contracted subscribers for the period necessary to repay the investment required to provide the service initially

• A critical mass is absolutely necessary to create a sustainable solution

Options

• Fibre to every home would be preferred

• Costs to install fibre are astronomical

• Wireless can provide a similar user experience, but at a much reduced cost

• A combination of the two can provide a hybrid solution to avoid road digging costs

• Lots of potential providers are now emerging to create a competitive market

Conclusions

• The national agenda aims to exploit the existing infrastructure the best it can within a budget

• Fibre will get nearer to the consumer, and into every community - in some form

• Do we need to look at how we can ensure all new builds include fibre to future proof our localities?

• Can we work with our communities to develop a market in alternative technologies?

• Potential pilot projects in East Lindsey & Boston will help to develop our understanding of options

• First step is to get our businesses, residents and groups to register their demand for faster broadband at www.onlincolnshire.org