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Fibre Broadband in Cowden – Background and Next steps
Background
Cowden Parish Council worked with KCC and Open reach to implement Fibre to the Cowden Exchange in 2016 and through to 2018 across the Parish. This program of work enabled all properties to have access to FTTC.
This activity involved the implementation of new Fibre capable cabinets (the big green boxes) throughout the Parish with the aim to maximise the coverage of both Fibre To the Cabinet (FTTC) and in some cases Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). Those properties that could only access FTTC rely on the incumbent copper telephone lines to provide the Broadband from the Cabinet to the premises. However the passing of the Broadband through the copper telephone cables attenuates the signal so that the resulting speed that a given premises can receive is dependent on the length of the telephone line from the cabinet to the premises. As a result of this activity additional cabinets were installed across the Parish to improve the connectivity to some areas, eg Horseshoe Green, Furnace Lane.
Next Steps
If your premises currently has FTTC then you can:
- Check what service is available to you today via the Open Reach fiber checking tool and follow the instructions
- If FTTP is not available or planned then you could consider either of the following, summarised below and full Terms and Conditions available through the links provided:
- ‘’Community’’ funded FTTP scheme to a group of properties sharing the FTTC copper line. This can be part or all funded through a grant that each property can apply for, if the cumulative grant does not fully fund the ‘’Community’’ scheme then then the shortfall is the responsibility of the Community group. This does not require all of the group of properties to participate. How to apply for a community partnership through Openreach
- Or a dedicated FTTP service to a premises. can be accessed through Openreach
Remember that the benefit of increased Internet connection speeds is also governed by the capability your equipment / Computer.
Further Help?
If you have or experience difficulties then you can always contact Cowden Parish Council.
Spring / Summer 2018
Installation complete, service available through your ISP
If you live within the Parish on or in the vicinity of Hartfield Road or Moat Lane or Smithers Lane then contact your ISP regarding availability of SFBB (Fibre)
September 2016
Implementation of phase 2 has been confirmed for two large areas within the Parish through KCC and Openreach.
KCC have advised that Properties within the vicinity of Smithers lane and Moat lane area will have a Broad Band improvement initiative implemented QTR 4 2017 / QTR 1 2018.
June 4th, 2015
Superfarst BBand is now available to order, contact your ISP to upgrade your contract – see below for anticipated speeds, this is a real improvement for Cowden..
May 2015
You will probably have noticed the recent (End April / Start May) hive of activity around the Parish in the vicinity of the green BT cabinets. The latest work has been completed at the ‘Pound’ and the Fibre is nearing the ”Go-Live” status. Remember to check the link below to see if your ISP is able to accept orders for super-fast BB.