The Bradley Stoke Journal

BREAKING NEWS

We’ve just heard that the Filton exchange, which serves 0117 numbers within Bradley Stoke, is to be upgraded to superfast fibre optic broadband in 2012.

BT press release:

BT today announced that more 25,000 more homes and businesses in Bristol and nearby towns will have access to super-fast fibre broadband by the end of next year at the latest.

Bitton, Filton, Nailsea and Winterbourne are the latest communities to benefit from BT’s £2.5 billion roll-out plans for super-fast broadband. They are among 14 communities in the South West and 156 across the UK included in today’s announcement.

Related links:

• Superfast fibre broadband to be rolled out to 25,000 more homes and businesses in the Bristol area (BT)
• Openreach unveils more locations for super-fast broadband (BT)
• Better Broadband Campaign (The Journal)

Read on for The Journal’s comment on BT’s announcement »

Representatives from the Bradley Stoke Journal recently attended a meeting organised by South Gloucestershire Liberal Democrats to discuss the state of play in the campaign to bring faster broadband to our town.

The meeting, attended by representatives from telecoms giants BT and Virgin Media, was organised to demonstrate the Lib Dems’ manifesto commitment to “work with all South Gloucestershire residents to progress the issues that matter to you”.

Also at the meeting were two local Lib Dem MPs: Steve Webb (Minister for Pensions) and Don Foster (Chair of the Lib Dem Committee for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport), Cllr Ruth Davis (Leader of South Gloucestershire Lib Dem Group), Cllr Jon Williams and local Lib Dem campaigner Sachin Singhal.

The meeting, on 19th March, came two weeks after  Bradley Stoke  had once again been wheeled out into the media spotlight as an extreme example of an area where broadband speeds come nowhere near to the “up to” speeds touted by providers in their product advertising.

The Journal’s Editor kicked off the meeting with a overview of the local effort in last year’s BT Race to Infinity competition, which saw the Almondsbury exchange finish in a creditable 19th place (from 2,495 eligible exchanges). That result was short of a top five placing (since extended to the ten top) that would have guaranteed a prompt upgrade to superfast fibre optic broadband for the exchange’s area of coverage.

Hopes had been high that the level of demand demonstrated in the competition would lead to the exchange featuring sooner rather than later in BT’s phased rollout of its Infinity product to the two-thirds of the country deemed commericially viable.

However, those hopes were dashed when a BT media release given to BBC Radio Bristol on 2nd March suggested that Bradley Stoke had been categorised as being within the so-called “final third” of the country that the industry insists will require public sector subsidy.

Read on to hear what BT and Virgin Media had to say at the meeting »

The Almondsbury telephone exchange, which serves much of Bradley Stoke, has made it onto the leaderboard of a national competition designed to measure the demand for faster broadband connections.

After attracting more than 1,000 votes from local residents and businesses, Almondsbury has joined a select group of (currently) 18 exchanges, out of 2,495 eligible, at the head of BT’s Race to Infinity competition.

The exchange currently lies in 14th position, although it might be overtaken by one or two late finishers before the competition ends on 31st December.

A top five position, which would have guaranteed the installation of BT’s superfast Infinity fibre optic broadband by 2012, is now beyond reach but it is hoped that achieving the qualifying mark will greatly increase the prospects of the exchange being upgraded in the near future.

Jack Lopresti, MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke, who has has vowed to make the fight to secure faster, more reliable, broadband coverage across his constituency one of his top priorities, welcomed the news, saying:

“I am delighted that so many people have expressed their desire for better broadband services by supporting the campaign and voting online.”

“In the New Year I will be discussing the result of the campaign with both BT and Virgin Media.”

“To my mind we have demonstrated that there is real demand for an early upgrade and I look forward to having validation of this and positive discussions with both companies.”

Read on for more comments on The Journal’s campaign »

An action day by Filton and Bradley Conservatives last Saturday has given a further boost to the voting figures for our local telephone exchanges in BT’s Race to Infinity broadband upgrade competition.

The Almondsbury exchange has now passed the 900 mark and remains on target to meet the qualifying level of 1,000 votes by the end of the competition on 31st December.

With less than three weeks to go before the deadline, it looks like the 01454 exchange could be one of just 16 exchanges to make the grade from 2,495 eligible exchanges nationwide.

Although there is little hope of reaching a top five position, which would guarantee the installation of BT’s superfast Infinity fibre optic broadband by 2012, it is hoped that achieving the qualifying mark will greatly increase the prospects of the exchange being upgraded in the near future.

This is supported by a BT press release put out this week in which Jon Reynolds, BT South West Regional Director said:

“Every vote does count because, whether communities win the race or not, each vote is an indication of demand for the next generation of broadband in the South West.”

“The data collected by BT will be used in planning where the roll-out goes next.”

Local MP Jack Lopresti’s team of eight Conservative volunteers, including Cllr John Calway, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council, delivered leaflets and knocked on doors in the worst broadband ‘slowspots’ of the town on Saturday, generating an impressive rise in the voting figures for the Almondsbury exchange.

Read how the Brook Way Youth Club will help the campaign »

Votes calling for the Almondsbury telephone exchange, which serves much of Bradley Stoke, to be upgraded to superfast fibre optic broadband have reached the 800 mark.

BT’s nationwide Race to Infinity competition calls on residents and business to vote for their local exchange to be upgraded and the five areas gaining the most votes, as a percentage of the total number of subscribers, will be fast-tracked through the upgrade process.

Leaflets advertising the competition have been delivered by enthusiastic residents and Town Councillors to more than 3,000 homes in the town, resulting in a surge in the voting figures for our two local exchanges, Almondsbury and Filton.

Recent contributors to the community-driven campaign include a group of Bradley Stoke Liberal Democrats (photo, above), who leafleted over two hundred homes last Saturday and Cllrs Brian Hopkinson and Sarah Pomfret (both Conservative, representing Stoke Lodge and Central Bradley Stoke), who have funded a fourth campaign banner.

The new banner is now on show over the shop front of  Global Equity, main agents for the Stroud & Swindon Building Society, on the A38 at Patchway.

Read on to find out how to vote in the Race to Infinity »

The delivery of leaflets to more than 3,000 homes in Bradley Stoke has resulted in a surge in the number of votes cast for our two local telephone exchanges in BT’s Race to Infinity competition.

The national competition, which calls on residents to demonstrate demand for faster broadband speeds in their area by voting on a special BT website, will see the five areas gaining the most votes by the end of the year fast-tracked for the installation of fibre optic broadband.

The Almondsbury exchange (01454 prefix), which serves much of Bradley Stoke, has seen its tally jump by around 200 over the last seven days to stand at 687 votes, giving it a sporting chance of meeting the qualifying level of 1,000 votes by 31st December.

Current projections suggest that, if the momentum can be sustained, the exchange would be one of only 16 in the country (out of 2,495 eligible exchanges) to satisfy the terms of BT’s Race to Infinity challenge, putting it in a very strong position for being included in the next round of fibre optic upgrades to be announced early next year.

If you haven’t yet done so, please visit www.racetoinfinity.bt.com now to cast your vote.

Anyone with a landline is entitled to vote – you don’t need to be a BT customer. So even if you’re a Virgin Media customer already enjoying superfast broadband speeds, please take a few seconds to help the less fortunate in our community. Entering the competition does not oblige you to take any services from BT.

The Journal would like to thank the Bradley Stoke Harvester for sponsoring the campaign leaflets and the twenty or so volunteers (including three Town Councillors) who braved icy weather conditions to deliver them. Further sponsorship from the Willow Brook Centre, CJ Hole and Fortyfour Creative has funded banners and posters that have been put up around the Filton, Almondsbury and Bradley Stoke area to raise awareness of the campaign.

The recent leafleting initiative focused on streets that are currently not served by Virgin Media’s cable network [see list here] and residents in those streets were also asked to register their interest in Virgin’s services via a new Bradley Stoke ‘Cable my Street‘ campaign, which will be officially launched next week.

Read on to find out how YOU could help bring faster broadband to our area »