Fibre Broadband for Bepton

Hi,
You may have read in the recent Parish Council newsletter that we are pursuing a fibre broadband
strategy for Bepton.
As a rural area, and with Openreach’s “Community Fibre Partnership” supported by the
Government’s “Gigabit Voucher Scheme” in place to the tune of £4000 per property, it is now
possible to bring fibre from the exchange to each property at little or no cost to all our residents and
businesses.
The process for the southern area of Bepton (c 50 properties) is well under way, a contract with
Openreach is signed, and we expect completion by the end of 2021. There will be no cost to our
residents as part of this, other than in some cases a small connection charge to their provider (BT,
SKY, TalkTalk etc).
A second application has now been made for the northern end of Bepton (c 67 properties) and
Openreach are currently quoting for this. I fully expect this will also be at zero cost to residents.
Coordinating this both Openreach and I need to be in contact with all residents so that I can keep
you updated on progress and Openreach can contact you as they will need to at a couple of stages in
the process.
I would be very grateful if you could drop me an email to BRDH.BPC@gmail.com confirming your
interest (or otherwise) in receiving fibre broadband.
Please note that this will not be taken as a commitment of any sort.
I am aware residents in north Bepton get varying degrees of broadband performance – it would be
useful when you reply if you could let me know what speed you get, but don’t worry if you don’t
know this!
I’m sure you will have many questions about how all of this will work, so please do get back to me
with any queries or concerns you may have.
In short however, some key points:
The Process
 Openreach initially provide a high-level guestimate for the work so that feasibility can be
judged
 If all is well we then ask them to provide a quote, which is binding, for the work
 If we are happy with that, and crucially the cost can be met with the voucher scheme, we,
Bepton Parish Council, sign a contract with Openreach to deliver the work
 Once the contract is signed Openreach are committed to delivering the work in 12 months,
whilst 10 months is their average
 It will take a small number of months to get to contract signing
 There is no liability on residents as part of this process

The Implementation
 The first part of the implementation work is infrastructure – getting fibre from the exchange
to local distribution points
 When that is complete Openreach will connect those distribution points to properties, using
existing cable routes wherever possible (i.e. we do not expect driveways to be dug up!)
 As part of that Openreach will install a new fibre socket in each residence
 This final phase will only be done for residences that want it, and Openreach will liaise with
each before any part of this final connection work is undertaken
The Result
 As examples of the different contracts that are available here is a recent selection from BT:

 It depends on your provider, but there should be no change to your monthly broadband cost
unless you want to upgrade to one of the high-end contracts.
I live at the Coach House, near the Bell Lane T junction, and I would be more than happy to come to
see anyone who wants to know more.
Many thanks.
Duncan Hollowood
+44 (0)7966 297324