Our Saltford Truespeed Timeline

How long does it take to get Truespeed?

This is a very common question but there is no simple answer.  If Truespeed is already in your village then it could be a week or two but for this Blog, I'm going to assume you are starting from scratch.  It can be a very long process but there are things you can do.

Sell to Build vs. Build to Sell

Firstly you need to understand that Truespeed currently is a Sell to Build business.  What does that mean?

It means Truespeed look at a village or town, work out if they can get their core network there and then start to sell.  They typically need 30% of homes to place an order although this can be less if the cost of installation is less than average.

Once they have enough commitment they will plan a detailed build, produce a business case and then decide if and when they will go ahead.

Larger ISP's don't do that, so why?

The answer is in the question.  Truespeed is not a large ISP.  True they are well funded for what they do (Aviva has made multi-million pound investments) but by the scales of national ISP's they are tiny.  Take Virgin Media for example: Virgin Media was born by swallowing up a whole host of cable companies who burned massive amounts of cash digging up the streets and running now very dated co-ax cable.  CableTel, Telewest, NTL to name a few.  All of these companies basically ran out of money trying to "build to sell".  They spent the money upfront and then tried to win business from BT who are essentially the only other provider, although they sell wholesale to the likes of Sky, PlusNet (who BT own), Zen etc etc.

Liberty Global reached an agreement to use the Virgin brand and bought the struggling cable providers with initial investors losing money.  Although Virgin Media's tech is faster than BT's aging DSL technology it's essentially out of date by today's standards.

So building an broadband provider and then hoping that you might sell enough subscriptions to make money is a really challenging thing to do and it's costs huge amounts.

Truespeed's focus has been more niche.  They are focussed on rural broadband where the large providers are less interested.  Sell then build is less risky but it's not such a good customer experience and some have been waiting for years and may never get it.

Time Frustration

This is the single biggest issue with Truespeed but when you step back it's unavoidable.  You need the patience of a saint! Having said that what Truespeed is doing is incredibly brave for a business.  They bring what is in affect an active ethernet leased line to rural homes for £47.50 and no install costs.  That's crazy!  A good friend of mine got a quote from Open Reach to do this for a group of neighbours near Stroud and they quoted him £14,000 just for the install.

If you are just starting a Truespeed project it might take several years.  Projects like this are very complicated and can be fraught with delays and challenges you might not have foreseen.  Looking at other villages, even after the sales process starts the project can easily take two years and some might not wish to wait, but then once it's there it's there for life.  Fibre last 100 years!

Other Provider's Timescales

We should understand all providers in the space need what feels like a lifetime to build their service infrastructure.  It once took me six months to unblock one BT duct  

Saltford Timeline

Firstly, as of 31st August 2020 - I still don't have Truespeed, so the time is still ticking.

12th June 2018 - We first heard that Truespeed were considering Saltford, when they write the the Parish Council. At this stage I had heard of what they were doing from a friend in Burnet Village who had it installed.

March 2019 - Truespeed present their outline plans to the Saltford Parish Council (SPC). SPC contacts both BT and Virgin to ask for their plans for the village, BT confirms none and Virgin fails to respond.

May 2019 - Truespeed start taking orders for the Saltford Area.  The village is divided up into segments based on the geographical progress of the Truespeed core network and areas most in need.  It's clear that Saltford won't be done all in one go.  Lucky for me I am just inside the Eastern segment which is first in the plan.  I place my order.

June 2019 - Truespeed start doing informal social events. I agree to be a Truespeed champion and to help promote the investment in the village.  Prospect list started and orders received. Truespeed agrees to provide free services to the local School, Village hall and Community Post Office and Library.

November 2019 - Saltford big push, local publicity and networking opportunities.  Link us with Saltford Business Network and some informal meetings. Contact with local business. With a lot of local work we reach our required take up rate.

February 2020 - Truespeed present their build plans to SPC which includes location of the Cabinet. Discussion regarding road disruption.

March 2020 -  Truespeed starts work in the streets.  Very minor disruption as Truespeed uses existing ducting and Poles where available.  Cabinet is installed and a link conduit between the BT ducting and the cabinet. Unfortunately a number of the BT Poles are found to be defective and we need to wait for BT to replace them.  This includes to pole outside my house. :-(

Covid19 hits the UK

Truespeed continue their main network install despite Covid19 as telecommunications are considered vital infrastructure.  

June 2020 - Truespeed trunk network reaches the Saltford cabinet.

July 2020 - Truespeed prioritises a tricky private road installation which supports four key NHS workers including two doctors working on Covid19 related issues. They are some of the first in Saltford to get online with Truespeed.

August 2020 - I've been helping Truespeed with some local challenges mainly getting Wayleave Agreements signed.  Wayleaves are agreements allowing operators to access land or put cables over land.  Even if there's an existing BT cable Truespeed need the landowner's permission where it's private land.  Being local and on the Parish Council helps speed things up!

Sept 2020 - The ground works which should have included my install ran a little late due to poor weather.  The guys did a great job in the street.  I'd say they improved our pavements! It's enabled another 15 to 20 houses but mine and my neighbours unfortunately weren't done.  It's now scheduled for this week!  

Sept 9th 2020 - Groundworks have been done.  Really nice group of lads who really know their stuff.  They came across an old wall in the way of the duct but soon got through that.  Just waiting for the install team to follow behind.

Sept 22nd 2020 - Sales have been in touch to book the install.  Slight delay in that my install is non-standard but I got an email straight away from support confirming my technical details.  Truespeed has a little setting up to do before they can book the install.  I have everything ready my end.

Sept 28th 2020 - Installation of the Fibre has been done successfully with very little trouble.  The team who did the ducting did a great job and left pull ropes.  I had done all the prep work my side even creating a space on a board where I wanted the termination unit.  So that has all gone to plan.  I'm just waiting to be switched on.  Normally this would be same day but I'm a business customer and so have some special requirements.

I can't wait to cancel Virgin.  In fact I might so that today as I think I must give them 30 days notice.

Oct 1st 2020 - Fibre is on but I'm still not connected. I'm beginning to regret ordering a business package with a fixed IP.  It requires a special configuration and has so far taken a few weeks.  I think I am the first in my area to order this config on a business line so there's a bit of toing and froing. 

Oct 5th 2020 - I'm live!! Yay.  Look at that.  No measurable latency, tiny bit of jitter but Im still configuring the network. :-)