We are now at the end of week 4 of the build and I am delighted to say that we have made good progress. Much of the work has concentrated on the key routes which provide the backhaul (high speed connection) to the Internet and the links between the communities.

We appreciate that whilst working in the highways we are causing inconvenience but our contractors try very hard to keep this to a minimum, and we thank you all for your continued patience and support whilst the works continue.

It is obvious to us that many residents are getting very excited about the incoming service and many have asked when their area will be served and when they will be switched on.

It is very hard to be accurate with a forecast as until you dig up a footway or road you truly do not know what you may find but in order to keep you updated here is an outline plan of what happens next:

  1. The first objective is to get the cabinet (which is sited at the Appleton Tennis Club in Badswell Lane) connected to our backhaul so the equipment can be set up and proven ready for our demonstrations to you all in the village hall on the 8th September. Virtually all the backhaul cable is now laid with the last stretch down the south side of Netherton Road being laid this week along with its associated drops.
  2. You will probably have noticed that although we have been reinstating the runs there are pits around the village which have not been filled in. The splicing team who join the fibre optic cables together are making their way round to all of these to make the necessary connections and once the joints are tested they will be filled in and reinstated.
  3. Works completed: Cabinet and chamber build at the Appleton Tennis Club, Abingdon Rd Tubney, Southby Close, Whites Forge, Park Lane, Doctors Lane, Link between Besselsleigh and Eaton, Link between Eaton and Appleton, Link between Appleton and Fyfield, Netherton Road South section
  4. Still to go (in approximate order of build): Link between Fyfield and Tubney, Netherton Road North section, Oaksmere, Fettiplace Close, Horseshoe Close, Eaton Road, Badwells Lane, Town Furlong, Eaton Village, Besselsleigh Village
  5. Subscribers who have had their CCP (Customer Connection Point) installed will start to be made live from the 2nd week of September.
  6. At this point we will start shipping the self install kits to those households that have requested them. Please remember you have 3 choices for installation, please confirm your selection as soon as possible for those that have not done so already:
    1. Self Installation – please let me know what length of fibre cable you need to connect from your connection point to the location of your router in your property (e.g. 10, 25 or 50M)
    2. Local Electrician/Handyman e.g. James Mansfield – please let me know the length of fibre cable you need as above
    3. Boxcom Installation – their special offer for Appleton/Eaton residents of an installation for £85* for lengths of 25m will expire at the end of September – please let me know as soon as possible if you wish to use Boxcom.

I am pleased to confirm that we have had some very positive comments on the quality of the reinstatement of both grass and tarmac areas which is very pleasing and a credit to MKJ who are our main civils contractor on this project.

Apologies:

We would like to apologise to the residents of Fettiplace Close who we marked up and signposted 2 weeks ago, we realised a flaw in our plan and have been forced to put you back in the sequence, there were sound reasons and we will have you online soon.

*Please refer to the Boxcom Website for details of their special installation offer – http://www.boxcomngn.net/home-installation-service

Finally: please do come along to the Appleton Village Hall on Saturday 8th September 2012 when between 10:00am and 1:30pm Gigaclear will be demonstrating how to get the best from the ultrafast Broadband you will soon enjoy!