If you was the company taking over Digital Region

[Nutty34]

@SpencerUK - One thing is for sure mate, the network can not carry on as it currently is. The only way it can survive as a separate entity is to get users on board. As I said earlier I also think that given the choice between the larger ISP outlined in your post above and DR most consumers would go with the big boys UNLESS DR gave them something more and was comparable if not better on price.

Still waiting to see what the outcome of Doncasters council meeting was yesterday.

[Hippojay]

(08-08-2013 03:24 PM)Nutty34 Wrote:  @SpencerUK - One thing is for sure mate, the network can not carry on as it currently is. The only way it can survive as a separate entity is to get users on board.

This. Unless DR can attract users to fund the network, then it can't continue. the ISPs themselves may have a sustainable number of users to make them viable, but they are small companies sitting on a large and expensive network.

I'm not sure why a large ISP would come in and invest to connect to a South Yorkshire only network when, for the same amount of work, then could connect into BT and have a national network.

DR may be a proposition to LLU types who want an instant presence, all those cabs and fibre must be worth something to a non-BT fibre network provider.

[Ray_Von]

All across the area that is covered by DR there can't be many exchanges that BT haven't upgraded for FTTC ..I know 3 in Sheffield..Sheffield Central,Attercliffe and Meadowhall,but many of the others have been upgraded.
I can't understand why BT have no plans to upgrade them,surely if it was to do with the fact that DR covers them then why upgrade other exchanges..

[Hippojay]

Well, meadowhall is tiny (according the samknows)

Sheffield central (used to work in that building) is probably a pain to dig/blow for fibre. I bet those ducts go all over the place.

Attercliffe - dunno. Perhap the %age of bb connections is very low.

[alexatkin]

(08-08-2013 01:51 PM)Hippojay Wrote:  That is the big question. They should probably push:

• Local pride/local company. Although Plusnet do it, but this is really the only unique point they have at the moment.
• Faster Speeds? Could DR push the network a little further and try and provide a really unique selling point and some newspaper inches. BT are far more conservative and risk adverse and therefore would be slower to respond.
• Bundled service? This is where DR falls down. A lot of the big providers are now pushing TV/Triple play to make their service sticky. Smaller providers aren't going to be able to match these.
• Price - like it or not, broadband is almost (if not already) a commodity and therefore needs to be priced as such. If DR can't match the prices then it makes it more difficult to make the other points relavent. BT charge 26ukp for a 76mbit line, origin 35ukp. I'm afraid the former is going to win in 90 times out of 100.
  

Local Pride: Sadly, I don't think this exists any more.

Faster Speed: Anyone on a cabinet with the new line cards are already hitting the limit of VDSL2+. The only way up from here is laying fibre to the premises which BT already have on the cards and Digital Region do not as it would cost yet more huge amounts of money.

Price: This is what they needed to have done long ago. Yes they would still be making a loss, but they should have heavily discounted when they saw things were going pear shaped. Then again, spending a little on advertising wouldn't have hurt either.

[Hippojay]

(08-08-2013 10:16 PM)alexatkin Wrote:  Local Pride: Sadly, I don't think this exists any more.

Faster Speed: Anyone on a cabinet with the new line cards are already hitting the limit of VDSL2+. The only way up from here is laying fibre to the premises which BT already have on the cards and Digital Region do not as it would cost yet more huge amounts of money.

Fair enough - I wasn't sure what the current technical limits are of VDSL2. FTTP is waaay outside the mass market which is where DRL needs to be.

Quote:Price: This is what they needed to have done long ago. Yes they would still be making a loss, but they should have heavily discounted when they saw things were going pear shaped. Then again, spending a little on advertising wouldn't have hurt either.

Possibly, if you think about it in cash flow terms (i.e. getting money going through the business even if you don't turn a profit).

Advertising is where this has definitely gone wrong. They should shoot whoever was in charge of (or decided they didn't need) advertising.

So, in a nutshell there is no USP. It's just a poor cousin to the BT network. It's all damage limitation by the councils now - what's the cheapest way to get rid.

[Nutty34]

Quote - It's all damage limitation by the councils now - what's the cheapest way to get rid

Probably to hand it over free to BYES and let them take on the current liabilities, somehow I can not see this happening. For me the only viable way forward is BT wholesale who already have large ISP on board. ( if they want it anymore)

God only knows what BT did not to be picked as preferred bidder.

In my mind my issue is currently I pay Chess (whom I did not choose, I signed up with LBO) £25/ month for 40/10 package ... For £26/month I can now get Infinity 2 with BT (76mb). A bit of a no brainier for me and a major reason to terminate my current contract early.

[alexatkin]

Well well well, apparently VDSL Plus now exists with 150Mbit downstream at 300m+. I bet THOSE line cards are bloody expensive.

http://www.lantiq.com/news/press/65-vdsl...4-km-usin/

[clifft]

People keep talking about the lack of advertising by Digital Region, but I didn't think the project was setup such that it was their job to advertise to Joe Public. It's like saying it's BT Openreach's job to advertise broadband (I know they have posters on the fibre cabinets now but that's minimal). It was Digital Regions job to get ISPs onto the network, who will advertise to Joe Public. That's why DR had no advertising budget. They only managed to get onboard a few small start-up ISPs who had as much advertising budget as the local chinese takeaway. That was the problem.

[Nutty34]

To the contrary mate, I have read a set of minutes from Doncaster council that clearly state advertising was down to Digital Region LTD. Any advertising by the ISP would be extra.