AMPORT FULL FIBRE UPDATE JANUARY 2024

Efforts to bring Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) to give Amport homes and businesses modern internet speeds have only been partially successful, and it is not yet clear when FTTP will be available to all Amport residents.

Those who live in Sarsons Close have had FTTP for some years now. During 2023 FTTP was extended to houses which were connected to the Abbotts Ann exchange (namely those closest to Monxton, east of Sarson Lane) as part of the Abbotts Ann Community Fibre Partnership scheme.

Houses in the remainder of the parish (which are connected to the Weyhill and Grateley exchanges) now fall under the Government’s Project Gigabit scheme, which is an alternative to the Community Fibre Partnership route which we had previously hoped to pursue. The procurement process to let the Gigabit contract began in early 2022, and the Amport area was included with most of Hampshire in Phase 1b, Lot 27.

The scheme is run by the Government’s Digital Agency, BDUK. In July 2023 BDUK gave a contract to City Fibre to connect 76,000 premises in Hampshire (out of a total of 88,000 needing connection); and work has now started in some areas. However, City Fibre have not provided a list of those areas which will be included within the 76,000, so we don’t know if Amport is “in” or “out”.

The risk is that City Fibre will concentrate on properties which are easier to connect, leaving out those more remote areas which are hardest to connect (and which have the worst service). In theory, all premises in the UK will need FTTP by December 2025 when Openreach will “retire” the analogue phone network (referred to as the “Big Copper Switch-Off”).

The Parish Council has engaged with Test Valley, Hampshire County Council, and our MP, to ensure that our concerns with the failure to conclude the Gigabit Procurement Process are understood. Amport residents who do not yet have the option of an FTTP connection might wish to register on the City Fibre website at https://cityfibre.com in order to receive their updates. As you will note when you go through the registration process, City Fibre say that they “haven’t planned your area at the moment”.