News
15 August 2026 – Wessex Internet are offering to give a presentation to the parish to introduce themselves to anyone who wants to learn more about their provision of high speed internet. This is likely to take place sometime in October in the Village Hall. The intention is to follow this by a further presentation later in the year to outline a plan for implementation prior to possible build in the spring of 2027. Watch this space.
14 July 2026 – A further email exchange between Wessex Internet and the Parish Council reflects a meeting already held by Wessex Internet and some of the residents of Bladen Valley and School Lane on 7 July. The Council has suggested a Wessex Internet presentation to the parish in the Briantspuddle Village Hall once their surveys are complete and they are able to outline a possible plan for implementation to properties within Briantspuddle. Such a plan and presentation may be likely shortly after the summer for implementation possibly in March 2027.
13 June 2026 – The Parish Council received notification from Wessex Internet of the award of a new government contract for Project Gigabit funding to further enable rural communities to have access to Fibre To The Premises (FTTP). The Council have responded enthusiastically and independently some householders have already been approached by Wessex Internet scouts. Please be aware that this is not a County or Parish Council run project. Wessex Internet are a private company and any arrangements that transpire are between the Company and individual businesses and householders, but there is plenty of advice available in the parish as a good many householders are already in contract with Wessex Internet. This page will be updated as progress allows. In the meantime you can register interest, check information and see package costs on the Wessex Internet Website
Wessex Internet last November spent some time checking the feasibility of using Openreach’s ducts and poles to bring FTTP throughout Briantspuddle. At the time they said they would then do a leaflet drop and give a presentation organised through the Parish Council. If successful this will give the opportunity for households who want high speed internet to sign up to Wessex Internet unless it is preferred to wait for any future Openreach plan.
Openreach on their website checker currently say the following for the Briantspuddle Shop and Post Office DT2 7HT:
We’re planning to build in this area (use this link to check your own post code)
Which means that “while we’re planning on building to your area in the future, our plans to build to this property aren’t confirmed yet. But they could be soon as we’re aiming to build Full Fibre [FTTP] to 25 million homes and businesses by December 2026 and we’re not stopping there. We intend to keep building after that too. That’s further and faster than any other broadband network in the UK. If you register your interest, we’ll keep you updated and let you know as soon as Full Fibre is available – so you can upgrade to the UK’s most reliable broadband technology.“
Wessex Internet are independent of the Telephone Exchange network and deliver a one to one, end to end service, constrained only by the limits of their own largely underground network. Openreach deliver a solution utilizing existing Exchanges, ducts and poles.
Ofcom advise that they “have already levelled the playing field by making it significantly cheaper, quicker and easier for BT’s rivals to build their networks, by giving them better access to Openreach’s underground ducts and telegraph poles. This can halve the upfront costs of connecting a home. Order volumes last year to use this infrastructure covered over 23,000km of duct and over 140,000 poles, up from 2,500km and 12,000 respectively the previous year.”
Current Situation
The Parish is served with both Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) by Openreach and Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) by Wessex Internet. There is only one Openreach Cabinet in the Parish, sited near the existing Telephone cabinet by the bridges at the northern entrance to Briantspuddle. Both cabinets are fed from the Bere Regis Telephone Exchange via underground fibre and copper cables across the fields. The cabinets are inter-connected so that the fibre from the Exchange transfers to the copper leading to households by duct and pole. Rogers Hill, Throop and Brockhill take their telephone service direct from the Bere Regis Exchange. Affpuddle takes it’s telephone service from the Exchange in Puddletown and Waddock and Pallington Heath take their telephone service from the Exchange in Wool.
The majority of households in Briantspuddle within easy reach of the Fibre Cabinet take their broadband service from it on existing copper cable. Households on the edges of the village get a reduced service due to distance from the Cabinet but have been able to take advantage of Wessex Internet or use 4G. Households in Affpuddle, Rogers Hill, Throop, Brockhill, Waddock and Pallington Heath are similarly poorly placed and have also been able to take advantage of Wessex Internet.
When Ofcom produces a plan to convert everyone to FTTP the problem becomes a means of back up due to lack of copper landline provision for use in an emergency. The following extract for Ofcom press release in March 2021 is relevant:
“Closing the copper network
As it lays new fibre to replace ageing copper lines, Openreach should not have the unnecessary costs of running two parallel networks. So when Openreach has rolled out full fibre in a particular area, we will progressively remove regulation on its copper products over a number of years. This will improve the business case for Openreach to invest, by removing the need for it to maintain two networks, while promoting the take-up of faster fibre services. Customers will be protected during this transition to ensure they can continue to access their services – particularly those in vulnerable circumstances.“
The more remote households with broadband speeds of less than 10 Mbs.
These housholds are entitled to help from Ofcom’s Universal Service Obligation (USO), run by BT. This is not a group option. It offers a solution to people who receive less than 10Mbps and in most cases the solution offered would be a Home 4G Hub (this can get you speeds in the region of 30Mbps). When a 4G Hub solution is not suitable the USO can offer a subsidy towards full fibre installation. The pros and cons of Home 4G Broadband are:
Pros:
Portable – can be taken anywhere as long as there is a plug
Can be a much faster option over broadband (depending on the package)
More flexible plans available – 1 month through to 24 months
Ideal if you struggle to get fixed line broadband
Cons:
4G can end up costing more overall than regular broadband
Most plans carry download limits
4G broadband can be patchy in areas making it less reliable
For more information on the USO go to www.bt.com/broadband/USO