Who is behind Superfast North Yorkshire?
The project is a partnership between NYNet, a North Yorkshire County Council-owned broadband company, and various internet service providers. The initiative will deliver next generation superfast broadband to everyone in the North Yorkshire area.
Find out more about the project.
How can I get Superfast broadband?
Use our availability checker to find which provider can bring Superfast Broadband to your home. The service will be rolling out across the North Yorkshire area so if it’s not yet available in your postcode area, sign up for up-to-date news on when it will be available.
Are there any vouchers to support installation?
Yes – for the most hard to reach areas, households and businesses may be eligible for micro grants of up to £1,500 for households and up to £3,500 for businesses to assist with installation.
Find out more by visiting our Voucher page.
I have used the availability checker and Superfast Broadband is available in my area – what do I do now?
If Superfast broadband is available, the process is much the same as ordering normal broadband.
If you have used our availability checker, it will tell you provide you with details of next steps including a selection of Internet Service Providers (ISP) for your area. You can then contact the internet service provider directly to arrange connection.
I have used the availability checker and cannot get Superfast Broadband yet in my postcode area – what can I do?
Sign up for updates and you will be contacted when Superfast Broadband is ready in your area. The project will soon cover all postcodes in North Yorkshire, so we will keep you updated.
How fast is Superfast broadband?
Speeds start from 30 Megabits per second. This gives you faster download speeds meaning you can take full advantage of entertainment options including streaming movies, games or TV shows beyond casual browsing.
What is Fibre to the Cabinet?
Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) is when the connection between the green cabinet and the exchange uses fibre cabling. Your premises is connected to the cabinet with copper phone lines.
A FTTC connection will give you speeds of up to 80Mbps* depending on how far away your property is from the cabinet. Speeds may, also, fluctuate depending on demand and other external factors.
*Speeds delivered are dependent on the broadband package you select for your property.
What is Fibre to the premises?
Fibre to the Premises (FTTP/FTTH) connects your property directly to the exchange using fibre cabling. This will be capable of delivering speeds of over 300Mbps.*
*Speeds delivered are dependent on the broadband package you select for your property.
What is Fixed Wireless Access?
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) enables network operators (e.g. Quickline) to deliver ultra-high-speed broadband to rural areas. This supports homes and businesses when fibre is expensive to lay and maintain
What is Fibre on Demand?
Fibre on Demand provides full-fibre broadband as a bespoke intallation to your property. It is available across the UK – even in areas that cannot reliably get Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC).
What is the difference between Superfast and Ultrafast broadband?
Superfast Broadband is defined as speeds of 30Mbps and above.
Ultrafast Broadband is defined as speeds of over 100Mbps and up to 1Gbps. This is usually delivered using Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) technology or Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) so may not be available in all areas.
Even if you have an ultrafast connection, you will still have a wide choice of packages available so can choose options to suit your budget.
When fibre broadband becomes available will my broadband connection speed get faster automatically?
No. To get the benefits of fibre broadband you will need to make an order with an Internet Service provider (ISP). This is because fibre broadband uses a different technology and an engineer will need to visit your premises to install the necessary equipment.
To find out if your property can access superfast broadband visit our availability checker.
How do I test my broadband speeds?
There are several broadband speed test websites that you can use to test your current speeds.
Speeds can vary according to the number of devices utilising your connection, time of day or day of the week, so it is worth repeating the test to get the range of speeds you will receive. Remember you will likely receive a different output for an Ethernet connection versus a WIFI connection.
My cabinet has gone live but my chosen provider is not offering a service in my area - why?
There is a wide range of providers available who can provide superfast broadband. However, the decision as to whether to provide a service is the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and is purely commercial. We cannot influence this.
I have been told my cabinet has reached capacity, what does this mean?
When a cabinet is installed, the network operator know how many properties will be connected to it and make an assumption about how many of the available connections will be taken up. If the take up is higher than anticipated, the provider will need to add additional capacity by installing new connection cards into the cabinet.
Each cabinet is actively monitored and will automatically order new cards so that in many cases the upgrade will happen before the cabinet reaches capacity. On occassion, however, take-up is not only higher than expected but also happens very quickly, so that the cabinet reaches capacity and there is a short delay before more orders can be taken.
It would not be feasible for Superfast North Yorkshire to specify a higher capacity in every cabinet. This would add considerable cost and would result in less overall coverage for the project – with fewer communities having the opportunity to benefit from faster broadband. Upgrades once the cabinet has gone live are carried out by the network provider on a “business as usual” basis, and at no cost to Superfast North Yorkshire. The best thing to do is to ensure that you order the new service as soon as you know that superfast broadband is available.
My connection seems unreliable, how do I get this looked at?
Contact your current Internet Service provider (ISP). They can contact the network operator on your behalf if they believe the fault is with the network.
If your broadband is affected by the condition of the copper network and your ISP is unable to have improvements made, you can contact Ofcom. There could be grounds for you to cancel your contract if you are not getting the speeds that you were promised.
How should a new development get connected?
All new developments should have superfast broadband connected as part of the planning conditions for any development over a certain size.
If this has not happened, contact us.
Can my area be brought forward sooner?
It is the responsibility of the supplier to decide the most cost effective deployment and therefore we are unable to intervene.
Can my area be brought into the new programme and how are the areas selected?
It is not possible to request specific premises are covered.
In each phase of the procurement, NYnet with North Yorkshire County Council identify the funding to calculate the total amount available for each phase. In addition the project runs an Open Market Review and Public Consultation to identify which premises have not been previously covered by a Superfast deployment and are not planned to in the next few years. This is called the Intervention Area.
A procurement exercise is run whereby we ask the market how many premises within the Intervention Area they can cover for the amount of funding we have. As you can imagine the cost per permises will increase as the phases progress as we move to more rural areas.
This mechanism always ensures that the teaxpayer is getting the best value for money and we obtain the largest coverage for the funding available. The project does not – at any point – create a list of the premises and decide which phase they are in. Instead, this is an interative process where each time we identify the new intervention area and again ask the market how many they will cover.
What is Mbps?
Mbps means Megabits per Second, which is a way of measuring your Internet speeds.
How do Interpret the information the BT checker tells me about my cabinet?
The BT broadband checker can be confusing. Just above the table you will see your telephone number, exchange and cabinet – if you have one. If there is no cabinet listed then you are on an exchange-only line.
On the table the main thing to concentrate on is the Downstream Line Rate, which is given in Mbps.
If the first item is shown on the left as FTTC (or FTTP) then you have a connection to the fibre cabinet and the speeds shown should be 30Mbps or above. If they are below this then you are connected to the fibre network but may be too far away from the cabinet at present to achieve superfast speeds with the current technology
You may also see ADSL 2+ or ADSL Max. This is an older technology that may deliver maximum speeds of 20Mbps but it uses only the old copper networks and is therefore not capable of reaching the higher speeds. Each Internet Service Provider usually installs equipment in the local exchange in order to deliver this service.
WBC Fixed Rate is similar to ADSL in that it uses the copper network, but is only available in some parts of the country. It means that the supplier puts their equipment further up the network and it may serve a number of exchanges. The speeds achieved are usually lower than with ADSL.
So, the best option is to have a fibre connection with superfast broadband – and that is exactly what Superfast North Yorkshire Broadband is trying to bring to our communities
What is the Universal Service Obligation (USO)?
The UK Government has decided to implement the Universal Service Obligation (USO) via a regulatory approach on 20 March 2020. You can call BT on 0800 783 0223 or go visit the BT website.
Through USO, eligible consumers have a right to request a connection of at least 10Mbps (download) where their existing speeds are less than 10Mbps (download). BT will then be obliged to build all reasonable requests up to cost threshold of £3,400 proposed. Any costs above this amount will be funded by consumers.
BT will implement the USO using a mix of technologies that meet the minimum specifications. Satellite connections are unlikely to fulfill the additional quality parameters but will probably be the only option for some consumers (approx. 0.2% nationwide).
NYnet continues to extend superfast broadband service to as many North Yorkshire premises. The proposed USO will not impact on the programme’s current and future aspirations of becoming a ‘Connected County’ but will provide a safety net for those outside of the current scope.
The UK Government is introducing a Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband as part of its commitment in the UK Digital Strategy (March 2017) to ensure that the UK has world-class digital connectivity and inclusion.
More information is available on the USO.