Dear Resident,
Firstly, apologies once again for the delay since my previous update – lots have been happening! Here’s my last update before the service finally goes live:
Fibre Splicing
At long last, in the above picture you can see the fibre has finally arrived within the telecoms cabin. The piece of equipment sitting above the server rack is a very expensive bit of kit designed to accurately splice the fibre sections. The unit aligns the two fibre parts together automatically, providing a magnified display for the operator to inspect the process. Once the two sections are optimally aligned, the fusion takes place in just a few moments and an estimated signal loss is displayed – in this case, very minimal; an excellent result. However, it has taken a tremendous amount of ground work before this stage could be reached and a small selection of photos are available on the airNexus website gallery, here.
Openreach NTE
Above is a photograph of BT Openreach’s Network Termination Equipment (NTE). Although our service is not provided by BT, Openreach act as agents for the UK’s numerous operators, connecting customer sites to the national infrastructure. The yellow cable is the fibre optic link which connects our service to the upstream carrier and the early link tests passed with flying colours, another great result. The optical cable is about the thickness of a human hair and is protected by a Kevlar sleeving within the outermost jacket – very hi-tech indeed!
Telecoms Cabin
In the photograph above, we can see the ex-Orange Mobile telecoms cabin on its concrete base complete with lattice mast in the background. At this stage, the electrics were yet to be completed but only a few days later, I was amazed to discover everything in perfect order – not even a single bulb out. The cabin was an excellent buy and indeed it cost more to have the unit transported than it did to acquire in the first place. By this stage, all evidence of the hard work digging trenches has just about disappeared – but here’s a photo of the duct before backfilling with sand, fibre warning tape and top soil:
Duct in Trench
What happens next?
Today I am expecting the arrival of the replacement cable transits which allow for a water-tight fitting around the cables feeding the radios. Once these are in, I can get the radios and antennae mounted on the mast, powered up and aligned. Meanwhile, I am also expecting the carrier to deliver and install their managed equipment which, once powered up, will provide me with an interface for the core routing equipment to link into. From this point forward, I will then have a serviceable Internet connection over which I can perform some final software and firmware updates along with some optimisation. This process will only take a couple of days and the installations will begin.
Subscribing to the service.
It has recently come to my attention that a number of residents in Whittonstall are experiencing severe problems with their landline phone and broadband services. In some instances, customers have lost both phone and broadband completely whilst others have intermittent connectivity. May I remind you that the airNexus service is not delivered via the landline and is unaffected by these problems – phone and broadband services are delivered to your property via an encrypted, licensed wireless link. In the majority of cases, the radio is approximately the size of a pint pot (sometimes less) and is connected to your premises in a high location with a clear line-of-sight to the nearest serving radio base station.
If you have not already placed an order for service but would like to be connected as soon as possible, I would highly recommend you do so now in order to take advantage of the introductory pricing and to reserve an installation slot. Your custom is greatly appreciated and will help to fund a local community scheme I have in mind. In order to subscribe, please visit the airNexus website for pricing, terms of service and order form: http://www.airnexus.co.uk/
And finally…
I am delighted to inform you that airNexus have now been accepted onto the Government’s BDUK Connection Vouchers scheme. This means that businesses can benefit from up to £3,000 off the cost of their installation (including internal wireless improvements). Do hurry however, as the funds are rapidly running out! If you wish to take advantage of this scheme, please do not hesitate to contact me for further assistance.
Thank you for taking the time to read my latest newsletter and I hope you will consider airNexus for your improved home and business connectivity.
Kindest regards,
Paul Smith
Managing Director
Wireless Broadband Company, Limited
Website: http://www.airnexus.co.uk
Telephone: 01207 750 550