Power cuts

Easier to just use a different style of 13A socket, eg brown or older style ones, or label standard ones.

If you decide different plugs are required, round pin are easier to come by.

NT

That does, on the face of it, seem rather poorly managed;!...

Ah!, community broadband. There seem to be some of those springing up around this area.

This one is using wireless delivery on I believe 5.8 Ghz which IMHO isn't the best choice of frequency as anyone and everyone will be entitled to use those frequency bands.

So the Gigaclear system is that fibre delivered in which case they must have dug up all the area served to lay ducts or is that radio delivered too, if you know?..

It makes me wonder if they can do that why can't BT or VM do it?.

However there were several radio broadband systems came online in the area around Cambridge, but as soon as the local exchange was enabled up off people went to broadband by wire. Usually the lack of aerials on the roof appealed to most subscribers. Makes me wonder if the same might happen again or perhaps we'll see the likes of G/Clear being swallowed up by bigger players as time goes by like perhaps err BT;?..

As to your 100 times faster, much less then that is fine We've been on the 30 meg service from VM for a few years now and its fine. Sir Richard with his mate Mr Bolt tell us that we're to have 60 for the same price in the summer which is fine by me...

Mine needs new batteries and the cost of them has put me off replacing them. Fortunately, we haven't had a power cut for ages.

Find the right lead acid battery in AH and shape (deep discharge) somewhere like RapidOnline and it will be half the price of the official rebadged ones sold for UPS or wheelchair user ripoffs.

Of course, last time I used Yuasa ones, now even the "neverheardofem" brands seem twice the price I paid ...

The 2200's take four batteries each, the 1400 takes a pair, not that I'd need all three UPSes in use.

Thanks for the suggestion - I shall bear that in mind.

On 28/02/2014 00:31, MattyF wrote: ...

The Christchurch earthquake didn't do their underground cables a lot of good either.

Colin Bignell

For the simple reason that the developer, and hence the first buyer, pays the full cost to the electricity infrastructure company.

The conditions this winter were really exceptional. Realistically the infrastructure companies are going to deal with faults affecting a large number of customers first. Increasing penalties is not a realistic solution because the costs of have extra staff and equipment available for events that only happen occasionally would simply be uneconomic. As for cutting down trees a lot of this is done on a precautionary basis but in many cases the owner will not allow the work to be done. Neither is putting many rural lines underground an economic reality. Essentially powers cuts are just the reality of living in rural areas.

In message , Dave Baker writes

Don't worry Mr Salmond says it will all be sorted once Scotland is independent.

I get fed up with all these people whinging about level of services in rural areas. According to a survey by NFU Mutual 78% of people who live in rural areas have chosen to move there from towns and cities. I was born and raised in such an area and wild horses wouldn't drag me back.

Gigaclear are due to lay the underground fibres in the next few months. I am keeping a sharp look out for diggers.

To make the project economic, Gigaclear require 30% of local residents to sign up. Achieving this level of commitment took considerable effort from local people.

If BT had taken a similar approach they would probably have found it easier to get that level of commitment.

I don't think wireless is viable where I live due to the undulating nature of the land, not to mention the trees.

One of Gigaclear's selling points is that if they go broke, the likes of BT will want to buy up the fibre network.

I don't really know how much difference a faster connection will really make to my life. The iPlayer on my TV should work, but I am not going to make more purchases on Amazon.

I grew up in suburban Sheffield until I was 10, and we moved out to the Peak District. Then I went down to London for Uni, and stayed around commuter-belt M25 until last year. Now, we're in the Welsh borders, and you wouldn't get me back into a major town or city for love nor money.

Trees falling across power lines is an easily avoidable problem. If the existing wayleaves don't allow enough trees to be cut down, then the government should change the law. The work can be done year round.

Leaving the trees standing and waiting till many of them fall down in a strong wind might cost the power companies, but it inconveniences customers. That is why higher penalties are needed for this type of failure.

The law already allows the power companies to get a court order to enforce minimum separation distances.

Peace and quiet is all.

I believe they do have power to make landowners give access 'tho they have to go to court to get them...

A small increase in cost would raise them a small increase in profits and nothing else.

To my mind, companies (of all types) seem to have become very short sighted these days - "Profit at all costs" would seem to be the motto of many. That's not to say I'm some lefty loonie crying on the evils of money making, but just that if Railtrack worked out they could flog the track for scrap and make a bigger profit for one year, and one year only of course, then they would.