It’s not often a telecoms news story falls literally on your doorstep, but in the case of recent fiber installation work in my village that’s exactly what has happened.
According to our local newspaper, there have been a series of meetings between angry residents and the company behind the work, Vtesse Networks, regarding the disruption caused by the works. One complaint in particular stands out – that of a woman who claims the subcontractors installing the fiber dug up her front garden without any consultation or warning.
Aside from that problem, I’m not entirely sure what the issue is with the recent works. Yes, some households weren’t notified about it by letter like I was, but by the same token the work crew didn’t exactly appear overnight. Rather they worked systematically from the outskirts of the village and down one of its main roads.
Yes, this work did cause some disruption, particularly when they had to dig across driveways, but the team were barely in front of each house for a day before continuing steadily down the hill. And details about the work were displayed on signs at each end of the section being dug up, along with a phone number for people who wanted more information on what was going on.
My only real gripe is that the cable being installed isn’t for my village. I mean, if you’re digging up the roads and pavements anyway, surely someone could have run some fiber to our local cabinet at the same time?