Re: DCMS think the final 5% costs the same as the first 95%?
@Dave Bell I presume you also distrust all BDUK announcements and any definition of "Super Fast" that doesn't also define latency, packet loss and most importantly upstream speed. Our government doesn't like to use real figures, as their poor technology choice would become apparent.
For a graph of VDSL distance/speed using a "perfect" conductor - not aluminium or rusty copper, or rat chewed coaxial cable, go here:
http://www.increasebroadbandspeed.co.uk/2013/chart-bt-fttc-vdsl2-speed-against-distance
My point is, this isn't going to get materially faster due to the presence of the copper/aluminium. 20 Mbps downstream is good today, but it won't be long until that is woefully short of capacity. Upstream is already a problem for me. BT decided we were all consumers of content, not producers. That is changing now with the advent of highly capable tablet and phone cameras, for example.
I used "meaningful broadband" as a flexible term allowing a user to interact with all "reasonable" services as we head full speed into our digital futures. It may be fine for some, who don't wish to avail themselves of the newer services (e.g. 15-20 Mbps for a reliable 4K stream from Netflix). They may hope that HMRC doesn't add video guides and colourful animated icons to the TAX return website, or 4MB pictures of their cats. If they have the time and patience, then that's their choice.
I imagine your upload speed at 1.6Km from the cabinet means you have no "meaningful" way of sending data to the internet. How long does it take you to send a 5MB image from a phone or camera? Downloading one at 3Mbps is 14s. That's fine if you have time, but not realistic in my job where files are often 50-100MB in size, and the kids are watching Netflix (not 4K). If you dare send a 5MB cat picture, then you are probably tying up your VoIP phone for best part of a minute. I don't have your upstream speed stats for your line, which are unique to you, so I don't know. This is another problem with DSL service levels - predictability. If you want to survive with 3Mbps downstream and 500Kbps(?) upsteam, that's your choice. Both you and your ISP need to run QoS, or latency sensitive traffic such as a VoIP phone will stop working when an Email arrives with a cat picture. I don't know any that do over a retail DSL circuit. This isn't a "meaningful" service in my view. My view is mine. Nobody else's, obviously...