October 14th 2025 is the official date that Microsoft will stop supporting or providing free updates to Windows 10 and are recommending that users upgrade to Windows 11.

However Windows 11 requires the existence of something called a TPM 2.0 module on your PC and without it, Windows 11 won’t install or run (not without some hacking about).

What is a TPM 2.0?

TPM 2.0, or Trusted Platform Module version 2.0, is a hardware-based security feature that provides a range of cryptographic functions and security services. It’s designed to enhance the security of devices by offering secure generation and storage of cryptographic keys, ensuring device integrity, and supporting secure boot processes.

You can buy TPM modules that will plug into specific TPM headers on your computers motherboard (if it has one) but if your PC is older that 5 years you may be out of luck and may need to shell out on a new computer costing many £100s, not to mention the process of migrating everything over.

Are there alternatives?

Thankfully yes. There are third party tools that aim to remove the TPM 2.0 (and other limitations) that Windows 11 imposes. However, these are unofficial and you may find that when your PC received a Windows 11 update, that it may break the hack, so not an ideal solution.

If you want to keep your perfectly serviceable hardware going for years to come but you want to retain some level of security online, then you may wish to consider Linux, a freely available alternative to Microsoft Windows and one that provides many of the same sorts of tools that you’re likely to be using such as an Email client, a web browser, Word and Excel alternatives, even a Photoshop alternative called GIMP!

Linux tends to demand less from your PC meaning that it may give your ageing hardware a new lease of life, but be aware that there is a learning curve associated with Linux as it’s not Windows. Having said that, you can tailor the Linux desktop to look and work very much like Windows.

For many of my customers, they typically need email, web browsing, Excel and Word type tools and I feel that Linux fill this gap admirably. I’ve been daily driving a Linux distribution called POP!_OS for over 4 years now and can confidently say that for these tasks, it performs incredibly well.

I’m a self confessed geek and I’ve been religiously checking on the trooli.com website for a while, hoping that my address will magically appear and I can order what is now potentially the fastest broadband product so far at 2Gb/2Gb. That’s to say 2 Gigabits up and down!

Sadly my property doesn’t seem to be on their list. despite my immediate neighbours being on there and us both currently using the same pole for our telephone services. Perhaps because I’m at the end of the road? I’ve tried to reach out to Trooli to get a formal reason as to why but answers seem unforthcoming so far.

It seems that quite a few properties down our street have whats called a JUP or “Joint User Pole” and whilst Trooli are allowed to use them, they have to apply for usage. The process seems a little confusing as Trooli are suggesting that there may be an additional cost if your property uses a JUP as Trooli have to carry out an assessment and then potentially pass on some/all of the licence fees associated with that JUP. It’s unclear at this point as to what these costs will be but they do say that they will let you know before you proceed with your order.

One thing that’s not clear is whether you’re footing much/all of the assessment/licence fee for the JUP which in turn then allows Trooli to sell services to other users of that pole without charging them a fee. I guess that the price you pay for wanting something sooner.

Wessex Internet

At present there’s not much competition for full fibre, but Wessex Internet have been making progress coming down the Everton Road through Hordle to Sky End Lane.

I bumped into an engineer the other day and asked if he had any information on whether Wessex Internet were coming to Everton. His reply was probably not this year but they would likely be starting in Milford and moving north anyway, not south from Hordle.

On paper Troolis product is cheaper and faster with their fastest 2000Mb/2000Mb residential service costing a penny under £50.00 per month, whereas Wessex Internet are quite a bit more expensive at £79 per month for a 900Mb/450Mb service. So it seems that at present, Trooli are the go to choice in terms of speed and price.

This may be because Trooli may be hanging their cables from existing poles for much of their installation whereas Wessex may be digging, which I suspect is a much more costly option and that cost is passed on to the customer.

BT/Openreach

So where is Openreach? As you may know, BT was broken up into a two parts, BT and Openreach to try to release their monopoly on the communications infrastructure and provide more competition. When you buy a broadband service, you don’t buy from Openreach, but it is they that provide and maintain a high percentage of the national infrastructure. If you visit this page you’ll be able to see what their plans are for the future and whether your area is planned for a full fibre upgrade.

Many companies use the Openreach network to sell their own products on, so when this becomes available, you may quickly find many more companies are able to provide Ultrafast broadband in your area too.

If anyone from either company wishes to reach out and let me know, I’d love to hear from you.