New line to rural new build

MrsH2002

We're currently renovating an old building which has never had a phone line. There is a line to a property about 50m away.

When I've called BT about getting a new line I get different responses. One person told me I needed to pay £105.75 for a survey to see how much it will cost to install a line, and the final cost could be £1000's. Another said I simply go online and request a new line for £125.

Can you offer me any advice? Am I tied to using BT or are there other companies who can install?

Thanks

Mark_In_Hampshire

Ultimately the line will be installed by BT Openreach though you can go ahead and order from any line supplier. That said, it's unlikely to be very straightforward and might well cost in the thousands - depends on how near you are to a point of connection/the exchange, what the line will have to cross and who owns that land, etc, and whether there is spare capacity, the survey should tell you.

Heinz

It's got to be worth trying for the free installation offer - they can only refuse (and advise you of what it'll cost).

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/free-BT-line-installation

choille

We had this problem, but you can lay the cable yourself - saves a packet & get BT to wire it up. However BT were a complete bottom pain & took months after they said they'd connect it.

If you're putting in other services ie electric cables do it at the same time - saves a packet.
You should only be the connection charge to BT then - £125 plus cost of cable.

Mark_In_Hampshire

If for instance there's another house at the bottom of your garden fed by a pole nearby then this might be a case of 1 new pole / underground wiring and a drop wire, plus perhaps a new line back to the exchange depending on capacity.

If the nearest other house is 4 miles away then BT Openreach will have work to do to get permission to cross that land, lay a number of poles, or else put the wiring underground, etc which is what will rapidly escalate the cost.

The cheapest option *might* be for something called a DACS line to be fitted, if they still fit those. That means you share the line with someone else (though you won't be able to hear each other, the two operate at different frequencies)

If a DACS line were fitted then neither your line nor the one it's shared with will support ADSL. However the decision is not yours and you cannot influence this.

Also if the line is too long (you're more than say 2.5 miles from the phone exchange, or the wiring takes an indirect route making it this long) then it probably won't support ADSL either. If you're more than 2 miles away the speed will probably be dreadful if it works at all.

Thus if broadband is important, I'd check thoroughly before spending a lot of money. We live in a rural area and get excellent 3G reception and a broadband speed faster than the phone line here can supply.

BT_company_representative

Hi MrsH2002,

If you want to drop me an email with your address details I will check what cost is required to get a new line installed at your property. You can find the email address by clicking on our profile. Could you also include your MSE username and a link to this thread.

Thanks

Shane.