BT Infinity - no power socket near master socket

c_man

Hi all,

Has anyone experienced a similar scenario [as per title] ?

One of the requirements of a BT Infinity installation is that you have a power socket next to or near your master socket, where the modem and router can be plugged into.



http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=29023

Our premises is quite old [Victorian built], and therefore unlike newer builds, we have no power socket near the master socket, which is located by the front door/bottom of stairwell.

It is not ideal to run an extension cable for power to the master socket either, given its location by the front door/stair case.

I'm sure I'm not the only one facing such a problem.

How did you work around this?

penrhyn

They will supply a 30 metre extension cable for you to get power near to your master socket. Youll also need something to stick the fibre modem and home hub on.

c_man

penrhyn wrote: »

They will supply a 30 metre extension cable for you to get power near to your master socket. Youll also need something to stick the fibre modem and home hub on.

Thanks, I take it you are talking from experience?

Will they supply the 30m extension free of charge, as part of the service?

Whilst I have a power extension cable long enough already, its not exactly feasible, from a health and safety perspective, to run the extension to where the master socket is because its at the bottom of the staircase / near the front door.

I'm not sure if I'm being clear enough, or if I've misunderstood your reply...

kwikbreaks

Don't they fit a new socket for the modem?

c_man

kwikbreaks wrote: »

Don't they fit a new socket for the modem?

Nope not as far as I know. Look at the URL in the OP...

thetope

our master socket is in our kitchen - when we got infinity they wired a new extension telephone socket in an upstairs room next to an electrical socket and installed the gubbins there.

edit... and it was free, yes

hippey

Yes, they will move the master socket or supply extensions as required as part of the install of either FTTC or P.

macman

How do you expect the modem to be powered up if you don't provide a 13A socket for it?
The terms are clearly set out, it's up to the customer to make the necessary arrangements. If you (understandably) don't want a trailing lead, then it's very easy to run a permanent hard wired spur from the nearest point on the ring main.

spenderdave

This situation must be very common. My house was built in the 1960s, the master socket is also by the front door with the nearest mains sockets in the living room and kitchen. Running a loose extension lead to either of these, through doorways, is hardly sensible. More logical would be for BT to move the master socket, preferably to the room where my computer is, which would also in my case reduce the length of the outside BT wiring.

The same issue comes when most ISPs ask you to plug your modem into the master socket for several days in the case of a fault. Leaving the modem by the front door is simply not a practical proposition, I don't imagine many would want their new shiny Infinity modem there either...

Not an issue here yet, Infinity seems at least two years away in my street.

spike7451

spenderdave wrote: »

This situation must be very common. My house was built in the 1960s, the master socket is also by the front door with the nearest mains sockets in the living room and kitchen. Running a loose extension lead to either of these, through doorways, is hardly sensible. More logical would be for BT to move the master socket, preferably to the room where my computer is, which would also in my case reduce the length of the outside BT wiring.

The same issue comes when most ISPs ask you to plug your modem into the master socket for several days in the case of a fault. Leaving the modem by the front door is simply not a practical proposition, I don't imagine many would want their new shiny Infinity modem there either...

Not an issue here yet, Infinity seems at least two years away in my street.

It is.Part of the problem is that due to the flooding gel that is in the external drop wire,only a meter of it may be used inside an occupied space*,as the gel gives off toxic fumes in a fire.
Therfore it is normally changed over using a junction box to standard internal cabling & the master socket sited where needed.
Because in days of old,the was no cordless phones,answer machines that required a separate power supply,the was no need to site the master next to a power socket,in deed to do so could cause interference on the phone line,not to mention the really old system where the phone is hard wired into the circuit.
I'd say that in all the home phone line's I've worked on,80% of them are not sited next to power points.

* Occupied Space is normal living areas,not counting attics,basements,garages ect

c_man

So, spike7451, you are suggesting they will relocate the master socket as part of the service?

spike7451 wrote: »

Therfore it is normally changed over using a junction box to standard internal cabling & the master socket sited where needed.

Also,

1] Your post seems to indicate you work as one of BT's install engineers?

2] I was under the impression that moving the master socket was a big job? i.e. having to redirect the external wiring (from a telephone pole in the street) to a new point outside the house, drilling a hole in the wall, and making the necessary adjustments on the inside of the house too? I'm no telephone engineer so my understanding may well be wrong...

3] How viable is it to run an extension cable from the existing master socket to a further location, lets say upstairs bedroom, and using that extension as the 'master' where the modem will be connected? Any loss of data/quality?