Activation Charge for Fibre (all providers)

loofer

I'm about to jump from standard TalkTalk Broadband to Fibre with BT.

I've never had Fibre before but having said that i've only lived here 6 months but i doubt previous house owner had Fibre as the local cabinet has only very recently been upgraded to Fibre.

Now although I think the Activation charge of £49 is quite high I accept that there is the additional cost to them to get OpenReach Engineer out to my nearest cabinet to hook me up.

So my question is...
If I pay this activation charge now, is it a one off charge regardless of which provider or package i go with in future?

So in 12 months time I decide to switch from BT Fibre to say Sky Fibre... would I have to pay them an activation fee too?

another example is in 12 months time I decide to downgrade from fibre back to normal broadband (either BT or another provider) and then a further 12 months after that I decide to upgrade back to Fibre... assuming we still have the same fibre technology in 24 months time would I still b expected to pay an activation charge for something I paid once before?

Hope that makes sense. In my mind, an engineer only ever has to make one visit and that's for the first connection... though I find my mind is often wrong.

[Deleted User]

Whilst there are clearly going to be costs for the ISP, the fibre activation charge is just one element of the charges they choose to apply eg I don't think Plusnet charges a fibre activation fee but it must incur similar costs; BT on the other hand (with the same ultimate parent co) chooses to offer cashback deals to attract customers but claws some back by charging activation fees.

I prefer less cashback and less fees but you pay your money and take your choice.

I think you'll pay an activation fee each time you switch, assuming the ISP has one.

AndyPK

Most fibre deals charge for activation.

I asked a while ago, and it was said you will be charged everytime you switch to a new fibre provider. More recently some had got away with it.

I don't think they can charge you to go back to ADSL.
But yes will charge you to go back to fibre.

Neil_Jones

Normally if you go the full hog and switch the phone line at the same time and/or sign up for an 18 month contract you can usually get free activation. Most 12 month options or ones where you only switch the internet do carry the activation fee.

forgotmyname

If you go for the 76MB package instead of the cheaper 42/50MB one then the activation fee maybe waived.

I didnt pay anything when i moved from Standard O2 Broadband (during sky takeover) to Plusnet Fibre, no fee if you took line rental at the same time.

No idea what offers they have now, i moved to Vodafone and regret it a little.

loofer

I intend to move phone line too. I just think it's a bit scandalous way to 'extort' more money unless there is a genuine additional cost of moving from one fibre provider to another, which i doubt there is on the same scale as moving to fibre first time.

I accept it's their business and they can charge how they want and if I'm not happy I should look elsewhere but it seems to be an (almost) industry wide standard. If they want more money, would rather they included that over the monthly payments, at least easier to compare then too.

MrMaloney

I am about to change from standard broadband (PlusNet) to BT infinity - the village was upgraded last year. BT have said my phone will be activated on 13 December. Then they said they can't start the activation process on the broadband until the phone line has transferred, which will take 10-14 days. So I will be without any broadband for this period. Is this normal, it was fairly seamless when I last transferred (sky to PlusNet). My kids will not thank me, if there is no broadband over Christmas.

AndyPK

maybe best to wait till january for a happy xmas

macman

Maybe consider Plusnet FTTC instead of BT? Same service, same network, usually cheaper.

boatman

loofer wrote: »

I intend to move phone line too. I just think it's a bit scandalous way to 'extort' more money unless there is a genuine additional cost of moving from one fibre provider to another, which i doubt there is on the same scale as moving to fibre first time.

I accept it's their business and they can charge how they want and if I'm not happy I should look elsewhere but it seems to be an (almost) industry wide standard. If they want more money, would rather they included that over the monthly payments, at least easier to compare then too.

I believe if you move from BT to Sky fibre there is a physical change at the exchange, whether that is covered by line rental or a separate charge, it needs to be paid for somehow. With gas and electric, there is no physical change, just a different billing company.

lee111s

boatman wrote: »

I believe if you move from BT to Sky fibre there is a physical change at the exchange, whether that is covered by line rental or a separate charge, it needs to be paid for somehow. With gas and electric, there is no physical change, just a different billing company.

The physical change is at the cab for the fibre connection (which would then be handed over to Sky's backhaul via the Layer2switch. There's another physical change done at the exchange for the telephony side as you'd be moved to sky's LLU kit from the main distribution frame.