Hyperoptic socket already in my home is a cat5 connection; does that mean I don't need a router?

GervisLooper

I am a bit confused by this?

I have ordered today (online) and the newbuild already had the hyperoptic socket installed.

Since it is a cat5 connection do I not need a router and can I just plug my computer straight into the socket (once I arrange activation)?

I spoke to 'live chat' but it was either a bot or someone who would not deviate from their script as I couldn't get any useful info out of them. They just told me they have sent out a router in the post but couldn't get clarification on my issue above.

I tried ringing but I have abysmal signal in this building so I got cut off once I connected and again when she rang back.

In the last place I lived you just plugged the cat5 cable from your PC direct into the wall for internet which made me wonder if this would be the same situ here as I have never known a router to plug into cat5 then another cat5 to the computer (though I am not too used to dealing with fibre so could be wrong).

Just looking for someone to clarify as it would save me some time and back and forth/trying to get through to support and getting a decisive answer if I didn't need one as I am thinking maybe there is a communal router for the different floors/the whole building, since it was already preinstalled.
EDIT: Ah managed to find this picture after some digging:
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/wp-content/gallery/cache/3336__500x550_hyperoptic_fttp__fttb_wall_install.jpg
So I am assuming from the picture that indeed I do still need a router and the cat5 is 'normal' to plug the router in with. I just had not experienced that before and was hard to find anything to say one way or the other.

matelodave

I guess it depends what sort of interface there is to allow you to log onto your ISP without using a router to handle the passwords and protocols etc to log onto your ISP and supply your IP address.

The ONT is there to provide an interface between the incoming optical fibre and the WAN so AFAIK doesn't offer a routing function.

That piccy looks very much like a router and the wan side will be taken back to the Optical Networking Terminal or even an ethernet switch/patch panel depending how the system is configured in your building.

Mine's not Hyperoptic but I have an ONT on the wall where the fibre terminates and then a Cat5 connection to my router. Never actually tried plugging the computer into the ONT to see what happens or if I could log on.

iniltous

I suspect the way HO deliver their service, that the incoming fibre will terminate in the building basement or some other common area, and from the HO switch/router or whatever distribution system HO employ , an Ethernet cable  run to each customer....the chances are that cable could be plugged into one device’s Ethernet port ( but that’s hardly user friendly) so a local wireless access point / ‘router’ is fitted on the customers end of the Ethernet cable in the property so multiple devices can connect simultaneously .
Playing devils advocate here, arguably that would make HO and similar providers ‘fibre to the basement’  rather than FTTP, yet they complain that others market hybrid fibre/copper services as ‘fibre’, I accept that an Ethernet cable is superior to a twisted copper pair, and likely to be less than 100m in length , it’s not that far removed.

Takmon

GervisLooper said:

I am a bit confused by this?

I have ordered today (online) and the newbuild already had the hyperoptic socket installed.

Since it is a cat5 connection do I not need a router and can I just plug my computer straight into the socket (once I arrange activation)?

I spoke to 'live chat' but it was either a bot or someone who would not deviate from their script as I couldn't get any useful info out of them. They just told me they have sent out a router in the post but couldn't get clarification on my issue above.

I tried ringing but I have abysmal signal in this building so I got cut off once I connected and again when she rang back.

In the last place I lived you just plugged the cat5 cable from your PC direct into the wall for internet which made me wonder if this would be the same situ here as I have never known a router to plug into cat5 then another cat5 to the computer (though I am not too used to dealing with fibre so could be wrong).

Just looking for someone to clarify as it would save me some time and back and forth/trying to get through to support and getting a decisive answer if I didn't need one as I am thinking maybe there is a communal router for the different floors/the whole building, since it was already preinstalled.
EDIT: Ah managed to find this picture after some digging:
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/wp-content/gallery/cache/3336__500x550_hyperoptic_fttp__fttb_wall_install.jpg
So I am assuming from the picture that indeed I do still need a router and the cat5 is 'normal' to plug the router in with. I just had not experienced that before and was hard to find anything to say one way or the other.

If that was the case then all devices in the building would have been on the same network which was a massive security risk and would be a hackers dream making it easier to access information on any devices people had plugged into it who like you didn't understand network security.

What most people think of as a "router" is also actually a modem and that is the part that plugs into a phone line to get the internet connection. Routers always plug into a network directly and you will want a router because it will have a built in firewall to only allow communication over internet communication ports to prevent other people snooping for open ports on devices you have plugged into it to try and take advantage of them.

GervisLooper

Takmon said:
If that was the case then all devices in the building would have been on the same network which was a massive security risk and would be a hackers dream making it easier to access information on any devices people had plugged into it who like you didn't understand network security.

What most people think of as a "router" is also actually a modem and that is the part that plugs into a phone line to get the internet connection. Routers always plug into a network directly and you will want a router because it will have a built in firewall to only allow communication over internet communication ports to prevent other people snooping for open ports on devices you have plugged into it to try and take advantage of them.

Well you don't need a router for the firewall. I use linux and its own firewall is heavy duty.

Anyway, I went live today. Fantastic experience with them; customer service par excellence. I was up and going in less than a week, the mirror opposite of the John Lewis fiasco; but a 2 minute browse of trustpilot would tell the same story.

The only thing I wasn't expecting, being full fibre, is that they heavily throttle the upload speed to only 5mbs. I was expecting 50 up and down and thought there was an error on the line til they told me no that is how the package is, via support. They deliberately hide that on the sales page and it is only visible if you click around a while on the site- I never thought to check that at sign up, as I just presumed it would be the same up and down and especially since I got their 100mb package a few years ago which was same up and down but seems they have done away with 100mbits completely and the 'mirrored' (as they called it) up/down only starts at the 150mb and up packages.

I presume this arbitrary throttling is to make you want to move to bigger packages and to just give enough to be competitive with other companies' price points. It wouldn't have changed my decision since i was only hunting the cheapest package for a stable wired connection, which it still is as it comes to £16.90 a month.

Do most other providers throttle the upload on their smaller fibre packages, the comparison on hyperoptic shows other companies do to a varying degree, I doubt they can outright lie about the other companies and because my premises is fibre only it comes up with errors on most other sites when doing property checks so haven't been able to look. Anyway doesn't matter to me, I have no need to look further because as I said it was just about price and the speed is way more than I need anyway but was just surprised to only get 5mb upload- which really isn't generous but not to be sniffed at, on comparison I was initially going to get a copper package for a little more monthly which would probably only allowed me 1mbs, its just the relative thought if knowing how much they deliberately stymie a full fibre line arbitrarily but that is inconsequential to my needs . Just interesting to know about from a business standpoint.

I mean I could have put 50 upload to use as I might have used the home connection for work, which is what I was thinking of doing but I will just continue to rent remote servers which have at least 100/100 and often 1gbs these days. That simplifies the matter by ruling that out and shall continue as I had done for many years already.