Broadband switch and "fibre". What are BT playing at?

Snowclock

Richard_T_ said:

I'm all for calling a spade a spade and so on, and Internet comp[anies shold never have been allowed to call their copper products "fibre" when the were/are copper .

 using the same logic you could call dial up "fibre" as it probably involves a fibre optic cable somewhere in the chain .

 

As linked to above, the broadband checker wholesale site is a good place to go, as is what you can see locally.

 If you are in an areas with phone poles and overhead wires you need to look out for a little yellow square stating "caution Fibre overhead" as well as some domed plastic  things on some of the poles about a third of the way up, as well as some little blocks at the top with connectors coming off them

Thanks. Haven't seen anything like that, but I'll do a check. I suspect everything's still copper, though.

Snowclock

iniltous said:

What does this wholesale checker site return for your address ( as you are not yet and may not ever be a BT customer , use your address rather than phone number  )
This checker uses VDSL as the indicator of FTTC ( fibre to the cabinet ) so if you had used this before making any order you would see what ‘products’ are available , all mainstream providers use the term ‘fibre’ when it’s fibre to the cab, ( including Virgin Media with their hybrid fibre/copper network ) ISP tend to use terms like ‘full fibre’ , or Hyperfast, for FTTP ( fibre to the premises ) , as you admit , you should have probably have asked , or done some research, especially as you know there were going to be issues, no one takes an order for FTTP before the infrastructure is close to the curtilage of the property.
FWIW, BT has no more or less influence on Openreach than anyone else, and using inaccurate terms like BT/OR simply add to the confusion over who does what, they are functionally separate company’s,   it’s OR that provide the network, copper or fibre, not BT.
You don’t say what sort of broadband you have ( presumably exchange based ADSL ) so an upgrade to FTTC may be worthwhile, from a speed point of view, but obviously will still be using the copper cable to your home that you suspect is a fault liability 

Here we go. Good or bad?...I suspect, bad.

littleboo

As the table shows, you have FTTC available, not FTTP

Snowclock

littleboo said:

As the table shows, you have FTTC available, not FTTP

...which is bad news. It's a little confusing, though, because it says "FTTP on demand" is marked as "available"?

Snowclock

iniltous said:

The regulator and advertising authorities had no problem with VM ( or their predecessors) calling their hybrid fibre /copper network ‘Fibre broadband’ so when OR provided a hybrid fibre/copper network and also used the term ‘Fibre’ they could hardly object and be remain to be seen even handed.
FWIW, given that anyone purchasing a FTTC product gets an estimate of the speed they should get and if that speed is delivered then does it matter if it’s copper or fibre, or a mixture  , it’s also (IMHO) ludicrous to suggest that if someone ( like me ) who got 3Mb ADSL and now gets 80Mb from FTTC would not upgrade because it’s not ‘full fibre’…the ASA could have initially objected to the term ‘fibre’ being used on anything other than FTTP , but they didn’t, there is no point complaining now.

I'm pleased that you're getting 80mb, and you're happy with your FTTC upgrade. That sounds like speedy connection.

But it sort of gets away from the main reason I wanted fibre (which it turns out what I was desiring was FTTP, not FTTC). I thought it would heavily help with the reliability issues with my line, the fact that about every 6 months, when there's a huge down pour, some box somewhere nearby floods and my phone line turns into crackling mess, and the internet becomes exceptionally unreliable or even fails altogether, as I'm pretty sure fibre optic is much less susceptible to water damage. Or a month ago, when a cow decided to pull the wire up out of the farmer's field altogether, and I had no phone or internet for days.

The speed boost would have been a nice, if unneeded bonus, that I wasn't that bothered about. But  I'd take my ADSL over FTTC any day if it was reliable and the phone line was too.

Thanks.

littleboo

Snowclock said:

littleboo said:

As the table shows, you have FTTC available, not FTTP

...which is bad news. It's a little confusing, though, because it says "FTTP on demand" is marked as "available"?

FTTP OD is a different product. You pay for the construction charges to get the fibre to your door.  You pay the construction charges to get the fibre to your door. Only a few ISP's offer FTTP OD

Snowclock

littleboo said:

Snowclock said:

littleboo said:

As the table shows, you have FTTC available, not FTTP

...which is bad news. It's a little confusing, though, because it says "FTTP on demand" is marked as "available"?

FTTP OD is a different product. You pay for the construction charges to get the fibre to your door.  You pay the construction charges to get the fibre to your door. Only a few ISP's offer FTTP OD

Thanks.

I guess we're probably talking £ hundreds, if nobody else has got it close by.

JJ_Egan

£35 K last time i saw a price , but that was for a few houses and not OpenReach .

matelodave

Snowclock said:

littleboo said:

Snowclock said:

littleboo said:

As the table shows, you have FTTC available, not FTTP

...which is bad news. It's a little confusing, though, because it says "FTTP on demand" is marked as "available"?

FTTP OD is a different product. You pay for the construction charges to get the fibre to your door.  You pay the construction charges to get the fibre to your door. Only a few ISP's offer FTTP OD

Thanks.

I guess we're probably talking £ hundreds, if nobody else has got it close by.

No, you are talking £1000's as you end up paying for the whole installation incluing the cost of poles and any excavation/cable laying etc.

Snowclock

JJ_Egan said:

£35 K last time i saw a price , but that was for a few houses and not OpenReach .

Bleedin' he...