Communicating with City Fibre is a nightmare

iwaddo77

I had an exchange of emails about my installation with City Fibre, they simply sent me links to their FAQ pages. My questions were not addressed so I emailed again and again and again, they are quite literally ignoring me. I even tried a message on X which they ignored.

At the same time their marketing machine keeps emailing me asking why I've not yet switched to the new full fibre service.

Has anyone had a similar experience or unlocked the secret of how to communicate with them?

daveyjp

What is your query?  All my pre install communication was through my selected ISP.

iwaddo77

I am asking City Fibre as I’ve not selected an ISP.

My query relates to my garden. I believe there is a plastic cable pipe or conduit from the large ‘BT’ box in the pavement outside my house that runs under my garden and surfaces by the side of my house. My existing copper connection appears to come out of this conduit and I want to be certain the new fibre connection will use this conduit. I also believe it has a string in to pull new cable through. 

If I cannot validate how the fibre will be delivered then I’m not buying it.

Who brings the fibre to my house, City Fibre or their subcontractor or my new ISP?

Thank you for your help. 

Cloth_of_Gold

iwaddo77 said:

I am asking City Fibre as I’ve not selected an ISP.

My query relates to my garden. I believe there is a plastic cable pipe or conduit from the large ‘BT’ box in the pavement outside my house that runs under my garden and surfaces by the side of my house. My existing copper connection appears to come out of this conduit and I want to be certain the new fibre connection will use this conduit. I also believe it has a string in to pull new cable through. 

If I cannot validate how the fibre will be delivered then I’m not buying it.

Who brings the fibre to my house, City Fibre or their subcontractor or my new ISP?

Thank you for your help. 

 I don't know about City Fibre but when I switched to fibre it was the ISP who brought the fibre from the street into my home. Some of my neighbours have fibre with a different ISP and it was the same for them.

littleboo

It depends if Cityfibre are paying to use Openreach ducts.

iwaddo77

The street is ducted, no digging required to lay the fibre except where they connected the new green boxes to the existing ducts. 

Where others on the street have switched I’m sure they were City Fibre vans, in fact I’m sure it was the same team that laid the fibre. 

Some of the companies I can buy a fibre service from feel like resellers, would each one have its own installation teams?

400ixl

Like OpenReach, City Fibre would have no contract with you, they would only deal with their resellers. You would be better speaking to the supplier of your choice who can speak to City Fibre if required.

iwaddo77

Thank you, I will try that. 

My next challenge is finding it which WiFi equipment they each supply and whether they will provide a booster if required. My existing service from Sky is stable and the WiFi works, I don’t want to take a step backwards for a bit extra download speed. 

daveyjp

In my area Cityfibre use Openreach infrastructure for the final connection link. The Cityfibre cables therefore run from their ducts and boxes onto the existing Openreach telegraph pole.

Kelly communications working for Cityfibre did the install on behalf of my ISP.

If you have Cityfibre in your area it may be easier when you see one of their vans to have a chat with one of their engineers and ask if they use existing Openreach ducts across private gardens.

iwaddo77

That’s a good idea. 

I’ve asked my neighbour who said they did not dig up the garden. I think this answers my question.

I am trying to get to the point of sending them away if they want to dig up the garden. 

iniltous

If City Fibre leech onto the existing Openreach infrastructure, and you have an Openreach duct to your home from the footpath, then if CF do use PIA ( physical infrastructure access )  as that’s the cheapest option , that’s what they will use , however, its unknown , until it’s tried , if that duct is clear or blocked , if it’s blocked , then CF ( or one of their contractors ) will address that problem, that could include excavating your garden if that’s where the blockage is ( if there is one ) 

If your neighbour had CF installed , and your property is similar age, construction etc, then your install will be using the same method .

As far as what equipment you will get , that’s entirely dependent on the ISP you chose , as stated CF are like Openreach, they provide the network up to the ONT , the rest is up to the ISP so until you chose an ISP , you won’t know what router etc you will be getting