BT Fibre 100 install question (or any direct to house install)

matelodave

keanefan said:

Thanks@littleboo. Looks like this is going to be a nightmare.

why do you think its going to be nightmare. I had fibre installed some five years ago when they were still learning how to do it and it took just over an hour as he had to take down the old copper connection and replace it with optical fibre. Most of that time was spent shinning up and down the pole.

I've also watched it being installed underground and and several friends in various parts of the country have had it installed and so far no one I know has had your perceived nightmare. That's not to say that some people don't have problems but they are the ones that shout about it from the rooftops.

The other 99% who don't have a problem just get on with life and dont feel the need to comment

iniltous

keanefan said:

Hello. 
I have a similar query about cabling.
I am with Virgin Media but possibly going to switch provider later this month. I would like to know whether my house would need new cable if I switched, or whether the new provider can use the existing cable.

I haven't switched provider for around 30 years (since Nynex or whatever it was then), so admit to being clueless.
TIA.

Only Virgin can use Virgin, so if considering an alternative, the question of new cable depends, chances are Openreach copper cable exists, and if FTTP isn’t yet available in your area , it’s probably possible to reactivate the copper pair , however if it’s been 30 years since it were last used , who knows what will happen , if Openreach FTTP or an Alternative Network are available, then yes you will need a new cable installed, the one thing for sure is that other companies will not be using the Virgin cable.

B0bbyEwing

iniltous said:

BUT, even though this is encouraging - there's still the issue of my current deal expiring within days & the next time I can be at the house for someone to come out is much much later in the year, so we'd end up with half a year on a rolling contract.

TBH , there is nothing that can be done about that , if this isn’t your main residence so you are not normally present, and you can’t visit it specifically to oversee the FTTP installation ( or nominate someone to act on your behalf ) then you only really have the choice to allow your current deal to become an ‘out of contract’ one , on a rolling 30 day notice to quit  , paying more that if you were inside a minimum term ….if you change provider or  re-contract that will require FTTP to be installed as once FTTP is available it becomes the default network for new and recontracting customers, so if you can only visit to let the FTTP installation take place much later in the year then you will be staying on what you currently have but paying an out of contract price for it …

If you don’t live here , why do you need broadband at all ? 

I'm curious why you assume I don't live here?

timjim

B0bbyEwing said:

iniltous said:

Your home is obviously served via a telegraph pole the checker shows that . ( you did mention flaps in the footpath and queried those property’s without front gardens ) , so the entry point for an overhead feed can be pretty much where you want it ( within reason ) many customers fed from poles have the  feed taken in at a first floor level , obviously the line ( copper or fibre )  ‘hits’ the building at height, and runs ‘down’ a wall  , not fed underground and fed ‘up’ a wall, I dare say most will want the fibre to follow the existing copper pair route into the house

….perhaps you thought FTTP can only be underground, that not the case , FTTP from Openreach generally is the same method as the existing copper pair , and if that is overhead , that’s what the FTTP will be  too.

This is the relevant part of the checker 

Our records show the following FTTP network service information for these premises:-Single Dwelling Unit Residential OH Feed with no anticipated issues.
FTTP is available and a new ONT may be ordered.

Thanks for that. 

I mentioned the flaps in the footpath because I assumed that's where the cabling would be coming out of (as in this new cabling, not the existing stuff).

So if our existing cabling is from the telegraph pole (and so from above) then the new cabling will mirror that too? I'm not so against it now if that's the case.

And you're right, I assumed it would hit the house on an underground level. 


BUT, even though this is encouraging - there's still the issue of my current deal expiring within days & the next time I can be at the house for someone to come out is much much later in the year, so we'd end up with half a year on a rolling contract.

You said you can't be at the house until later in the year

B0bbyEwing

timjim said:

B0bbyEwing said:

iniltous said:

Your home is obviously served via a telegraph pole the checker shows that . ( you did mention flaps in the footpath and queried those property’s without front gardens ) , so the entry point for an overhead feed can be pretty much where you want it ( within reason ) many customers fed from poles have the  feed taken in at a first floor level , obviously the line ( copper or fibre )  ‘hits’ the building at height, and runs ‘down’ a wall  , not fed underground and fed ‘up’ a wall, I dare say most will want the fibre to follow the existing copper pair route into the house

….perhaps you thought FTTP can only be underground, that not the case , FTTP from Openreach generally is the same method as the existing copper pair , and if that is overhead , that’s what the FTTP will be  too.

This is the relevant part of the checker 

Our records show the following FTTP network service information for these premises:-Single Dwelling Unit Residential OH Feed with no anticipated issues.
FTTP is available and a new ONT may be ordered.

Thanks for that. 

I mentioned the flaps in the footpath because I assumed that's where the cabling would be coming out of (as in this new cabling, not the existing stuff).

So if our existing cabling is from the telegraph pole (and so from above) then the new cabling will mirror that too? I'm not so against it now if that's the case.

And you're right, I assumed it would hit the house on an underground level. 


BUT, even though this is encouraging - there's still the issue of my current deal expiring within days & the next time I can be at the house for someone to come out is much much later in the year, so we'd end up with half a year on a rolling contract.

You said you can't be at the house until later in the year

Yes, I can't be at the house when they want to meet me for this job until later in the year.

Because everyone wants to do things between the hours of 9 & 5 (approx) and unfortunately I start work a good bit before that & finish after that & get home even further after that.

And nobody ever wants to do these things on the weekend.

Which limits me to when I have annual leave booked ... which is later in the year.

iniltous

Openreach do offer non standard appointments ( weekends etc ) to ISP’s , but they are at a premium to a standard weekday appointment, and because most ISP offer ‘free’ installation ( it’s not free , they absorb the cost over the term of the contract ) they are not going to pay the extra Openreach charge for a booked weekend appointment, unless the customer is willing to forgo the ‘free’ install and pay for it  , some smaller niche ISP’s  will use this outside normal hours facility that Openreach offer ( asking their customer to pay the increased cost ) some ISP ( the major ones ) don’t bother offering it as it just complicates things .

….a further potential annoyance is that at OR’s discretion they do work weekends , if the workload requires it , so you could end up with someone paying ‘extra’ for a weekend attendance, and someone else with a future ( standard) Monday to Friday appointment , being contracted and asked if they would like the job done on Saturday for ‘free’ as it suits Openreach plans .

Obviously if you can’t be there and there isn’t someone you can ask to attend on your behalf , and the next leave you can take from work is not for 6 months , unless you use an ISP that will arrange a weekend slot ( and you are prepared to pay the premium ) then that’s the way it is .