Networking questions...

RachaelT123

Hi,

Sorry if this post ends up being quite long!

I have a physical disability so definitely cannot do the wiring (but could say install a router, for example)

Expecting an EE FTTP connection to be installed on Friday to replace my awful Virgin Media connection (gaming is particularly awful! - even testing on Ethernet with a laptop) that has line faults that haven't been corrected after 4 visits as well.

There's two things I have identified that will need doing:

1. OpenReach only install the internal cabling for up to 10 metres from the entry point (in my case, the cabling for FTTP is underground - so cannot be run overhead) - this is problematic as our current Virgin install is in the living room, so will need a longer Ethernet cable run (otherwise WiFi signal will be poor for other devices + the SkyQ we are getting won't be able to connect through Ethernet). In particular, I've heard the SkyQ box needs Ethernet as WiFi is poor anywaya

2. The gaming PC I have upstairs needs Ethernet (I have looked into Powerline adapters but believe they would be poor -  as I have heard Powerline adapters are not good for gaming + the wiring in the house is easily 30+ years old, so probably not suitable anyway)

I have received quotes of between £150-200 for the second part from electricians/AV people - which seems expensive, considering the cable is probably £40 at most and maybe 1-2 hours to install - haven't got a quote fo the first part, but expecting it to be even more...

What would be considered a reasonable price - and are there any cheaper alternatives I haven't considered?

Newcad

The quoted charge seems about average, I think that you will struggle to find cheaper.

Around £70 an hour for labour, plus the cost of materials seems to be about the norm for 'small' jobs like that.

Edit, you may find a local 'one man business' that may do it for less, or a helpful friend/neighbour to run the cable for you?

facade

Can't you just replace the Virgin modem/router with the BT Superhub?

Won't the Openreach fibre just come in alongside the Virgin?

How does the upstairs PC get it's ethernet?

I just replaced my Virgin modem/router with a switch (because the upstairs link cable and the PC were right next to it) and ran a single flat ethernet cable from the BT superhub to the switch.

Getting someone to turn up costs around £45, then they charge £50 an hour so £150 to £200 is about right to spend a couple of hours fitting cables.

(Just try getting builders/roofers in, they charge about £1000 a day- £500-£600 for a morning's work, which really stings when £1000 represents a year's worth of discretionary income...)

PHK

Is the existing cabling not okay?

droopsnoot

Back when I used to do this all the time, our standard charge was £100 per run for a single network cable run of up to ten metres inside a single building. We'd be up on some, and not on others, by the time you take into account convoluted cable paths, access, and so on.

Based on that (I haven't done this for more than ten years) the quoted prices don't seem that unreasonable, but you might be able to get them decreased if you're happy to have cabling more visible, or if you can show that the installation paths aren't that difficult, but it's very difficult to gauge whether it's a reasonable price without knowing more about that. If I had to run ethernet from my router to upstairs, it would be quite a tricky installation unless I was prepared to have box trunking all over the place, and hiding it properly would make it much more expensive and involve lifting carpets and so on.

RachaelT123

Thanks guys.

Agree the £150-200 quotes don’t seem unreasonable. However, someone else visited me yesterday and quoted  £600 for the whole thing because he thinks he would need to relocate the ONT, which shouldn’t be done by him anyway (and he doesn’t - just need another Cat5e/6 cable run I believe!) 

Unfortunately the BT/OR guys will only run up to 10m of internal cable. I saw a neighbour getting installed and as far as I can tell, the fibre wiring is round the front and appears to be underground. 

I’ve tried to find a local handyman but am so far failing miserably - I’ve posted in local Facebook groups and on Nextdoor but all I’m getting is electricians! 

RachaelT123

Sorry forgot to say - 10m would get me to the entrance of the lounge possibly, but not anywhere near where the VM hub is currently.

Unfortunately I don’t think I have very techie friends/neighbours - the thing I’d be concerned about drilling maybe the cable from the ONT to where the hub needs to go (with some help) is that if they install it on the side where there is plug sockets - there’s no skirting boards etc, so it would be quite disruptive. 

droopsnoot

These are all the things that put people off running cables around the house - the disruption to furniture, decoration and so on. The actual cable bit is relatively trivial - I could run a cable, it's rectifying the rest, or knowing how to not disturb it, that causes me a problem.

GunJack

facade said:

I just replaced my Virgin modem/router with a switch (because the upstairs link cable and the PC were right next to it) and ran a single flat ethernet cable from the BT superhub to the switch.

this is probably your easiest & cheapest solution, as it won't disturb your existing cable runs...it may well also give you a bit more flexibility with the location of the bt hub.

RachaelT123

Update: so the ONT has actually been installed in a reasonable location (was quite surprised that the Openreach sub took it nearer to the TV) 

WiFi signal is still quite poor - on top of the issues with PC gaming (which I do plan to get an Ethernet cable to - got a reasonable price for that) - what would help to improve this?