How long to install BT 'full fibre' & what to expect?

B0bbyEwing

Am booked in for an install. BT Live Chat can be a bit painful & often they never pay attention to what you've actually asked so I'm here for people who've actually had this done & can comment on real-world installs rather than just some sales pitch being read off a monitor.

So how long realistically should I expect this to take?

If it matters then the current broadband comes from the telegraph pole down the front of the house & in to the box & then on to the Smart Hub 2 router that's next to it.

Anything I should be aware of?

Out of curiosity, can they come through the exact same hole as the current install or not?
We've had damp work carried out & this will be below 1.5mtr. We were told by the damp guys that any break in the DPC will require being treated again. For those who may read that and poo-poo it as nonsense ... it clearly isn't as it was broken elsewhere & you can see damp patches 'leaking' out as the area wasn't then treated.

So if it can't be used then we'd just have to have the box installed quite high to save any faffing.

flaneurs_lobster

One factor that's relevant is that the ONT (the "box") needs a power supply, might limit where it's able to be sited.

B0bbyEwing

flaneurs_lobster said:

One factor that's relevant is that the ONT (the "box") needs a power supply, might limit where it's able to be sited.

Is that different to the router? So 2x power supplies would be required? 

Wouldn't be a problem as the mains is right below the router & since we ditched the land-line there's a spare slot. 

flaneurs_lobster

B0bbyEwing said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

One factor that's relevant is that the ONT (the "box") needs a power supply, might limit where it's able to be sited.

Is that different to the router? So 2x power supplies would be required? 

Yes, it's in addition to the router (the SmartHub if you're getting BT). It's a box about the same size as the router that's attached to the wall, much like the old BT Master Socket was.

https://www.bt.com/help/broadband/whats-an-openreach-modem-ont

Le_Kirk

It took about two weeks from the "surveyor" marking out the route (why they didn't use an existing channel carrying CityFibre is beyond me) to start and then two days to actually dig the channel.  Every time I chased them they said they were waiting for the local council to give permission to cross the pavement (even though it had been done before).  Then another week's wait for an Openreach engineer to come and fit the ONT and make the final connection.  This took 4 hours with most of the time spent by the engineer on hold to the head office in India trying to work out why it didn't connect!  It turned out they had my phone number wrong.  After that it all went (comparatively) smoothly!  I did learn a lot from the experience such that I have been able to help neighbours when they had problems.  And yes you do need a power supply for the ONT and the router.

35har1old

B0bbyEwing said:

Am booked in for an install. BT Live Chat can be a bit painful & often they never pay attention to what you've actually asked so I'm here for people who've actually had this done & can comment on real-world installs rather than just some sales pitch being read off a monitor.

So how long realistically should I expect this to take?

If it matters then the current broadband comes from the telegraph pole down the front of the house & in to the box & then on to the Smart Hub 2 router that's next to it.

Anything I should be aware of?

Out of curiosity, can they come through the exact same hole as the current install or not?
We've had damp work carried out & this will be below 1.5mtr. We were told by the damp guys that any break in the DPC will require being treated again. For those who may read that and poo-poo it as nonsense ... it clearly isn't as it was broken elsewhere & you can see damp patches 'leaking' out as the area wasn't then treated.

So if it can't be used then we'd just have to have the box installed quite high to save any faffing.

Are you currently full fibre?
Who is the current provider?
If it not full fibre there's usally a outside box mounted on exterior wall and another internal box.

B0bbyEwing

35har1old said:

B0bbyEwing said:

Am booked in for an install. BT Live Chat can be a bit painful & often they never pay attention to what you've actually asked so I'm here for people who've actually had this done & can comment on real-world installs rather than just some sales pitch being read off a monitor.

So how long realistically should I expect this to take?

If it matters then the current broadband comes from the telegraph pole down the front of the house & in to the box & then on to the Smart Hub 2 router that's next to it.

Anything I should be aware of?

Out of curiosity, can they come through the exact same hole as the current install or not?
We've had damp work carried out & this will be below 1.5mtr. We were told by the damp guys that any break in the DPC will require being treated again. For those who may read that and poo-poo it as nonsense ... it clearly isn't as it was broken elsewhere & you can see damp patches 'leaking' out as the area wasn't then treated.

So if it can't be used then we'd just have to have the box installed quite high to save any faffing.

Are you currently full fibre?
Who is the current provider?
If it not full fibre there's usally a outside box mounted on exterior wall and another internal box.

No
BT

Thanks for the replies all. 

I hope they can do everything on the date they're booked in & that date isn't to just have a look around because if so then unless they can make it back out that week then I'm back at work after that so no-can-do. 

gt568

Mine took 40 minutes.

Username03725

Assume they arrive on schedule...

They’ll need to run a length of fibre from the nearest connection point – ours was 50 yards up the road – and into your house by the most convenient route. What’s convenient to them may not be convenient to you so check with them what  they intend to use as the fibre entry point into your property. For us it was existing ducting that was laid when our part of the world was built, so it was easy. It may require a small trench to your property though. Again, ask them.

The incoming fibre cable is v narrow, maybe an eighth of an inch diameter. It’ll terminate into a modem that they’ll fit on your internal wall near to the entry point (probably behind your tv) and will need a mains power supply of the type we often call a wall wart. That’s your FTTP installed. They’ll power it up and complete the connection to your ISP at the other end.

The last thing is to install the router. This also needs its own PS but can be anywhere you choose to put it. The limitation is that it connects to the new wall modem via an Ethernet cable so the two boxes will probably be physically close to each other. Ethernet can be up to 100 metres away though, so if you need to put it elsewhere and can hide the cable or don’t mind it showing you have a lot of flexibility. The router will probably have 3 outgoing ports plus wireless. If you need more ports a cheap switch will give you the expansion you need.

The job takes as long as it takes to get the fibre into your house, fit a modem to the wall, power it up and complete the connection back to your provider. Ours took an hour. Make sure you have enough spare mains outlets - an extension lead or one of those 3-way adaptors will do as the two boxes are very low current devices.