Cityfibre using BT Openreach cable?

CRAIGEMMA

Will be moving to Cityfibre in coming months. Spotted a city fibre van across from me today so asked them about my connection.
The reply was "you already have fibre to the premises with open reach grey box on wall, we will just use the same cable so won't need to touch the driveway and simply put a new box on the wall beside that BT one"

Everywhere I have read states they don't use open reach cables...  so I am slightly confused.

It then got me thinking... if using same cable, how do they do symmetrical download / upload when BT can't?

Any thoughts?

daveyjp

He may mean they use the fibre optic cable already serving your property, so no need to string a new one.  It only needs disconnecting from Openreach box on the pole, connect to Cityfibre box on the same pole and connect the other end to a new box at your property.

Keep_pedalling

My understanding is that they do use some OR infrastructure such as poles and duct, but the actual fibres are their own. When I lived in Cambridge they installed their own ducts in our street but used OR poles to get fibre to your home.  

CRAIGEMMA

Keep_pedalling said:

My understanding is that they do use some OR infrastructure such as poles and duct, but the actual fibres are their own. When I lived in Cambridge they installed their own ducts in our street but used OR poles to get fibre to your home.  

Thank you. so they would need to dig up somewhere just use same duct as BT used I'm guessing re what they meant!  

iniltous

If the City Fibre guy said they use the Openreach cable they are wrong , they may use the same duct that the Openreach  cable is inside , but they install their own cable from the footpath to their own CSP (or whatever they call their equivalent ) that’s a block on the outside wall ,  and run a new optical cable to the position of their own ONT inside the property, if you have FTTP from an Openreach based provider already  , and the City Fibre ONT is to be in the same place as the Openreach ONT , then there  will be two cables alongside each other one CF and one OR as well as two ONTs , you don’t have to keep the OR ONT powered up , but it should not be removed…..if you only have copper based services from Openreach , then those copper cables are no use anyway, but CF shouldn’t touch any Openreach cables , copper or optical, as they are not their property, that why they install their own.

There is a lot of misinformation being given here , from people who although presumably well meaning are completely wrong and have no clue about these things  ….if City Fibre are available alongside Openreach , it’s the physical infrastructure CF are allowed to leech onto ,that is  ducts , joinboxes, poles , not the optical cables themselves…as far as asymmetrical or symmetrical speeds that’s nothing to do with the optical cables which are agnostic to the version of PON technology being used, GPON , XGPON or XGSPON  …the cables are just single mode fibre cables , and are   inherently the same type of cabling  .

CF do not use Openreach cables , if they did and got caught they would be in trouble, that’s if the OR cable or cables had the same connectors so would physically plug into the City Fibre network equipment , CF should install their own cabling and leave the OR cables alone , either the muppet  from CF was misinformed, was taking the mick or you misunderstood what they said .

If the CF installer disconnected the OR cables for example  from the Openreach CSP , connected it  (spliced it ) to the CF CSP to save running an internal cable themselves, and at the ONT they swapped the optical cable plug from the Openreach ONT to CF ONT , although this would work , it’s not allowed and if you saw them doing it , it’s just to save them time , you should strongly object , and as stated that installer would get sacked if that theft of OR cabling was discovered by Openreach or even the City Fibre auditor or management, it’s just not allowed.

CRAIGEMMA

There is a lot of misinformation being given here , from people who although presumably well meaning are completely wrong and have no clue about these things  ….if City Fibre are available alongside Openreach , it’s the physical infrastructure CF are allowed to leech onto ,that is  ducts , joinboxes, poles , not the optical cables themselves…as far as asymmetrical or symmetrical speeds that’s nothing to do with the optical cables which are agnostic to the version of PON technology being used, PON , GPON or XGSPON  …the cables are just single mode fibre cables , and are   inherently the same type of cabling  .

CF do not use Openreach cables , if they did and got caught they would be in trouble, that’s if the OR cable or cables had the same connectors so would physically plug into the City Fibre network equipment , CF should install their own cabling and leave the OR cables alone , either the muppet  from CF was misinformed, was taking the mick or you misunderstood what they said .

If the CF installer disconnected the OR cables for example  from the Openreach CSP , connected it  (spliced it ) to the CF CSP to save running an internal cable themselves, and at the ONT they swapped the optical cable plug from the Openreach ONT to CF ONT , although this would work , it’s not allowed and if you saw them doing it , it’s just to save them time , you should strongly object , and as stated that installer would get sacked if that theft of OR cabling was discovered by Openreach or even the City Fibre auditor or management, it’s just not allowed.

Thank you. So when arrive I will keep eye on them. Probably just advise im keeping other line active to ensure they dont mess with it ! 

It was a "kelly communications" on behalf of city fibre worker. 

iniltous

That’s probably a good idea , say you are keeping the OR based service that way they definitely won’t interfere with it ,

TBH , I doubt they would interfere with the Openreach cabling or any other OR kit anyway , the contractor probably was only referring to the Openreach duct as the context was around not having to touch the driveway ….that of course is if the existing Openreach duct that City Fibre are allowed access to , is in a serviceable condition, if it’s blocked or damaged in a way that stops CF putting their own cable in , then they will need to clear the stoppage or provide a new duct their own duct and that may  require excavation of the driveway , if they can’t unblock the OR duct any other way.

Noonehere

City Fibre install the service but don’t supply the end user. You’ll buy a contract from Lit or Andrews & Arnold or Talk Talk etc. Here in St Albans CF DO use OR. We had service put in a month ago. OR van arrived to string fibre from manhole, up one pole to our pole and fit the CBT, the fibre to our house ends in grey OR box on wall, Kelly on behalf of City then installed internal fibre to a City (not OR) ONT. So in an area where City use OR I don’t know what they’ll do when they find OR fibre already installed? OR are dead against installing multiple fibres to the same address, but a dedicated City install in parallel with OR no one’d be bothered about, a ‘traditional’ OR & a City over OR???? Keep us posted 

iniltous

Noonehere said:

City Fibre install the service but don’t supply the end user. You’ll buy a contract from Lit or Andrews & Arnold or Talk Talk etc. Here in St Albans CF DO use OR. We had service put in a month ago. OR van arrived to string fibre from manhole, up one pole to our pole and fit the CBT, the fibre to our house ends in grey OR box on wall, Kelly on behalf of City then installed internal fibre to a City (not OR) ONT. So in an area where City use OR I don’t know what they’ll do when they find OR fibre already installed? OR are dead against installing multiple fibres to the same address, but a dedicated City install in parallel with OR no one’d be bothered about, a ‘traditional’ OR & a City over OR???? Keep us posted 

Care to show photos of your Openreach CSP to with a cable to City Fibre ONT , if this is  true , who provides the repair service should the service develop a fault , if the splice in the (supposedly) Openreach CSP that breaks down , is it OR or CIty Fibre that are responsible for the repair, if there really is a cable goes to a CF ONT from the OR CSP  , who ‘owns’ the cable between the CSP and ONT ? who connected an Openreach fibre to a City Fibre one , no one in either organisation should be doing this .
TBH without some proof , frankly this is impossible to believe.

Openreach don’t fit CBT iduring an installation at an address , before the address is even deemed ready for service the CBT is fitted by the network delivery department of ORn, the service delivery installer runs a cable from a CBT to the address , service delivery don’t fit the CB’s  as part of an individual service to a property, the property wouldn’t even have availability if the CBT wasn’t already fitted .

Rob5342

I have a CityFibre connection and they put their own fibre through the duct feeding my house alongside the old Openreach cable that was there. I suspect that's what they mean they'll do here. They are different fibre connection systems as far as I can tell, CityFibre install a microduct that they subsequently blow the fibre through, and Openreach seem to pull a dedicated cable through. They end up in different places anyway so they couldn't use the same fibre, in my street the Openreach fibres connect to junction boxes under manholes and the CityFibre ones connect to junction boxes inside green street cabinets.

I seriously doubt they will touch the fibre that's already there, you'll probably find that they turn up unanncounced to get the microduct to your house some time before your install appointment.