Do I have to switch to full fibre?

Ectophile · 5 May at 7:01PM

Whatever previous posters may have said, Openreach plan to remove all copper phone lines in the long term.

In the shorter term, they will be offering fibre to the cabinet (FTTC, also known as VDSL) and a digital phone line, in areas with no fibre yet.

But when I was shopping around for a new broadband contract last year, the only offers I could get were full fibre. Openreach have fibred my street and will not offer anything else to anyone looking for a new phone or broadband contract.

So sooner or later the only "wired' option will be fibre. If, for some reason you are allergic to fibres, there's satellite or mobile phone.

iniltous · 5 May at 8:19PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81987914#Comment_81987914

Yes the copper switch off is poorly described, it’s the ‘landline’ phone service that’s being retired , not the copper cable , as stated for many the copper cable will remain the only method available to provide broadband for quite some time , so this retirement won’t affect your broadband unless you recontract or change provider as the opportunity will be taken to change you to FTTP because it’s available to your address , as already stated , if you don’t change provider or recontract you will stay as you are , just paying a little more than if you recontracted .

dnpark38 · 5 May at 8:33PM

I changed from FTTC to FTTP because my copper section was worn out and Open Reach would not repair it.

So I suggest after the copper system is switched off January 2027 those on FTTC might find this same reluctance to maintain the copper wires. Thus could be well advised to go FTTP this year.

BeeHappy55 · 5 May at 9:04PM

I would gladly move to full fibre - but I know that my landlord won't allow it (because he wrongly thinks that he will have to pay for it). Hopefully in time other residents in the building will support me in getting the landlord to change his mind - because moving to FTTP will be inevitable in the future.

For now I am just relieved that my broadband will remain intact, despite what NOW told me - I was misinformed, and whilst a "nudge" to FTTP when a customer needs to recontract is what they are advised to do, blatantly telling a customer that their broadband will be cut off is totally inappropriate.

I very much appreciate all the advice that I have received here :)

brewerdave · 6 May at 4:16PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81987993#Comment_81987993

You must be in an exchange area in the status of Openreach "stop sell" - large parts of the country and, in particular, ,blocks of apartments/flats, will be supplied broadband via part copper/part fibre for a considerable number of years - I suspect some pockets won't get FTTP ever.

squashed42 · 21 May at 5:57PM

It's a little frustrating having so many services withdrawn. I'm on an FTTC service that has good speeds but is quite pricey after the initial deal ran out but so many providers are full fibre only so replacing isn't easy. I'd happily adopt full fibre but when openreach came to assess, their proposal was hanging the wire over my street, drilling holes in the exterior wall and installing a box on the the interior wall, which doesn't really suit for a number of reasons so it's not particularly easy to get off a poor value deal without a significant service downgrade.

JSmithy45AD · 21 May at 6:24PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82007673#Comment_82007673

How do you figure that FTTP is a "significant service downgrade" from FTTC let alone ADSL?

squashed42 · 21 May at 6:31PM

That's not what I said - I meant that getting off my current deal without having holes drilled in the walls of my home would require moving to an inferior service.