what openreach do when installling fibre BB?

[chris French]

Hi folks,

FTTC is coming to our village - AIUI the exchange is enabled (it's listed as accepting orders), and they are working on connecting cabinets (lots of Openreach activity around the place over the last few months) Our cabinet date by March 2014 at the moment. We shall see.....

Anyway, our system is old and a bit of a hotpotch. External grey box up by the eaves, two different incoming wires (plus a disconnected 2nd line) one to our bedroom, one coming in via the front door, to which most internal sockets and a big loud bell are connected. No modern NTE5 master socket. Existing sockets were BT installed I think as ISTR they were listed as equipment when we took over the house.

Just thinking ahead so I can be prepared in case I need to change things. AIUI they will install an extra 'box' indoors that deals with the BB connection, and then the router connects into this? we have an internal wired network around some of the house, so I've got flexbility where I locate routers and things. Not really bothered about any supplied router's wifi as I have my own wifi AP centrally mounted.

So what will they do?

[Peter Crosland]

They will install an NTE5 box that has to be close to a spare mains socket to power their modem permanently. It is wise to have a double socket in case any test gear needs to be plugged in at any time. The BT modem has a network socket to attach to your equipment.

[John Rumm]

If you already have a NTE5 style socket they will install an extra "layer" into it - which is the equal of the microfilter used for ADSL. If you have not got a NTE5 then they will install one.

Unlike ADSL the broadband service is not usually allowed to propagate around the house wiring, and connection of the comms equipment needs to be at the NTE5.

They will supply a PPPoE modem with ethernet on the user side. Your ISP may supply an additional router to talk to the modem and give you wired and wireless connectivity. (you can use your own router here, and you can also use your own VDSL modem/router in place of the BT supplied one)

[Geoff Pearson]

Is BT your ISP? So you will be getting a BT HomeHub 3 or 4 to plug into your modem. The two can be separated by quite a length of Cat5 cable which is best installed by you otherwise it runs round your skirting. You can connect a router/PA direct to the modem but I don't think you can avoid at least receiving a Home Hub.

[chris French]

Yep, we will need one. Hmm, I'm wondering what to do about the existing internal phone wiring (we have a couple of wired phones as well as DECT ones and i'd liek to keep them.. The existing incoming cable goes via a socket and junction box (it might go to the junc box fist can't remember, then a cable goes off to the rest of system. I've got an idea of a location now, But all this is on the wrong side of the hallway from the power socket, and easy access to the internal network. And it's mostly almost inaccessible cos of bookcases along this wall.Happy for him to run a new cable and put it in a different place as long as I can easily connect the phone circuit back in.

I can't remember., can I just plug an extension into a phone socket to get all the ones down stream of it connected to the phone line?

Hope he will leave the line into the bedroom alone though.

Presumably the open reach guy just installs the modem anyway and checks that that is working ok. connecting anything else up like the router is my responsibility.

Well, I have a location in mind now, probably worth me putting in a LAN socket there which I can easily run down and connect into the network at a switch down in the cellar. Might also run a spur from the existing mains sockets, otherwise he will want to put it near them and that won't be such a neat location.

Thanks

[chris French]

In message , Geoff Pearson writes

No idea yet who the ISP will be. I'm currently with O2. They have been bought by sky and we will eventually be assimilated. I've been on a good deal with O2 so am letting that run, hoping that Openreach get their finger out before I have to decide to jump ship. I could stay with Sky, they are offering very good deals to old O2 customers if you take the TV/broadband/phone package. But really, I';ve no interest in having the TV - I've already got one unused dish on the wall.

So i'm going to be doing a bit of shopping around soon.

I don't mind having the ISP router, and will probably use it for the BB connection, I just don't want to bother about the wifi side of things as i've got that all sorted anyway. Might stick the router in the cellar though out the way.

Thanks folks,

[Mark]

Don't use BT as an ISP. Right now they've screwed up their email system so everyone I know who uses them is having trouble sending and receiving emails.

There are decent ones around if you look.

[John Williamson]

I *did* have trouble for a while sending e-mails via BT using port 25, but changing to one of the other available ports (587, IIRC) fixed it.

Although somone I know does have trouble with e-mails getting lost from her BT address.

[AlanC]

our modem. The two can be separated by quite a length of Cat5 cable which i s best installed by you otherwise it runs round your skirting. You can conn ect a router/PA direct to the modem but I don't think you can avoid at leas t receiving a Home Hub.

A friend on mine had BT Fibre installed on Monday. They are now installing BT HomeHub 5's which have the VDSL modem built in.

[Dave Liquorice]

Why does fibre need a VDSL modem? Surely it needs a fibre termination box and I'm pretty sure that VDSL is not the protocol used over fibre.

[Peter Crosland]

People use the term fibre loosely to mean FTTC rather than FTTP.

[chris French]

I don't use my ISP's email service anyway

[John Rumm]

Cos what you get to your door is not fibre - hence FTTC Fibre To The Cabinet. The last hop runs over your POTS wires, and uses VDSL modulation.

(FTTP Fibre to the Premises would be different)

[dennis]

Its marketing fibre not real fibre, just like Virgins.

[Hugo Nebula]

In my case, they replaced the master socket with a new style branded one (don't know what they're called), took a wire from this socket, through the external wall, clipped to the side of the house, back in at first floor to a modem screwed to the wall. This and the router are powered from a trailing socket into a switched socket.

This was because my master socket is in the hall (next to a twin gang socket), but all my network kit is in my study upstairs, and they wouldn't run a cable between a modem and a router internally up the stair string, nor use the probably perfectly capable existing cable.

[Roger Mills]

I've never tried to buy a virgin - how are they marketed?

[Dave Liquorice]

termination

Bloody marketing... It'll all come home to roost in 10 years when the speeds people will want can't be delivered more than spiting distance from the cabinet.

I sometimes have a vague wish that I was down in town, that has just had fibre installed passing most premises down there. Yes, FTTP...

[Dave Liquorice]

termination

That isn't what is written though. "had BT Fibre installed" that can only have one meaning, namely a fibre from BT into the premises. Any one can have FTTP, if they have deep enough pockets. The depth of the friends pockets is not mentioned, seems perfectly valid to assume deep as that fits with the statement "had BT Fibre installed".

[Roger Mills]

I suspect that you need to interpret "friend . . . had fibre installed" somewhat loosely.

I imagine that most people migrating to FTTC would regard that as having fibre installed even though that isn't strictly true.

[Geoff Pearson]

My sister was offered and took a free trial of FTTP in York. It was fine but too much for her so she went back to ADSL. Recently she wanted to move ISPs and they wanted to reinstate the FTTP rather than install FTTC. The box was still there outside the house. As a result she has been waiting three weeks to move from BT to Talk Talk with no broadband from either she will be on ADSL.