OT - Experience of OpenReach FTTP installation via telegraph poles Featured

Only they can tell you I'd have thought on this one, as it depends on current policies and the current situation re hard wired phones. Brian

You can ask the engineer to do what you want but whether or not you get it depends a lot on how he's feeling that day, and/or tea and biscuits. They are much less intransigent than the jobsworths phone jockeys.

I don't know. OpenReach are pretending to install FTTP in my village at the moment as in laying the fibre cable in conduits and overhead but there is no sign of any attempt to sell it to their customers.

Be interested to know how you get on!

My phone line enters on a gable end and the master socket is very conveniently on the inside of that wall at the far end of the loft (thanks to BT). It is a PITA for plugging into the test socket.

Still they are not as bad as Belgacom who installed my ISDN box in the middle of the dining room so we could admire all the flashing lights.

The engineer will be more or less accommodating, depending on whether your ISP is paying for a "standard" install or a "premium" install, modulo the quality of tea and biscuits on offer.

The ONT (The modem/master socket) needs power, so they need to put it somewhere close to a mains plug.

With a telegraph I would prefer an upstairs cupboard. To put the equipment in, hidden away. Allows me to run Cat-6 cable to other parts of the house via the loft.

You might even want to ask them to put it in the loft if it is accessible and you have power.

I think in my case they left the old copper. But it isn't used so I'm not really sure.

my fibre install is by City fibre.

The person taking my order said that all installations had to be on teh ground floor as the engineers are not insured for working at height. I didn't want flashing lights and unsightly boxes on display in living areas so I got the install done in my garage.

(I had already laid ethernet from the loft down to the garage, the network rack is in the loft)

I also managed to be given a 20m and a 10m pack of fibre with couplers by the engineers so I could relocate the ONT and Router to the loft.

yes, and no.

Existing copper will go.But it dies matter to them where the new location is.

As I have said in my case they insisted on a ground level location for terminating the fibre. So they can access it fir test purposes. and on a short optical route through the wall to where the 'modem' was situated

If you are talking VOIP there is no no masteer soicket

There is no master socket with pure fibre.

If you are retaining a copper circuit they will split the copper pair from the fibre at the point the old drop cable terminated and connect to it

So the new FTTP will follow the same overhead route as the copper did. If you retain a copper circuit it will be patched into that there, so the master socket is not affected, before being brought down to ground level as fibre only, to be terminated somewhere (in) convenient.

A fibre will then be routed to inside where the modem will sit. Depending on set up this modem, or the router, attached to it by CAT 5/6 then becomes the telephone master point for VOIP installations.

with the best will in the world, that's unlikely bear any relation to the O/P who is getting an openreach install

I remember, some 40 years ago, replacing my CU, for which the company fuse should be removed. I said "I reckon this will take me about an hour, if you come back then, I can put the kettle on". It worked. ;-)

I'll be interested to see how you get on.

How, and by what means is the upgrade happening ?

Did you initiate it ? Or did Openreach initiate it, or was it your ISP ?

How much notice were you given ?

I should have said, I supervised a friend's install.

OpenReach did it from the telegraph pole to an upstairs cupboard, where I had previously (years ago) relocated the master socket.

Just checked with Vodafone and it is premium apparently so "all should be fine" they said :)

For ours, it took a few weeks before it was available for purchase. The OR engineers were very friendly so chatted with them about when it will be available etc. They said that once the fibre is installed there are still a few more things needed before it is available for use.

Interestingly they initially opened up up to 900mbps but all of a sudden changed it to max 100 mbps (I think) unless you went with BT where you could get the 900 mbps. All a bit suspicious to me.

I suspect openreach have to offer all speeds at the same price to all ISPs

I initiated it to get faster broadband. I have switched from EE (ADSL) to Vodafone FTTP. I had a number of issues with my ADSL connection which OR/ EE could never seem to get to the bottom of. At least now I have a completely new setup - probably with its own problems but will cross that bridge if/ when I get there :)

They did initially then pulled it for all suppliers except BT. A neighbour ordered >100mbps from Vodafone at the same time as me and Vodafone cancelled it because OR pulled it even though you can still get 900 mbps from BT.

Why suspicious? BT may just be willing to face the hassle of people complaining they don't get the full 9000 while others wait while Openreach do the snagging. Others - e.g. Hyperoptic and Zen - certainly offer 900 in some places.

Suspicious because originally you could buy all tariffs from all providers up to 900 mbps. OR then pulled it from all providers other than BT (their "own") even though my neighbour had already purchased one and then got it cancelled.

Actually the commercial entity there is BT wholesale. But it does seem that certain technically possible options are not so offered

The OP is on Vodafone, who own (or whatever) Cityfibre. It is possible it's OR doing the install under contract from Cityfibre or something like that. I think CF use OR ducts, which means some of their network uses OR on the ground even if the wiring belongs to CF.

Theo