Tidying POE splitter supply to FTTP ONT.

In fact the internal fibre is so-called "bend insensitive fibre" you could probably use it as shoe-laces without breaking it ...

Internally, they appear to have stuck something bendy on the external fibre optic cable. However, I can't pull this back outside through the hole in the wall as the plug on its end is too big to fit through the hole. So if I want to channel out to fit a bigger back box I would need to work around it. The backbox hole would need to be 5mm deeper as well as extended to a 2 gang box. I'm pretty sure I have the talent required to break the bendy cable with a multi-tool or chisel.

Put a larger adaptable box over the BT box?

You can get a "back-to-back" SC/APC coupler plus a suitable length of fibre to move the ONT where you want it ...

A surrounding cabinet is OK, but a last resort. I might even try to get a small plastic box to sit below the ONT. I just wondered if there was a standard solution.

The BT Openreach installer said I would need an expensive splicer to move the cable, but I seem to remember a CityFibre installer telling me I could move the cable, but maybe I misremembered.

Anyway I quite like the ONT where it is, distinct from my network stuff. I would have put it in my garage if it had been easy.

This bare board will fit in a back box:

It's expecting RJ45s are both edges, but perhaps you could solder your 'input' cable directly to the pins.

There are some other boards available, need to confirm they're:

• active
• gigabit
• the right direction (PoE in, DC+ethernet out)
• the right voltage (5V/9V/12V etc)

and some of those aren't immediately clear on other Aliexpress listings.

Theo

No suggestions, but the real answer would be for BT to make an ONT that can be PoE powered.

That green coupler is a way to extend the fibre without splicing, but it does mean the coupler has to go roughly where the ONT is at present.

Quite surprising that ONTs haven't evolved to have PoE input on their ethernet, and routers don't have PoE output on their WAN port ...

Does not make sense. The ONT is supplied by OpenReach and the Routers by the ISP. Openreach need to be able to see the link is active in isolation from the router. OFCOM require all ISPs to be treated equally so BT/EE/PlusNet can't be special cases...

Dave

Why let the quango make things worse for the customer? Simply *allow* the ONT to use PoE, rather than *force* the router to supply PoE, then customers who want it can organise it, using a PoE injector if necessary.

Apparently POE enabled ONTs are significantly more costly than the type BT provide....

Being pedantic, but BT don't make ONTs.

(How many users would use POE on an ONT even if it was available? Only a few enthusiasts I suspect.)

It seems to be a fairly common request.. .. but why have an ONT? Why can't the fibre go straight to the router..

Dave

In other countries routers are available with SFP+ slots (sometimes called cages by the router manufacturers) you can put a GPON SFP in the slot so your router connects that way.

I gather the SFPs run red hot, since there is Linux running on them as well as the optics.

It is, especially for business telecomms where there is structured wiring and PoE to numerous access points, cameras and other networking gear. It means you can put all of that on a UPS so it stays up if the power is interrupted.

Altnets do that. I have a Heights Telecom router that includes a GPON port for the fibre.

Openreach's view is that the ONT is their property and the router is the ISP's property, allowing the ISP to swap out the router as they wish. eg they can upsell you on fancier wifi without affecting Openreach's ONT. The ethernet between the ONT and router is the demarcation point of the Openreach network, just like the NTE master socket was in copper days.

Theo

Me Sir! I'm currently on FTTC, but a PoE powered ONT would make a change to FTTP a doddle. I have a PoE switch sitting next to the router.

Whilst it would be nice to have a router which is capable of powering the ONT via PoE, PoE switches are a cheap enough option.

If it was plug'n'play, with a router supplied by BT that also had phone sockets on the back for VOIP, almost everyone.

And if it could be battery powered as well...

one could use a pair of PoE injectors to send DC down the ethernet cable between the ONT and Router?

I suspect most people don't care how messy it looks at the router-end as that'll be wherever the heap of IT s*it lives, but would prefer least clutter at the ONT end as that's more likely to be "on display" in the hall, etc.

SFP sockets are quite common on network switches, so using a GPON SFP in one of those would be an alternative option.