Master socket relocation for FTTC install

Ok I'm asking this here as I keep getting differing opinions and answers.

My master socket is in a hallway, ground floor, middle of the house. All my PC kit is upstairs in a room with no phone socket. The closest phone socket is a room next to it which is an extension. PC/router connects to this extension currently using a long phone cable. I'm currently on ADSL.

Because i don't want the data extension cable for fibre running up the stairs under hallway carpet around skirting boards, doors etc etc and into my PC room, i will need the master socket moving upstairs. And then make the old master an extension, reasonable right?

So Plusnet are saying Openreach will NOT do this as part of the fibre install. I have to call them out again to do this for me at a cost of course, i think circa £130 or maybe lots more.

Is this true, or will Openreach just move the master socket as part of the fibre install?

Plusnet also advised it would be cheaper to call out a local electrician and get them to do it. Yep probably right, but I thought this was illegal and no one was allowed to touch the BT kit except for them? For that reason I'm struggling to find anyone who will do it.

I'm considering just going ahead and ordering and then hope the Openreach guy agrees with me on the install day and moves the master for me.

What other options are open to me or any suggestions please?

Edited by bIOforger (Mon 13-Apr-15 15:51:34)

According to what ISPs are able to order, what Plusnet are telling you is right. However, in practice things are often different.

Make sure the Data Extension Kit, (Openreach call it the Home Wiring Solution), is ordered. Without that the engineers are a little limited in what they can do - possibly including a time constraint.

Assuming you get an Openreach engineer they can often be persuaded to use the existing wiring to convert the extension into the master. They used to want it to be high quality cable, not normal phone extension stuff, but seeing as BT Retail; Sky and I think TalkTalk now don't send an engineer but you self-install just like your ADSLx is I wouldn't be surprised if you get what you want done.

If you get a subcontractor such as Kelly's or Quinn's some seem not even to know what the Home Wiring Solution (DEK) is .

Another point is that only the master to exchange side of the Test Socket is out of bounds. You could yourself fit an extension in the PC room using a kit like this, though the better quality the cable the better, (CAT 5 is ideal), and wiring it into the inside of the current extension rather than using the plug-in adapter.

It would be an idea to post the estimates from the BT Wholesale estimator so we can advise on the speed effect.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 13-Apr-15 12:26:45)

Thanks, yea i keep hearing that they can be persuaded, (but dependent and who turns up/whether they can be bothered or not).

For me personally i would have thought it would be easier to move the master than route the data extension cable all round the place. I think i will just take my own advice and take the punt. Worst case scenario i will have the Openreach modem mounted and will just need to call them out again to move the master as a separate job and extra cost. What could possibly go wrong

Here's the speed estimate for my line.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q204/bIOforger/Mi...

I assume as the master socket is In the middle of the house, that the cable must route itself from where it enters the property. So where does the cable enter the house? Once you establish that I would have thought it would pretty simple to reroute from there up to the room you want or if it comes from a telegraph pole and down the wall just to intercept it and through the 1st floor wall. As telephone wiring is as simple as ABC and the master only connects with 2 wires it's virtually a DIY job, not that I would ever suggest saving £130, by bypassing BT!!!!!

Do OR keep a record of where the master box is located?

Can't say I haven't removed my master box but it has been repositioned within 12" of it's original point.

In reply to a post by broadband66:

Do OR keep a record of where the master box is located?

No.

Given those estimates, if all else fails then unless you are desperate for that speed I would get one of those kits I linked to and just plug it into the upstairs extension initially. Then use a dangly filter in the resultant socket in the PC room and see what speed you get.

You will need the engineer to wire that existing extension to the unfiltered terminals on the back of the VDSL2 faceplate he will fit at the master, unless you get lucky and he converts the existing extension to be master. Or better still the extension I suggest you pre-install in the PC room using CAT5.

Having said that, with the Data Extension Kit ordered, rogerfp has a point! But not bypassing Openreach.

The incoming wires could be re-routed directly to the PC room and you could sort out the existing extension wiring easily and legally from the new master faceplate.

In outline you would wire the existing extension as an extension from the new master but retain the connection to where the old master is. At the old master you then connect any other extensions to the wire from that using the IDC connectors. Might need a bit of jiggery-pokery with the connectors if there are several extensions.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 13-Apr-15 14:00:42)

No I don't want to compromise the speed too much really.

I forgot to mention fiddling about with the wires may seem like a simple task to you, but its not to me, i hate wiring and have zero knowledge of what would be required. That's not something i would feel confident with messing with to be honest.

The line enters the house at the front at ground level, my PC room is at the back and a level up, i cant see the 30m cable being long enough to be honest, it is a big 5 room house. Although it might be an alternative.

Edited by bIOforger (Mon 13-Apr-15 14:28:33)

Also i don't get the point of using the telephone extension kit you linked to, as this is basically what i have in place now for my ADSL connection with a microfilter at the socket, i thought these types of extensions couldn't deal with the fibre speeds at all? Are you saying it will work but it will obviously degrade the speed?

Re the 30m cable, that's just the basic internal one that was originally supplied. It isn't an actual limit even for internal.

Re rogerfd and my suggestion for the re-routing externally, the Home Wiring Solution can be by internal cable as you think or by external grade cable on the outside of the house. Openreach van stock.

Re using existing wiring, note what I said about BT, Sky and TalkTalk. You no longer get an engineer visit, nor a VDSL2 filter plate at the master. Just a modem/router and a dangly filter just like for ADSLx. Ostensibly use any socket you have.

There are literally hundreds of threads on these forums about the gains to be had on ADSLx from optimising your home wiring. They have already started for FTTC self-install.

If you look at the speed estimates you posted earlier, the "Impacted" line I believe caters (amongst other factors) for wiring such as yours.

The kit I mention is just the cleanest way of doing what you do now, as it would also bring the modem and dangly filter into the PC room. Though leaving the modem at the current extension would slightly improve the speed. If you do that you would need an Ethernet cable from the modem to the router, plus the phone cable you already have from the filter, assuming you need the phone as well. There is no speed loss through the Ethernet cable.