Infinity installation questions

BT are now accepting Infiniity orders for my exchange (Spalding). As this will probably be the last upgrade in speeds that we will get for some time, I want to make sure that I have the best possible set up internally to take advantage of the additional speeds predicted to be 66MB.

Currently I am on ADSL2+ and the phone wire comes from the pole just outside runs along the front of the property and then in to the master socket by a small side window. I have a HH2 that sits on the window sill and gives a flawless signal wirelessly to my Sony TV. My PC is on the other side of the property by a phone extension which is now useless for ADSL2+ so I am having to connect wirelessly.

I understand that Infinity requires the Home Hub 3 and a seperate modem. Given that the window sill is small and already has the phone on it, I do not think that it will be big enough to cope with one additional piece of kit and in any case only has one double power socket.

My first question is whether there are any alternatives to BT's offering of a modem and seperate hub.

I really would like to have my PC connected to the Infinity supply by ethernet. Currently I am running on wireless. BT do offer to change an extension socket to a master, but the way I read thiis, it is done by installing surface extension wiring. Having replastered every room and putting all wires in ducting this is a no no for me. So one option is to replace my phone wire to the extension socket by cat 7 cabling. Is this standard of cable compatible with the existing standard BT master socket? If so I could do this now before installation of Infinity so that I have a reliable benchmark. If cat 7 is not compatible, do the new Infinity standard master sockets have an access point for end users to connect internal cabling to in the same way as existing standard BT master socket.

If there are no acceptable alternatives to BT's offering of seperate modem and hub, I would have to make my extension the master socket and transmit wirelessly to my TV, but ethernet into my PC. If I had cat 7 cabling from the existing master to the extension would this do the same job as BT's surface extension kit wiring?

One option that I am exploring is to move my phone line entry point into the property. Openreach have offered a quote for this subject to survey. This would result in a shorter length of cable from the street pole and the entry point woiuld be via my garage to the location of my extension. This eliminates the need for internal cat 7 wiring.

Both the last two options would mean the home hub would be in a different room to my smart TV. Given that media streaming on my PC can be intermittant on my current 13mb speed with the hub placed in the lounge would the increased Infinity speed improve the internal Wi-Fi signal speeds so that if things were the other way round to how they are now, the Wi-Fi signal to the Smart TV would be better from a hub linked up to Infinity placed in my study? In short is the same standard of wireless signal feasable?

I've never heard of CAT 7 - just had to google it .

The simplest could be to have the modem where the HH2 is, then the HH3 on the extension connected to the modem by CAT7. The output from the modem is ethernet. The PC could then be wired to the HH3.

Re the wireless for the TV, I'm a little confused as to where that is. Two possibilies occur to me - an ethernet link from the HH3 to the HH2 placed in a suitable place if there is one, with the DHCP disabled in the HH2 and using it as a WAP, with three ethernet ports available as well if useful, or the purchase of a pure WAP attached to the HH3.

The HH2 will be going as it will be replaced by HH3 and the Infinity modem. Currently HH2 sits on window sill in lounge and Smart TV is about 12 feet away.

BT Infinity comes with HH3 and modem. Current set up means this will go on window sill. Phone is there are well - basically there is not enough room! And only 2 power points.

So I will have to make my extension the master. BT's offering of surface extension cable is unnacceptable as it will be visible wires. So I need to have something in place between master socket and extension (BT say they can make the extension the master socket but they are not really - all they are doing is putting fibre optic cable to the extension). The Infinity master socket will still be in lounge.

Due to lack of space HH3 and modem will have to be in the study so Smart TV will not have a wireless access point in the same room. It will have to pick up signal through two internal walls/doors.

Post deleted by RobertoS

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 21-Sep-12 01:33:05)

Right, I'm clearer now, and also hadn't answered a couple of your questions.

With FTTC, which is what you are getting, the fibre optic stops at the cabinet. Hence the name. From there to your master socket is the existing copper. There is no fibre optic reaching the house.

I assumed you get to keep the HH2. All I described was using it as a WAP, rather than buying one. Quite often done when someone has two routers and inadequate wireless coverage. But I didn't suggest the best layout.

What you need then is your pre-installed CAT 7, preferably two cables but one will work, running between the existing master and the extension. Leave some spare for an engineer to work with.

You get the engineer to move the master to where the extension is, using that CAT 7. They do move the master if they are helpful. Then you want the extension installing where the master is.

There have been many people on these forums where the master has been swapped with the extension, or simply moved. The engineer will not install the modem more than a short A/VDSL cable distance from the master.

Setup then is the incoming VDSL2 supply goes to the master in the study, with the HH3, and the PC wired to the HH3. The second CAT7, or spare pairs in the only CAT 7 if that's what you install, (apparently this isn't ideal in theory), takes a phone connection and an ethernet feed back to the HH2 where it is now, where you fit an ethernet socket alongside the extension socket.

Disable DHCP on the HH2, play around with its 192.168.etc IP address to keep it outside the HH3's DHCP pool, and you should be fine.

The interstitial plate that fits the NTE5 master to provide the VDSL filtering and modem socket does apparently have an unfiltered output if required, but that wouldn't solve your problem.

Combined modem/routers do exist, notably the Fritz box seems popular here, but is not Openreach approved. In particular if you have a problem you would need to be using the modem and HH3 to get anywhere with support.