BT TV with ADSL Only

I live in a area where (annoyingly) I can see a FTTC cabinet out my window, but in the development I'm in its Exchange only to all 108 properties.

At the moment my ADSL Speed is not bad, syncing about 19mbps with BE.

My plan was to move to BT, take the Unlimited DSL and the TV. I want a Youview box, not the vision plus. I also want BT Sport and the other BT TV packs.

BT's live chat just told me No when I asked, but I'm sure I've seen other say that it is possible to do over a fast enough DSL link.


So I guess what I'd like to know is:

1, Can it be done, BT Sport + TV Packs over DSL

or

2, Can I persuade Openreach to connect my to fibre, either by adding a cab for the whole development, or by paying for FTTPoD. I have searched their site for an email address, but no joy!

The email address is [email protected]

What does the checker say? http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/adsl/adslchecker.welcome

Edited by deleted (Sun 29-Sep-13 16:28:05)

Thanks for the email address.

The checker doesn't mention FTTC at all, if I put in the postcode and random house number of a property in the neighbouring development (further away from the cab) it gives a FTTC rate of up to 58mbps

In reply to a post by pcoventry76:

I've been fighting BT on this for months. I have FTTC cabs all around me and 278 houses on my cab which was added after the rest but BT say we won't be getting it in the distant future.

BT are idiots - I can stream BT vision on 7mbps - as I have done in the past. there';s not a lot 19mbps can't do when it comes to streaming.

Exactly! TalkTalk are quite happy to sell me their TV, with all the channels provided over a Youview box as long as my DSL is above 5mbps.

I'd rather go with BT, but they may have just forced me to become a talktalk customer!

Ah yes, I think you've had this answer before

You are not connected to the cabinet close-by, but are fed directly from the exchange, otherwise known as an Exchange Only line.

The slightly more annoying thing is that I know where the trunk line into the development goes! It goes right past the FTTC cab.

Connecting us up to FTTC would be fairy trivial I would imagine!

Just wish they would do it, bet they'd get a fair few customers out of it!

Fairly new flats and 3 bed houses in the city centre of the oil capital of Europe deserve FTTC

If it's that easy, you may get some action if you push hard enough up the management structure at BT. www.ceoemail.com may help.

In reply to a post by connormill:

2, Can I persuade Openreach to connect my to fibre, either by adding a cab for the whole development, or by paying for FTTPoD. I have searched their site for an email address, but no joy!

We're in a similar position here. A central London development of 75 properties built in the late 1980s with approaching 100 lines, all EO. All adjacent properties have access to both FTTC and VM. The VM cable runs along the pavement 2-3m in front of the development but VM aren't willing to supply even those 18 properties. Likewise the BT trunking servicing the development and the nearby FTTC cabinet runs under the same pavement.

Unlike VM, BT tell me they're more than happy to carry out the necessary network rearrangement and installation of an FTTC cabinet. The cost quoted was £25K + VAT.

For now at least, BT aren't prepared to consider FTTPoD other than for those who can already get FTTC regardless of the circumstances.

The only gotcha is wanting bt sport. Currently only possible on bt tv via fibre due to multicast delivery.

The multicast for adsl2+ is due at some point in future.

The other bt channel options would be available

If you go to this LINK, it tell you that you can have (under BT Broadband, NOT Infinity):-

TV includes:

BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 2 on BT TV (BT Vision+ box)
FREE BT Sport app and online player
Over 70 digital TV and radio channels
Access to over 12,000 shows and music videos on - demand
7 day catch-up TV
Pause, rewind and record live TV

Broadband includes:

Speed � from 16Mb download speed
Usage � from 10GB to totally unlimited usage

From £15 per month (plus Line Rental)


Just to add, this LINK gives details of the TV Channels that you can receive under the different types of Broadband (on the basis that you already have BT Broadband & want to add TV to it).

Edited by deleted (Sun 29-Sep-13 20:03:17)

In reply to a post by johnjburness:

If you go to this LINK, it tell you that you can have (under BT Broadband, NOT Infinity):-

TV includes:

BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 2 on BT TV (BT Vision+ box)
FREE BT Sport app and online player
Over 70 digital TV and radio channels
Access to over 12,000 shows and music videos on - demand
7 day catch-up TV
Pause, rewind and record live TV

Broadband includes:

Speed � from 16Mb download speed
Usage � from 10GB to totally unlimited usage

From £15 per month (plus Line Rental)


Just to add, this LINK gives details of the TV Channels that you can receive under the different types of Broadband (on the basis that you already have BT Broadband & want to add TV to it).

Yeah, I have seen that but I don't want the vision+ box.

If I'm going to drop the Sky+HD then it will have to be for a Youview

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

The only gotcha is wanting bt sport. Currently only possible on bt tv via fibre due to multicast delivery.

The multicast for adsl2+ is due at some point in future.

The other bt channel options would be available

Well I thought that might be it. I had read up on the FTTC Multicast.

But, I've also seen that some people with ADSL on the BT Forum claiming they were "invited" to have BT Sport on Youview on ADSL

Invited suggests maybe part of a multicast trial

Some exchanges support multicast and some freeview transmitters support the required multiplex.

Edited by deleted (Sun 29-Sep-13 20:32:42)

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

The only gotcha is wanting bt sport. Currently only possible on bt tv via fibre due to multicast delivery.

The multicast for adsl2+ is due at some point in future.

The other bt channel options would be available

BT Sport is available on a BT Vision box via your TV aerial in none Infinity areas. In Infinity areas it is delivered online to BT Youview boxes.

If you live in an Infinity area, you will be provided with a Youview box. If you live outside an Infinity area, you will be provided with a Vision box.

Edited by deleted (Sun 29-Sep-13 20:45:55)

If the live stream is available on a BT Vision box is it necessary to have a TV licence to watch the same live stream online via a BT YouView box?

You need a TV licence to watch live TV.

In reply to a post by partial:

BT Sport is available on a BT Vision box via your TV aerial in none Infinity areas. In Infinity areas it is delivered online to BT Youview boxes.

If you live in an Infinity area, you will be provided with a Youview box. If you live outside an Infinity area, you will be provided with a Vision box.

Exactly, I don't want a Vision box, I want a youview as the other TV packs are youview only.

Vision+ will be getting droped soon I think anyway

Sure, I don't have a TV licence so I never watch "live" (as it's being broadcast) TV online

In reply to a post by pcoventry76:

I don't see the problem with talktalk. I've tried a few times to swtich my folks across their deal does seem okay and my folks's exchange is TT LLU or BT adsl.

They get 6mbps now. But when I had a flat in 2011 I got 13mbps from Be over LLU and I was further away than they are from their exchange so they could well get double too.

There's also a very good chance not a lot of people are on it and even if the whole exchange was that would only be 1000 people.

The problem with TalkTalk is they don't have BT Sport.

Ok, they have Sky Sports, but it's £30/Month. Plus I think their Youview box isnt as good as the Humax model offered by BT

I had thought the BT TV via ADSL2+ option was only open to Sky Sports subscribers who formerly received via their TV aerials. If they happened to be connected to an exchange that has been upgraded to multicast (but for whatever reason could not get or didn't want Infinity) they were being given the option to keep getting Sky Sports via ADSL2+.

As they are high spending customers you can perhaps understand why BT went out of their way to retain them. But similarly as they already had BT Vision boxes you can see that BT may have only tested the service with BT Vision boxes.

Upgrade of the L2 switches for multicast at an exchange generally happens in parallel with the introduction of FTTC. So, apart from a few cabinets that haven't been upgraded, it's perhaps understandable that BT want to encourage new BT TV customers onto Infinity connections rather than spending time ensuring Youview boxes work with BT TV over ADSL2+.