Re: Types of ONT

Plenty to chew on here so thanks to all. I now have a better idea of what is likely to happen if I do go for Virgin.

All the cable laying contractors will say is that it's "Virgin Fibre". It doesn't look like co-ax so a reasonable guess would be that it's FTTH via Nexgen, with Virgin/O2 as the main, or only, ISP. Not managed to find any other ISPs signed up to Nexgen. iDNet and Aquis were lukewarm, so it looks like Virgin or stick to FTTC.

Zen used Fritz, but they seem to have left them and gone for alternatives. Whether this was on price or support grounds is anyone's guess. I did pick up an ex-Zen 7530 on eBay and they look a decent bit of kit. I don't know whether any of the latest models support UK standards via the plug in modules. In any event they're not easy to get hold of as they are aimed at the European market.

In reply to a post by Tacitus:

All the cable laying contractors will say is that it's "Virgin Fibre". It doesn't look like co-ax so a reasonable guess would be that it's FTTH via Nexgen, with Virgin/O2 as the main, or only, ISP. Not managed to find any other ISPs signed up to Nexgen. iDNet and Aquis were lukewarm, so it looks like Virgin or stick to FTTC.

Its probably nexfibre not nexgen - website: https://www.nexfibre.co.uk/ - as wholesale operator, similar to Openreach or CityFibre, they sell access to ISPs. Only Virgin Media is on the network so far. However it is POSSIBLE that a new build area is being built directly by VirginMediaO2 Ltd, but that isn't what their management put in the annual reports.

Put your postcode into https://bidb.uk and it should show the network builder.

The nexfibre website has a button halfway down "download our build plan" in a light blue, this gives a PDF with all the town names for 2024 and 2025.

Edited by jchamier (Sun 13-Oct-24 12:28:57)

In reply to a post by Tacitus:

In any event they're not easy to get hold of as they are aimed at the European market.

All Fritz!Box models are easy to get hold of via a well known prime online website suffixed .de

Prices include UK VAT. Most models on the site are annotated German Version but Fritz!Box releases over the past few years have come with a configurable international language menu. Adding the world ‘International’ just changes the charger plug. That said, before you make a purchase you may wish to check with AVM support.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

Its probably nexfibre not nexgen - website: https://www.nexfibre.co.uk/ - as wholesale operator, similar to Openreach or CityFibre, they sell access to ISPs. Only Virgin Media is on the network so far. However it is POSSIBLE that a new build area is being built directly by VirginMediaO2 Ltd, but that isn't what their management put in the annual reports.
Put your postcode into https://bidb.uk and it should show the network builder.
The nexfibre website has a button halfway down "download our build plan" in a light blue, this gives a PDF with all the town names for 2024 and 2025.

My bad - it is Nexfibre and not NexGen. Looking at that link there is nothing shown for round here as presumably the work is complete. However Nexfibre are active down the road in the next village so it's likely it was them working round here. There appear to be few takers for the wholesale deals, other than Virgin /O2.

The build plan shows them as being active in another town about 10 miles away. When travelling through that area I've seen Netomnia vans as well, so the area should be well served.

In reply to a post by GoWest:

All Fritz!Box models are easy to get hold of via a well known prime online website suffixed .de

Prices include UK VAT. Most models on the site are annotated German Version but Fritz!Box releases over the past few years have come with a configurable international language menu. Adding the world ‘International’ just changes the charger plug. That said, before you make a purchase you may wish to check with AVM support.

Didn't realise you could get the English versions via the German site. I was thinking more of the traditional suppliers in the UK. The German Euro prices look reasonable when converted to £UK.

As I said upthread, I got an ex Zen 7530 off eBay. The interface takes some getting used to ,but apart from that I found it a decent bit of kit.