Moving to UK - FTTC in Apartment?

Hi all!

Thanks for reading.

I"m about to move to the UK for a job soon (July '11), and I'm looking to live in the Brentwood region (CM13, CM14), which is FTTC enabled. I have a few questions (sorry for the looooong first post!).

Seeing as I'm not from around here I'd like to ask about the situation with rental apartments, and whether I could apply for fibre. I've checked a few rental addresses on the BT FTTC checker (had to use address checker as not currently living here and don't have a BT number) and they seem to come up ok (ie fibre enabled, speeds ranging from 30-38Mbs). Is there anything that I should be aware of? Is it possible, or even allowed to get fibre in an apartment block in an FTTC enabled region?

I guess for ease - I'd like to go with BT - unlimited fibre, with included phone. Is this generally a good option for a new account?

Also - I've seen a few people suggest Netgear WNR3000 or a Buffalo Linkstation as good routers - any advice?

Thanks in advance!!!
m00g

It's fibre to the cabinet and copper to the premises. There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get it in a flat.

Hi, welcome to the forums, and the country .

As Zadeks says, there should be no problem.

BT Infinity comes with a free wireless router, usually a Home Hub 3, and all FTTC installations come with an included modem. The only drawback with BT is it's an 18-month contract, unless you expect to be in the same apartment longer than that. I haven't looked into any "House Move" options.

Most of the other FTTC suppliers are 12-month, and you can get phone service, (that someone else's FTTC can run on), from the Post Office on a monthly contract, or many others on 12-month.

If even a 12 month broadband contract is too long then there is Be with 3-month ones available on arguably the best "up to 24Mbps" service around. That can run on a Post Office line.

Thanks for the replies!!!

RobertoS - your site is a goldmine of information. Thank you for your suggestions of other ISPs - there are so many choices.

I currently have a Draytek Vigor 2820VN (ADSL2+) at home, with an additional dedicated WAN interface. Would that be compatible with BT or other ISP"s here? THere's not much mention of it on these forums.

Your Draytek should be fine. You would connect the ethernet cable from the Openreach VDSL2 modem to the ethernet WAN port and away you go once you configure it for the service and your login details to your chosen ISP.

If you went with BT Infinity it might be wise to use their supplied Home Hub for a few days first, partly to make sure it works so would be available as a standby, and partly if you did need any CS help they would probably want you to be connected through it.

To be honest BT Infinity is fantastic value for money, but Customer Service if there is a problem may not be brilliant, and it could be subject to traffic management. We need some recommendations from others.

The one I'm with, IDNet, has a good reputation over the years, doesn't have traffic management, and reckons to have the capacity to give a decent speed all the time except just after midnight. (That's when its heavier downloaders schedule their runs).

For what I need the cost is comparable with BT. On higher packages it is a lot more expensive, as are most of the others.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Your Draytek should be fine. You would connect the ethernet cable from the Openreach VDSL2 modem to the ethernet WAN port and away you go once you configure it for the service and your login details to your chosen ISP.

There is a question over the 2820's capability to keep up with the faster services - I read some questions on the draytek.co.uk forum, but no answers. I note Draytek have now released a newer product with faster WAN ports.

We used the draytek 2820 for clients in work, most recently for FTTC and do not see a problem. Do you have any links to specific forum posts regarding the matter you mention?

Thanks for all the replies. You guys are sure helpful here!

I'm glad that the Draytek should be fine. (Just after I read this post I found this (http://community.bt.com/t5/BB-Speed-Connection-Issues/BT-INFINITY-HUB2/td-p/13699)).

I"ve repeated the necessary details for others who might find this post.

Courtesy of AdrianWallis

I've found the username (no password required) in the advanced settings of the home hub ([email protected]) and can confirm that the Draytek Vigor 2820Vn Dual Wan ADSL2/2+ does work with BT infinity.
The settings for the Draytek 2820VN are:

WAN 2 : PPPOE - Enable
ISP Access Setup Username: [email protected]
WAN Connection Mode Detection - ARP Detect
MTU - 1442
PPP/MP Setup - Ensure No (Dynamic IP) is selected

All other settings are as they are out of the box.

Also, from another user "Sevofluorane" who uses an Apple Airport Extreme as the router connected to the Openreach VDSL modem

If you ditch the Home Hub and connect the VDSL modem to the WAN port of the Airport Extreme, page 15 of the BT Infinity user guide gives you all the information you need to configure the connection.

Hope this helps others.
Thanks everyone!
m00g

Edited by m00g (Wed 13-Apr-11 19:38:29)

In reply to a post by m00g:

Also, from another user "Sevofluorane" who uses an Apple Airport Extreme as the router connected to the Openreach VDSL modem

If you ditch the Home Hub and connect the VDSL modem to the WAN port of the Airport Extreme, page 15 of the BT Infinity user guide gives you all the information you need to configure the connection.

Hope this helps others.
Thanks everyone!
m00g

I too use an Apple Airport Extreme connected to the Openreach modem but I did not read the BT Infinity user guide, I just put in the BT supplied username and password after setting the Airport Extreme to PPPoE. Worked first time.

For those using VOIP........

I use a Draytek Vigor 2800VG.
Details:
Profile Name: BT Talk
Register via: Auto
SIP Port: 5060
Domain/Realm: btsip.bt.com
Proxy: sip.btsip.bt.net:5060
Act as oubound Proxy: Yes
Display Name: 44xxxxxxxxxx (your bt talk phone number)
Account Number/Name: 44xxxxxxxxxx (your bt talk phone number)
Authentication ID: 44xxxxxxxxxx (your bt talk phone number)
Password: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (your BT Talk Password)
NAT Traversal Support: None.