Sky Fibre FTTC and ADT Home Alarm Compatibility?

Hi,

I had Sky Fibre Unlimited installed last week and all is going well - getting really good speeds. I also have an ADT home alarm which is monitored via telephone line (it calls back to an ARC). The installation went fine, except that the BTO engineer didn't connect up the ADT alarm telephone line to the master socket. I got ADT out and they got it fixed no problem.

Yesterday, I got a call from the Sky Fibre Team to tell me that they have to roll me back to standard ADSL because my alarm system is not compatible with their fibre network due to "the frequency being too close and pulses on the line may degrade the system". But when I called ADT to ask them if this was the case, they said this was rubbish as it just works off normal telephone voice signal - I got them to test the line and they confirmed all was fine.

The thing is, I've called Sky a few times to try and sort this out and I cannot get a consistent answer from Sky about this - their safe route is "nothing is compatible", but I also have had the "we don't know" answer. ADT are adamant that there should not be any problem and that they have installed alarms in many premises that have got FTTC.

Anyone with experience/suggestions/advice greatly appreciated - I don't want to go back to a crummy 3Mb/s line when it is currently a whizzy 37Mb/s!

TIA.

Is it connected through a filter (i.e. filtered faceplate)?

In reply to a post by qasdfdsaq:

Is it connected through a filter (i.e. filtered faceplate)?

I think it is connected up in front of the Openreach faceplate (on the back of the NTE5 plate) so that it behaves the same as all the other extensions on the line.

From your description - "I got ADT out" - it's unclear how Sky found out about it in the first place unless they had detected some sort of abnormality on the line.

In reply to a post by kasg:

From your description - "I got ADT out" - it's unclear how Sky found out about it in the first place unless they had detected some sort of abnormality on the line.

I phoned Sky up to tell them that the BTO engineer didn't connect up the alarm line - Sky then told me to call up ADT, so that's how they know.

An alarm line should be connected to the incoming terminals - alarm companies normally have a dispensation that permits it. An unflitered feed is then taken off to a hardwired filter box - which can be mounted close by or in some cases, inside the alarm cabinet.

An example: http://www.clarity.it/telecoms/adsl_hardwired.htm

The reason it is hardwired and not on the face plate is that it is easy to remove the faceplate but will take longer to remove the complete master.

Agreed with MHC and there should be no issue in terms of VDSL2 and the monitored alarms either.

They are only a problem if connected unfiltered

Seconded, but I'd want to know for sure that there is a filter in the alarm equipment, or simply connect the link to the alarm to the faceplate on the NTE, that way ensuring it's deffo filtered.

In reply to a post by MHC:

The reason it is hardwired and not on the face plate is that it is easy to remove the faceplate but will take longer to remove the complete master.

Heh .

I don't think that's right.

I believe it's because removing the faceplate, which is a perfectly legitimate thing to do if adding extensions, would set off the alarm at the monitoring centre. Probably at the premises as well.

The only alarm connection that should be legitimately terminated with the incoming pair on the rear of the NTE, is that for a RedCare service.

But I suspect you are right too, the alarm guys do it that way to stop punters inadvertently dissing the feed.