Have FTTP from BT , Can I get Fibre from other CPs (FTTC)?

Hi,

I currently have FTTP (BT infinity) at my property but other Service Providers doesn't provide FTTP but they provide FTTC.

I was checking for switching from BT to other Service Provider for Fibre broadband using FTTC.

So checked on the BT Openreach Fibre Availability checker and it suggests that my exchange and Cabinet is "Accepting Orders" but when checking with providers such as Sky, EE, Plusnet and TalkTalk , it suggest "Fibre is not available"

Can you pl. help why this is the case, BTOR is saying Fibre is available but CP's are suggesting no fibre?

there are other providers of FTTP

try zen

http://www.zen.co.uk/business/broadband/fibre-optic-...

or AAISP

theres a few others

and its because your while your cab may be fttc your line is FTTP not FTTC that's why you can't get FTTC.

not sure if I explained that right.

When open reach decide to upgrade a cabinet they choose to make either FTTP or FTTC available. As you have FTTP available you will not be able to get an FTTC service
As Sky, EE and TalkTalk have decided not to sell FTTP services, their checkers do not show availability in FTTP areas. I have read elsewhere that plusnet are trialling FTTP again.

Edited by deleted (Tue 23-Dec-14 18:27:37)

But When I go on BT OR site and check for Fibre Availability checker it was (2 weeks back) showing a message "Under Review" against my Exchange and Cabinet, however now it is showing as "Accepting Orders" and you can contact the Service Provider for the same.

Also, my Cabinet/exchange shown in BT OR list as FTTP/C, so it can support both..

The exchange can support both but the cabinet area dosnt.
The openreach site seems be in a state of flux at the moment giving some odd feedbacl.
Given the cost and difficulty openreach have in providing either FTTC or FTTP, they have no desire to provide both, unless of course someone wants to hand the a considerable sum of money.

Why do you want FTTC when you already have access to FTTP?

I'm perfectly happy with FTTC, but I do wonder what the thing is that is motivating you to want to switch.

The bad news is that everyone else is right. BT (ie Openreach within BT) only deploy one type of technology within each cabinet area - either FTTP or FTTC but not both. If an exchange was listed as "FTTC/P" it meant that some cabinets would get FTTC, while others would get FTTP (and usually delayed considerably compared to the FTTC deployment), but never both.

On the plus side, you can order from a choice of speeds - including the slower, cheaper, ones available to FTTC customers - and know that there is no "up to" language needed for the distance from the cabinet.

On the minus side - you get a much more limited choice of ISPs who are willing to deal with you.

With FTTC, I'll be getting a very good deal hence I was looking to switch from FTTP to FTTC....

As has been said, very few ISPs are offering FTTP. You cannot get FTTC, end of, I'm afraid .

Mind you, I'm sure several people on these forums would be happy to negotiate a house swap .

You cannot get FTTC....but you can order(downgrade) infinity 1 or 2 with BT.

Ian

OK.

Did the "very good deal" require an ISP that wasn't BT's retail arm? If so, then I understand your problem - and it is the same one being requested by people who have no access to any form of superfast broadband - they would much rather have an FTTC service from BTO to retain that choice of ISP, than a 1Gbps service from Gigaclear with no choice.

As someone else pointed out, you do at least have the ability to pick the Infinity 1 or Infinity 2 packages from BT Retail over your FTTP connection at the same price available to FTTC subscribers.

In reply to a post by Ribble:

When open reach decide to upgrade a cabinet they choose to make either FTTP or FTTC available.

This isn't exactly true, Check the following address out:
ROOM 104 1ST FLOOR, TELEPHONE EXCHANGE, 2 CHADWICK RD, ILFORD, IG1 1BX on Exchange ILFORD CENTRAL is served by Cabinet 42
or for simplicity try:
NadKey: A51223315011
District ID: LN
Both point to the same location.

You will see that it has both FTTP as well as FTTC

In reply to a post by Ribble:

As you have FTTP available you will not be able to get an FTTC service

So this might be the rule for us i.e. home or business users but doesn't seem to be for BT Openreach themselves

Paul

I expect it would have both after all it is the telephone exchange......

In reply to a post by Gadget:

I expect it would have both after all it is the telephone exchange......

This is true

So if I can get both FTTC and FTTP and it is true and as BT Openreach Fibre AC site says - "Accepting Orders" - For Bradwell Abbey Exchange, Cabinet 71)

Shall I ask the other Service Providers to provide the FTTC service as his availability Checker is still showing Fibre is not available in my area.(Talktalk/Sky/Plusnet)

Any specific reason for this disconnect?

As has been repeatedly said already you cannot get/have FTTC if you have an FTTP connection. You have FTTP. If you want FTTC the only solution is to move house. TalkTalk and Sky do not sell an FTTP service and Plusnet's service is beta only for existing users which is why they show no availability on the checker.

You are quite right. There is no either/or at the cabinet level with FTTP/FTTC. FTTP does not really have anything to do with the cabinet as such (although it's likely to use the same ducting and/or poles as the copper cable). The fibre optic cable in FTTP goes back to a fibre concentration point, not the cabinet as such (although it's very likely to be nearby).

So you can be attached to a cabinet which is enabled for FTTC yet be too far away to receive the service. In that case, a decision may be made to provide FTTP to those distant properties, even if they are on an enabled cabinet. Whether this is done or not will depend on the availability of funding and the economics. (In some cases enabling a cabinet may not be cost effective at all for the number of premises it can directly service with FTTC, so FTTP might be the only option).

So the position is that FTTP is only likely to have been made available to those premises which are too far away from their cabinet to get FTTC. Thus in any one area, it's highly unlikely that a premises can order either FTTP or FTTC. It will be one or the other.

nb. I'm not including FTTP on demand (FTTPoD), as that involves running fibre out to the premisses in question from the nearest fibre concentration point which is clearly very expensive as a one-off option.

Your cabinet area can only be served by FTTP or FTTC (excluding the red-herring of FoD). If you are served by FTTP you have the option (depending on your choice of ISPs) to EITHER have FTTP speeds of 200 or 300Mbps OR you can order an FTTP option of the lower FTTC speed service of 40Mbps or 80Mbps delivered over your FTTP link. Usually the FTTC speed option is priced the same as if your were served from an FTTC cab, whilst your faster FTTP speed option is usually more expensive.

The split is not at cabinet level. It's perfectly possible for premises close to a cabinet to be served by FTTC whilst properties further away on the same cabinet will be FTTP. It may be rare, but (at the cabinet level), they are not mutually exclusive.

However, what is certainly true is that no premises will have both FTTC and FTTP as if the premises is in range of FTTC then money won't have been invested in upgrading to FTTP.

The reason why such examples will be rare is that where cabinets support a wide geographical area it's quite likely that enabling the cabinet is not cost effective with only a limited number of premises available. Also, such exercises will largely be part of a "fill in" exercise and will either only be done towards the end of a BDUK project, or left to later phases. The first priority will be enabling cabinets which necessarily extends fibre deeper into the network which can then act as a starting point for FTTP enabling premises further away,

A case in point might be the hamlet of perhaps 80 premises where my brother lives. The cabinet its attached to is currently being surveyed as part of the Bucks/Herts "connected counties" BDUK project, but it might be of little use as it is in a village 1.5km away (straight line) and 2.5km by road. That might well require FTTP (or maybe FTTrN), especially if the phone cables follow the road route.

The wording there makes me think your answer is theoretical, rather than from experience.

We all know it is possible, theoretically ... but in practice BT has so far said it is an either/or thing; that the split is indeed at a cabinet level.

A similar limitation exists with FTTPoD - that you must be on a cabinet where FTTC has been deployed to be able to order. In the future, such a limitation need not apply ... but it does so far.

In the future, such rules will perhaps change - just like FTTRN is changing the rule that FTTC nodes are within 50m of the PCP.