FTTP installation

Openreach is due to do the internal cabling to the ONT this week. The preferred location for the ONT is an internal cupboard and all routes to it are unsightly or impractical, except via under the floor. So I have installed plastic ducting (complete with pull-cord) under floor from the external splice point to the cupboard. I have now tripped over BT's Things To Do Before Installation site, which says: "We can use a 30m extension cable, but it can only go along walls - not under carpets or floors - so please move any furniture that's in the way".

This is not welcome news and I wonder if anyone can tell me if Openreach are likely to be flexible about the under-floor route?

Looking at the website it is not clear what the 30m extension cable refers to, it could be an Ethernet cable from the ONT to the router. I don't think it is the incoming fibre. If BT deem your ducting to be suitable for fibre they will use it, I'm sure I have read of other cases where ducting installed by the end user has been satisfactory.

Edited by Realalemadrid (Mon 19-Sep-16 15:22:30)

Believe we are talking about the EZ Bend cable that comes in a length of 30m and is then cut down to fit, with 2 metres spare at each end and the rule of thumb is corners should not be a tighter radius than a 2p coin for that run of fibre.

http://www.newdevelopments-openreach.co.uk/resources... goes through it all, but is aimed at developers who pre-install the EZ Bend cable

I am sure the engineer would be delighted to use your duct for the fibre lead in. The bt bumpf just means that we won't take up floors ourselves, but if the customer does it we would happily use the route.

A friendly Openreach engineer gave me a 30m Fibre cable so the I could install it for them prior to the appointment. The cable goes up the outside wall, into the loft through the soffit, under the boarding in the loft and then down through a hole in the ceiling into the bedroom that I use as an office. When the installation engineer arrived he cut off the excess and spliced to the external point, mounted the ONTE and plugged in the cable. Job done.

That's what I did and the BT engineer was only too happy to route the fibre through the conduit. He even used the maximum 30m length at my request even though the run only needed about 3-4m and let me coil the excess under the floorboards in case I ever wanted to move the ONT without having to pay for a new splice.

So unless you get an awkward engineer you should be fine.

Thanks for the advice. We now have our connection and the engineer was happy to use the underfloor trunking.

Believe we are talking about the EZ Bend cable that comes in a length of 30m and is then cut down to fit,

That's the very thing.

with 2 metres spare at each end

Nope, only need two meters spare at the CSP end, the other is connectorised.

Always better to be a bit wrong when it leaves more spare though

Got about 50cm left on mine