Exchange only lines hope again

Posted this in 2018 https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fibre/f/4595163-ex...

Since then nothing even tried the local MP.

Being bored tried the Openreach checker which has always come back with a blank page and lo and behold (Good news – we’ll be upgrading your area to Full Fibre (Fibre to the Premises - FTTP) soon).

So by soon I assume it means in the next two years?

Unless the checker is wrong Brandsby already has Fibre.

Pictured here.

Correct but my village is connected to Brandsby by OE lines and has never been upgraded because of the cost.

I would take it with a pinch of salt until you actually see it available on the checkers. It may well be they have reevaluated and put you in the mix because of the changes in costs to deliver, it could also be that you have been added but could be taken out again when they look further into it.

Agreed, I have a friend round the corner from me and they had all the FTTP external hardware installed back in 2011 / 2012 (not sure how far the install got) then everything halted like ours was back then.

Then a year or so ago they had a Fibre cabinet installed and then 5 days before going live the cabinet was removed to be placed in a more suitable place, which never happened.

Now they are down for FTTP and it has said that for several months now.

So I would also take that as a pinch of salt until 1: its appears in the availability checker or 2: you see engineers installing the actual hardware and then wait for it to go live.

Paul

Looking good for Yearsley. Probably 6-12 months though

It was like that with me as well here in Central London.

I was on EO Line and for years the checker was showing that I was on a plan for Superfast Fibre (FTTC).

Then around 2 years ago it showed plan for FTTP instead. "Your area is currently in our plans to be upgraded to Fibre to the Premises" Then it reverted back to FTTC because it appeared that my building management whom refused Hyperoptic also rejected Openreach FTTP.

Around 6 months later it was reverted back to showing plan for Superfast again. Then the checker was showing that it was being connected to a cabinet that later on got reversed, because it was too far away!

I was almost certain after this case that I won't get upgraded. Then suddenly to my surprise in October the 1st 2019 I got upgraded to FTTC! I had a brief disruption to my normal ADSL internet connection for 1-2 hours. I knew there must've been some engineering works going on as this was unusual. I quickly checked the BT Wholesale checker and it was showing FTTC cabinet went live.

It can take a very long time to get upgraded. My area was one of the last 5% EO Lines to be upgraded to FTTC.

You may go through a similar phase, if you can't get wayleave agreement passed for FTTP, Openreach may change their minds and upgrade you to FTTC instead. I know this will be a disappointment, but I suppose FTTC is better than nothing.

Thanks all for the replies I will keep you posted of developments., presumably it will be after the Lockdown is lifted.

Thinking a long way ahead does the fibre modem need to be occasionally rebooted like an adsl modem?. Just thinking about its location. At the moment the adsl unit is in the garage next to the master socket and is a bit of a pain to get to.

In reply to a post by agkq62:

Thanks all for the replies I will keep you posted of developments., presumably it will be after the Lockdown is lifted.

Thinking a long way ahead does the fibre modem need to be occasionally rebooted like an adsl modem?. Just thinking about its location. At the moment the adsl unit is in the garage next to the master socket and is a bit of a pain to get to.

No the fibre modem (called an ONT) doesn't need rebooted.
Neither does a good ADSL/VDSL modem though. I had over 400 days uptime on mine until a local powercut.

You get to choose where the ONT is installed when the engineer comes to feed the fibre to your property.

You get to choose where the ONT is installed when the engineer comes to feed the fibre to your property.

I’d say ‘within reason’ ....

In reply to a post by BLaZiNgSPEED:

You may go through a similar phase, if you can't get wayleave agreement passed for FTTP, Openreach may change their minds and upgrade you to FTTC instead. I know this will be a disappointment, but I suppose FTTC is better than nothing.

Can't see there being many MDUs in that village.

In reply to a post by agkq62:

Thinking a long way ahead does the fibre modem need to be occasionally rebooted like an adsl modem?. Just thinking about its location. At the moment the adsl unit is in the garage next to the master socket and is a bit of a pain to get to.

Well my ONT (original 4 data, 2 Phone port ONT) hasn't been rebooted since I have got Fibre in end of 2016, so no the Modem doesn't need rebooting.

The router (if with BT and using their Smart Hub 2) may / will reboot itself when it needs too do so, but you can use your own router to reduce those reboots.

I would choose a location close to a power socket with at least 2 sockets free (1: ONT, 2: Router) and if you choose BT's new Digital Voice Service it "may" need to be near the Phone Master Socket also.

We chose close to a double power socket in our front room, this made it the easiest for the engineer to install.

The Engineer "might" move your Master Socket if asked, but I would explain what needs to be done / moved to the ISP when ordering it and ask them to put that in the install notes so that the engineer(s) knows about it on arrival to do the install.

Also might be a goo idea to also confirm this information with the engineer(s) at the start of the install.
The Engineer normally knocks before they start to confirm where the ONT will be placed, so be clear and reasonable where you would like it to be placed.

Paul

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

You get to choose where the ONT is installed when the engineer comes to feed the fibre to your property.

I’d say ‘within reason’ ....

Agreed, I chose the easiest location for the engineer that was also by two spare sockets.

The engineer did ask if I wanted to have the fibre run down the side of my house (i.e. ally way) and have the CSP there, but I said the front would be the easiest for them and easier if at a later date when / if they needed access to the CSP.

Paul

In reply to a post by PaulKirby:

if you choose BT's new Digital Voice Service it "may" need to be near the Phone Master Socket also.

Only if you have extension wiring you want to use - and even if you do, you ought to be able to connect the voice circuit at any extension.

In reply to a post by candlerb:

In reply to a post by PaulKirby:

if you choose BT's new Digital Voice Service it "may" need to be near the Phone Master Socket also.

Only if you have extension wiring you want to use - and even if you do, you ought to be able to connect the voice circuit at any extension.

This is true.

Paul

I knew there would be a catch.

Rang Zen and FTTP has an installation cost of £55 and the monthly charge will increase from £34.50 for ADSL to £51.50.

£34.50 for ADSL? I'm paying Zen £29.99 for FTTC inc the phone line. Which I suppose makes £51.50 look even worse.

John

Not sure why Zen told you £51.50 - for what speed? Their checker is currently offering me Unlimited Full Fibre 1-4 as £34.99 for 40/10, £38.99 for 80/20, £49.99 for 160/30, and £59.99 for 330/50 (all plus £55 setup, with 18 month contract)

Are you in a Market A area?

The cheapest FTTP offers are likely to be with BT. Apart from Zen you should also check Aquiss and iDNET.

Just looked at the figures again and the £51.50 includes unlimited phone calls. According to Zen there is no option for FTTC and is either ADSL or FTTP>

You still didn't say what package it is? How much are the charging for the unlimited calls on top of the package?

It was just a tentative inquiry as the upgrade still has to happen. Unlimited calls was around £5

But that still doesn't give us any hint as to whether it was a good price or not. If it was for 40/10 then that is a very bad price but if it was for 300Mb/s then not too bad at all. A tentative enquiry must be based on a particular package and yet the price doesn't seem to match up with those that others have posted.