Unfortunate not-spot, can anything be done?

Hi all,

I'm trying to sort out fibre (900mbit ideally) to a property - no. 24 @ BT39 0SW Currently the estimate is 27-32mbit.

Turns out that this property is connected to a cabinet 1400m away (despite Fibre CAB31 being opposite the property 5 meters or so away)

Additionally, number 11 on this road can order BT full fibre 900 no problems.

To be able to provide a FTTP service to my house, Openreach say a property must be within approximately 150m of a connection point due to Engineering restrictions. The nearest active FTTP connection point is approximately 350m away.

I have investigated FTTPoD and the quote is roughly £5,000 for 300mbit.

Is there any scope via some method to get normal full fibre 900 somehow? or is my only option to pay the crazy install fee/monthly costs of FTTPoD?

I know you guys are a lot more knowledgeable than me about this stuff, so any input would be great
thanks

Edited by thesimo (Sun 13-Jun-21 15:10:44)

A few things to note:

* FTTP does not use cabinets at all. The fibre goes to a splitter node and from there straight to a fibre aggregation node. (*)
* FTTPoD 330/50 and FTTPoD 1000/220 are the same thing. If you see 330/50 it just means the database hasn't been updated recently. (**)
* If you got a desktop quote for FTTPoD for £5K, this doesn't mean anything. The final price could be lower, or these days much likely higher. You'll need to place an order and pay a non-refundable £250+VAT to get an actual price.

Anyway, it sounds like you've already spoken to Openreach and they've explained that they cannot connect you and why. Therefore you know this isn't just a database error, and some infrastructure would have to be built to serve you. FTTPoD (or CFP if you have some neighbours you can combine with) seems like the only realistic option.

If they just had to run 350m of fibre between poles to the nearest splitter, you'd think that it wouldn't cost much. But these days, post-survey prices for even "simple" FTTPoD jobs are coming in at around £8K+VAT. There is a spreadsheet of forum users results here.

You could ask about getting your copper diverted to cab 31, but this is only an outside chance. It's only likely to happen if this was an infill cabinet and your property was forgotten about when they were migrating lines over. It can still be a fight though - there are experiences on the forum you can read.

(*) Except in a few rare ultra-rural cases with a subtended headend in a cabinet.
(**) Or in a few rare cases that the equipment in the headend exchange is ECI, but in your case your neighbours can get 900 so that's definitely not the problem.

In reply to a post by candlerb:

* FTTPoD 330/50 and FTTPoD 1000/220 are the same thing. If you see 330/50 it just means the database hasn't been updated recently. (**)

(**) Or in a few rare cases that the equipment in the headend exchange is ECI, but in your case your neighbours can get 900 so that's definitely not the problem.

This is an interesting, I wonder if its possible to get 900 via FTTPoD even though all the checkers are reporting 330/50

Sounds interesting! What the heck is a subtended exchange?! I worked there years and never heard of it.

Almost certainly yes. Sometimes ISPs will only sell 300 rather than 900 when they don't have enough cross-connect capacity at the headend exchange. However, if your neighbours are getting 900, you'll get it too.

So don't worry that FTTPoD will get you any less than "regular" FTTP, because it's the same network. Personally I find 300M is plenty, although a bit faster upload would be nice.

In reply to a post by thesimo:

In reply to a post by candlerb:

* FTTPoD 330/50 and FTTPoD 1000/220 are the same thing. If you see 330/50 it just means the database hasn't been updated recently. (**)

(**) Or in a few rare cases that the equipment in the headend exchange is ECI, but in your case your neighbours can get 900 so that's definitely not the problem.

This is an interesting, I wonder if its possible to get 900 via FTTPoD even though all the checkers are reporting 330/50

It is.

https://www.cerberusnetworks.co.uk/connectivity-broa...

900/115Mbps FoD Ultra2: £174.00 Monthly**

The build cost is the same regardless of which package you choose. It's just the monthly price for the initial term that differs between different speeds taken.

Almost all final surveys we've seen in the last 2 years have been a minimum of £8k.
That includes many who had desktop quotes well below that.

From reading your post above it sounds like paying for FTTPoD would be the only way to guarantee you get FTTP soon.
Failing that you just need to wait and hope they decide to extend the network to you.

Even if you were within 350m that does not automatically mean you would have received it anyway. Capacity is usually built for a set number of properties.
There are many properties with FTTP literally next door who have no way of ordering FTTP other than through the expensive FTTPoD product.

In reply to a post by j0hn83:

Almost all final surveys we've seen in the last 2 years have been a minimum of £8k.
That includes many who had desktop quotes well below that.

A minimum of £8k is an entirely depressing figure

In reply to a post by _Icaras_:

Sounds interesting! What the heck is a subtended exchange?! I worked there years and never heard of it.

A subtended head-end.

See the last part of this article: https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/09/a-look...

In reply to a post by _Icaras_:

Sounds interesting! What the heck is a subtended exchange?! I worked there years and never heard of it.

Subtended Head-End.
Basically a mini-OLT. Can be installed in vented pods bolted on to a PCP.
They use an FTTC cabinets power and spare fibre.

It can both boost the range of FTTP from the Head-End or can save having to pull in new spine cabling. Mainly used in rural areas.

In reply to a post by thesimo:

This is an interesting, I wonder if its possible to get 900 via FTTPoD even though all the checkers are reporting 330/50

Yes. I read a forum post from someone who ordered 900M FTTPoD; if I remember correctly, the process was that the service was initially delivered as 300M and then regraded to 900M immediately after going live.

Cerberus is expensive for 900M, so if I were you, I'd order 300/50: this is the sweet spot in their price list, only £15 per month more than 115/20. Then just live with this for a year, and switch provider later if you find you need more speed.

Alternatively, once your FTTPoD is in, you could immediately order a *second* FTTP service at 900M from the likes of BT or Zen. There would be no extra installation fee, but Openreach would either install a second ONT, or would swap out your 1-port ONT for one of the new 4-port ONTs (I've not yet heard of anyone who has one though - the older 4-port ONTs were phased out a couple of years ago)