Who is running Fiber

There recently was a team of guys pulling fiber between the BT poles in our area. I asked them what they were doing and it was in fact pulling the Fiber for FTTP. They were not OpenReach. The poles all now say Fiber Overhead and there is the extra box. The only thing is when I check my Exchange it still shows as FTTP not enabled.

So I guess my questions are:
1. How do I know when FTTP is available? And by whom?
2. Why would they put Fiber in the field before even enabling the exchange?

Thanks

Sounds more like a provider such as CityFibre. Services like these are a private network which is then leased off to select ISP's to provide service.

In reply to a post by mjn1210:

There recently was a team of guys pulling fiber between the BT poles in our area. I asked them what they were doing and it was in fact pulling the Fiber for FTTP. They were not OpenReach. The poles all now say Fiber Overhead and there is the extra box. The only thing is when I check my Exchange it still shows as FTTP not enabled.

So I guess my questions are:
1. How do I know when FTTP is available? And by whom?
2. Why would they put Fiber in the field before even enabling the exchange?

Thanks

For anyone to help you with who is installing Fibre they would really need to see a picture of the extra box you make reference too.

Doubtless, if this work is for Joe Public, they’ll be lobbing a flyer through your door when it’s ready.

They have to start somewhere.

It could be Trooli, or Zzoom, or Gigaclear, etc etc

In reply to a post by mjn1210:

The only thing is when I check my Exchange it still shows as FTTP not enabled.


2. Why would they put Fiber in the field before even enabling the exchange?

Thanks

My local exchange in Not Fibre Enabled But I have FTTP as it comes 12 miles from a exchange that is enabled and has OLT for the Fibre 'HeadEnd Exchange'.

It took over 1 year from your stage for ours to go live.

Have a look at this page.

In reply to a post by mjn1210:

The only thing is when I check my Exchange it still shows as FTTP not enabled.

Where are you checking that?

Samknows is useless at updating their availability. Take no notice of their site.
FTTP also doesn't come from the nearest exchange in many cases.

OpenReach use sub-contractors for most of their FTTP rollout so even though the crew working weren't OpenReach it may be them who are rolling out to you.

That is precisely how FTTP works.

It doesn’t come from your closest copper/ADSL serving exchange unless your local exchange happens to be a headend exchange for FTTP/FTTC.

Hence why BT will need a fraction of their current exchange estate once PSTN and copper is fully retired.

You could differentiate between an overhead Openreach FTTP service which uses the CommScope 4/8/12 port CBTs (with “teets”) and the AltNets like CityFibre who use the hinged lid stylee HellermannTyton CBTs generally.

I don’t think any AltNets use the CommScope or Corning CBTs - happy to be proven wrong.

Might though be harder to work out precisely which AltNet it is though unless they have announced a coverage in that area.

Sorry, just thought it would help

You’ve got nothing to apologise for I was just adding comment. Didn’t mean to come across as critical.

I was checking on this site. My current exchange is EACOX, but I know the other one which serves houses a few streets over is EABRW

That makes sense an could explain it. My current exchange is EACOX, but there is another exchange that serves the houses a few streets over which is EABRW

In reply to a post by mjn1210:

That makes sense an could explain it. My current exchange is EACOX, but there is another exchange that serves the houses a few streets over which is EABRW

Based on those two exchanges its likely to be Openreach, either via a commercial rollout or via BDUK

In reply to a post by mjn1210:

The poles all now say Fiber Overhead

Altnet should have there name on the label. No name and it's odds on to be Openreach deployment

In reply to a post by FibreBubble:

Altnet should have there name on the label. No name and it's odds on to be Openreach deployment

Not necessarily. Mine is supplied by Quantum and it doesn't have any name on the boxes. We first got a card posted through the letter box in early February, saying they were installing. About a week later a new fibre cable was pulled into the village, using the same route (it was pulled past the FTTC cabinet!) that the OR FTTC takes from the next village (where the company were also installing FTTP) and then for a couple of weeks boxes and cables appeared on each pole. I went live in mid March. Pretty painless tbh. And no, nothing to do with OR at all.

mjn1210 might be better off exploring whether any Altnets are doing the work. After all, I'd looked at the OR site only a month earlier and that showed that there were no plans for FTTP in the area at all.

Edited by 69bertie (Thu 09-Sep-21 20:44:00)

I believe all PIA should be labelled on the cables and any attachments, but they may not visible from ground level. However PIA and the associated FTTP builds have become something of a free for all and shortcuts in safety and quality are commonplace.

I was talking about the 'fibre overhead' label on the pole should have the altnet name on it. As witchunt says, all the cables should also be labelled.

But as witchunt also says it is the wild west out there in PIA land.

Edited by FibreBubble (Fri 10-Sep-21 10:19:07)

as witchunt also say,s it is the wild west out there

100% agree

In reply to a post by mjn1210:

There recently was a team of guys pulling fiber between the BT poles in our area. I asked them what they were doing and it was in fact pulling the Fiber for FTTP. They were not OpenReach. The poles all now say Fiber Overhead and there is the extra box. The only thing is when I check my Exchange it still shows as FTTP not enabled.

So I guess my questions are:
1. How do I know when FTTP is available? And by whom?
2. Why would they put Fiber in the field before even enabling the exchange?

Thanks

<Pedant mode on>
... fiber is the American spelling and the British, Australian, NZ spelling is fibre. Whether we're talking breakfast cereal or small strands of glass with light pulses inside.
< pedant mode off >

<Pedant mode on>
... fiber is the American spelling and the British, Australian, NZ spelling is fibre. Whether we're talking breakfast cereal or small strands of glass with light pulses inside.
< pedant mode off >


Americanisms. It's gotten worse.

In reply to a post by FibreBubble:

But as witchunt also says it is the wild west out there in PIA land.

I agree, around my way there were some interesting safety practices by PIA-using subcontractors.

With that said the contractors installing OR FTTP were only slighty less awful in their work at height safety practices. And while the PIA guys were pretty good at sweeping up after themselves, the streets were covered in offcuts of COF250 for weeks, which only OR were using.

Well said !

Offcuts ??

Round here I’ve seen footway boxes left open and unguarded whilst the gang working are a couple of hundred metres away …. an accident waiting to happen.

And all these copper joints couldn’t have been laying in the water at the bottom of joint boxes as the blue rope brigade passed through could they ??

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Round here I’ve seen footway boxes left open and unguarded whilst the gang working are a couple of hundred metres away …. an accident waiting to happen.

That's pretty bad. Round my way the open footway boxes have generally been guarded on two sides not four, and the covers have been left outside the barriers in the still active section of footway. There has also been heavy use of folding barrier as access equipment - one man braces the barrier against the pole while the second climbs it to coil cable at the top of the capping.

The discarded offcuts have been anywhere from 0.3m to 1m sections of COF250 type cable, often with the end of a draw rope attached. Plus the usual selection of dropped nails, and even an elephant's foot.

The OR contractors (I can't remember who now, maybe KN) were impressively fast, but sweeping up didn't seem to have been part of the training.

Perhaps this cartoon from Private Eye in August 2020 sums things up.

https://imgur.com/a/VXWQiqR

Edit: Spoiler alert - contains strong language.

Edited by GonePostal (Fri 10-Sep-21 18:51:31)

In reply to a post by GonePostal:

Perhaps this cartoon from Private Eye in August 2020 sums things up.

https://imgur.com/a/VXWQiqR

Very apt

In reply to a post by GonePostal:

Perhaps this cartoon from Private Eye in August 2020 sums things up.

https://imgur.com/a/VXWQiqR

Edit: Spoiler alert - contains strong language.

That’s excellent ! 😄

Pinemedia in Sheffield appear to be using the smaller CBTs on poles (mainly 4 port) that look very similar to Openreach ones, need to take a closer look to see which brand they are. They are the only altnet I’ve seen using that type.

They seem to have gone for the same approach as Openreach as their CSPs on houses look like a clone of the Openreach ones too, just with the Pinemedia name on them.

Interesting. Thanks for the update.