Are ISPs capable of resolving complexed issues on FTTP ??

After seeing the mess Zen made of resolving a speed issue affecting multiple FTTP Users after a GEA migration (that they still haven't got to the bottom of after 2 months) I am really starting to wonder if the majority of ISPs are incapable of resolving more complexed FTTP issues.

The first thing they normally do is pass it to Openreach in the hope that they will find an issue but once they have done that and have replaced the router they seem to be totally clueless what to do next.

What are the chances of say Sky or Talk Talk fixing an issue if a company like Zen make a dogs dinner of it.

Edited by deleted (Wed 25-May-22 11:13:53)

Looking at Starfire's thread with FTTP and Sky the answer is no. I guess its down to 2 issues, FTTP is relatively new coupled with fewer faults in comparison to ADSL and FTTC.

They clearly dont have field-based staff with the appropriate skill sets.

ISPs should never (IMO) rely on someone else to "look into" a problem unless all avenues on their own network are investigated first. It would save them money (through not paying OR for NFF charges), and provide better customer service to their end-users.

In my experience it's no worse than it was on either FTTC or ADSL. The extra backhaul providers add a new layer of complexity that applies equally to all technologies.

It should be easier as there's active equipment at the end of the circuit. Ask the customer what the PON lights are doing and you can pretty quickly narrow the issue down to a problem in the house or in the network.

Especially for the larger providers with lots of customers in each area it should almost be automatic to detect wider area issues, and the testing functionality available in the ONTs and the routers that ISPs buy now only makes it easier. Though it does require them to make use of the tools available to them. An ISP that has a widespread issue but no mechanism for the customer service team answering the phones to flag it to the network team or even a system where a widespread outage can even be admitted to are going to continue to provide [censored] service regardless of the physical delivery method.

These kind of roadblocks tend to happen when an ISP has inadequate fault resolution process, they perhaps assume they only need to deal with the most common types of faults (or at least the cheapest to implement fixes), and then what falls through the net gets lost.

Usually the get out of jail card in these cases would be escalating to CEO type level with the largest companies.