FTTP: Highs and Lows...

Hello! Not really a question - just thought I'd share my story here. I moved into a new-build house in 2018. Only options for Internet connections back then were VDSL (~30Mbps) and LTE. A few years later, 5G popped up with a Three cell just around the corner, so that got us by for a while.

One day in ~October 2021, a contractor for Openreach ("Light Source") started fitting overhead fibre right outside, with a splice enclosure & CBT on the pole literally 5 metres away. The wholesale checker insisted that FTTP wasn't available; but after enquiring (to my surprise), Openreach replied and said they'd updated the database and we could order. So, hello from 900/110 FTTP. Great!

Fast-forward to today. A house move on the horizon, just a couple of streets over, actually passed by the same overhead run of fibre, with another telegraph pole & CBT (with four free ports) one hop away (see image - https://imgur.com/a/NDexExp). Wholesale checker says the same - not available, and not in plan. Optimistically, I made a very similar enquiry, but no luck at all this time.

First response: "Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) was possible at your old address as my colleague identified spare capacity when responding to you 21.10.21. I have checked again and spare capacity no longer exists. "

(Tried again) Second response: "Further we have had a look at your neighbours, those who are getting FTTP are served from a different network infrastructure. I am sorry you cant benefit from the existing infrastructure as it would create capacity issues."

Seems like a hard "no". I can understand why they wouldn't want un-planned use of CBT ports leaving in-plan customers potentially out in the cold; but still really disappointed.

I'll consider springing for the FTTPoD survey but reading other posts that does appear to have somewhat slipped out of vogue lately.

I don't expect there are any other options but to get used to slow, impacted VDSL again, but any suggestions/consolations would be welcomed.

Apart from "stay in your current house", there's a pretty comprehensive discussion in this ispreview thread.

The FTTPoD Near Network Trial was supposed to have ended on 31st May, but you could check with Cerberus if it's been extended. If it has, you could spring £300 for a survey.

But even if you meet the terms, and you are within the footprint of an existing splitter (so only a CBT needs to be added), your first year's costs are likely to total about £4,000.

Seems like a hard "no". I can understand why they wouldn't want un-planned use of CBT ports leaving in-plan customers potentially out in the cold; but still really disappointed.

This has been seen before, a CBT is put on a pole and the properties get pre allocated to the ports and free ports not taken up by those properties are not released to close properties, even ones originally served by that pole in earlier configurations. Very different from FTTC where its the ports at the cabinet that are the bottleneck