Can't get FTTP when neighbors have it!

Hi all

I have just moved into a new house, and I'm pulling my hair out as I can't seem to order FTTP , despite neighbors having it. I'm hoping for some advice, as people in this forum seem far more knowledgeable about the issue than I!

Situation:

My road has two postcodes: one for houses on one side of the road (odd numbers) and one for houses on the other side (even numbers). My house is an even number. The odd numbers on the opposite side have FTTP, which I have verified by searching on www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com. I assume this is through under-ground ducts, as there are no poles visible on the road. Those houses show up as being connected to "Cabinet 6". My house (even number) does not have access to FTTP, and it looks like no-one on my side does either. I am connected to Cabinet 7, but my adjacent neighbor is connected to Cabinet 6 (i.e. the same cabinet that apparently offers FTTP to others on the road).

OpenReach position:

I contacted OpenReach through the online form and received the following response:

"We have reviewed your query regarding your neighbour receiving Fibre to the premises (FTTP) and would like to inform that the neighbours getting fibre service are routed through different cabinet and distribution point however, your property is routed through a different network which has not been upgraded yet. However, the great news is that we will have some fantastic connectivity options for your home. I can see the equipment you’re connected to is getting an upgrade. This will give you the option of ordering fibre to the premises (FTTP). Our engineering work is due to start the beginning of January 2026 and will take several months to complete."

Questions:

How do I get OpenReach to connect me to fibre? It seems like it should be a simple job as the fibre is obviously there, meters from my house.

In case it is relevant, I'm not even sure if the copper master socket is in the house - the previous seller might have removed / damaged it. Is this OpenReach's responsibility to sort, and wouldn't they surely just connect it to Fibre at the same time, instead of running new copper to FTTC?

It is quite possible that the ducting that delivers the fibre to the houses on the other side of the road is not connected to the ducting on your side. In the end all fibre projects need to stop somewhere - that could be meaning that people on one side of the street have it and people on the other side don't; as in your case. It doesn't sound like it is a database error it just happens you are on the edge (the wrong side) of a fibre deployment. The main way available that you could potentially make this happen yourself is to pay for FTTPoD but that can be VERY expensive and so you would need reasonably deep pockets to do it.

If you had any option it would have been better to check fibre availability before moving in - but you may have had no choice in the move.

Edited by ian72 (Thu 15-Sep-22 16:45:58)

Is it a new house as in it's new to you, or is it a group of new houses on a previously vacant plot? Is it a case of the older properties all being able to get FTTP and the new builds cannot?

The OPs home must be connected to a different DP than his neighbour as they are on different cabinets. They won't get FTTP until another CBT that is mapped to their home is connected.

You received a strange answer as you and your neighbours (your side of the road) are connected to a different cabinet.

Cabinets have nothing to do with FTTP but it will come when it comes.

Yep, it even says that on the reply the OP posts from Openreach …. Different cabinet, and different DP, a bit of the network that has not yet been upgraded.

So the OP will just have to wait.

In reply to a post by qwerty89:

However, the great news is that we will have some fantastic connectivity options for your home... Our engineering work is due to start the beginning of January 2026

Ouch. I hope that's a typo, otherwise that's not really fantastic news at all.

In reply to a post by candlerb:

In reply to a post by qwerty89:

However, the great news is that we will have some fantastic connectivity options for your home... Our engineering work is due to start the beginning of January 2026

Ouch. I hope that's a typo, otherwise that's not really fantastic news at all.

Sounds like the answer from "where and when" - that's a realistic date for some areas.

Where-and-when has one band from April 2022 to April 2026, and another band from April 2021 to December 2026.

Hence they're definitely on the tail end of that plan - I'm surprised that this far out they could narrow it down to a particular month. Also, they said that was the *start* of the work, not when service will be available to order.

All in all, not really great news for the OP: probably 3.5 - 4 years before it's available. I suppose it means they could order a leased line on a 3 year contract, and know it probably wouldn't be wasted, unless an altnet comes along in the mean time.

(Or even FTTPoD, but that's a poor choice I think: at best it would be a similar cost over 3 years, but it has to be paid all up-front. Plus there's a high risk of it not going live for 12-18 months)

If you want it quick, then you could strike up a deal with one of your new neighbors to share their connection with you via P2P antenna or even a cable if your position allows it.