FTTP installation requirements

Hello all,

FTTP has finally reached my area and an OpenReach engineer will be here soon to install it, I am with Zen.

Unfortunately I don't have power where the telephone line enters the building and I also want my main network to be wired and not to rely on WiFi only.

I've seen some shocking work done in my area with FTTP so I am planning to prepare for the installation myself so the engineer won't have to drill random holes in my property.

The plan is to run a wiring conduit from where the telephone line enters the property to a small nearby cupboard. There I will have power and the router waiting for the fiber box. I reckon the distance is going to be 5 meters from the original point of entrance.

Now, the above requires opening my walls so I was hoping Zen could confirm that OpenReach are going to be happy with the setup - in particular whether a 32mm ducting is enough for their wiring - but as usual nobody can give me an answer. I could wait for the engineer to arrive but that would mean having to re-schedule the visit if I wait to do the work until I get the green light or having to re-do it if they're not happy.

I know I won't be 100% sure until the engineer is here but could someone please advise on this? Would 32mm ducting be enough and will OpenReach be ok to route their cables an additional 5 metres to reach my desired point of installation? I will prepare everything for them, so they'll only have to use the pull-wire I will leave in place for them

Thank you!

32mm is ample. The cable diameter is a smidge over 3mm in diameter. You could actually use a smaller conduit if that’s easier. The cable is pre-connectorised at the ONT end, but they will pull through the raw end to the CSP to splice it with the drop cable from the street. If you you have a draw cord in place, the engineer will be very happy.

+1

As already mentioned 32mm will be ample.

I installed standard 20mm conduit which ultimately was used for the heavier main fibre feed as they instlled the CSP internally. Do NOT use corners or elbows, use swept bends as it will pull through easily. I did not solvent weld mine, just in case but all was fine. Also, use a pipe slice to cut the conduit rather than a hacksaw to avaoid any rough ends where snagging may occur.

Thanks all for the advice. I was indeed concerned that there might be some pre-installed termination which might not fit in a pipe.

I'm planning to have a flexible conduit, so no sharp bends and yes I will leave a pull-wire behind! I think I'll still go for the 32mm, it fits "whatever the future throws at me"

Cheers!!

Flexible can be a problem - recently when trying to pull a draw tape with a rounded end through, it was continually catching on even the slighttest bends.

In my experience a proper flexible wire conduit is smooth inside or not bumpy enough to catch on things. I'll try to select a proper one. Failing that there is wire lubricant which I really recommend to anybody struggling with that task - it turns what looks like an impossible task into a 5 minutes job

thanks for the feedback!

Is it? All the ones I come across are ridged: Delta, Tower, Adaptaflex, Univolt, Flexicon and more. Which brand are you proposing?

I wouldn't be able to mention a brand but something like this

That said, if the ridges are not too big with small dips between them, they shouldn't interfere with the pulling. It's when you have those large and rubbery ones which might become difficult.

The issue is not only the ridges, but that the conduit itself moves overall, so if what’s being pulled through meets some resistance, then the whole shebang moves.

100% - that's been my (detrimental) experience too. Flexi conduit must be secured at regular intervals so that its doesn't "bunch up" on itself and then the cable that's getting pulled through gets caught - even with smooth bore conduits its the sam issue.

Lubricants may help a bit, but its far preferable to have it secure from movement.

The most important thing is to secure the conduit so the effort you put into pushing a fish tape down it is going into moving the tape along the conduit, rather than pushing it out the way. I've recently put 25mm Flexicon brand conduit underneath a floor (crawled into a basement void) to create a path from the front wall of a terrace to a cupboard in the living room where the ONT should be installed, there was 360 degrees of bends in total (4x gentle 90s) and the fish tape went through without any issue.

I wouldn't use 20mm flexible conduit as the restriction introduced by the clip-on glands loses you a lot of internal diameter even when using 25mm, taking 20mm down to 14mm or so of usable room would be frustrating if you ever wanted to pull a second connectorised fibre through.

Edited by jpm (Wed 05-Oct-22 13:48:20)

In reply to a post by tony359:

I wouldn't be able to mention a brand but something like this

That one is huge: 152mm inner diameter. But at £399 for 10 meters, it had better be good.

If you're pulling cable then it shouldn't really get snagged, even on conduit that is slightly ribbed internally. If it's getting caught then you've not taped it very well, or you're trying to get through a too sharp bend. Chuck a string through the conduit before you install it, or suck a plastic bag through with a vacuum cleaner and use that to pull the wire.

If this is for future planning I would consider 2x 25mm rather than a single 32mm, it means you aren't disturbing an existing fibre connection if you want to pull another through.

Edited by jpm (Wed 05-Oct-22 13:57:35)

That's reinforced ducting and 164mm diameter as well as £35/metre!

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

32mm is ample. The cable diameter is a smidge over 3mm in diameter. You could actually use a smaller conduit if that’s easier. The cable is pre-connectorised at the ONT end, but they will pull through the raw end to the CSP to splice it with the drop cable from the street. If you you have a draw cord in place, the engineer will be very happy.

I've got a 5-6 ish metre run through my loft between where the overhead drop wire hits the front of my bungalow, and to the top of some cable tray in my tech cupboard, (that presents itself into the floor of the loft space)

The loft is luxuriously fully boarded, and luxuriously lit with LED strip lights, so it ticks as many boxes as it can really, but when my day arrives the Openreach engineer may still refuse to go up there.

So, I was thinking, If I install 32mm conduit in the loft along that route, do I stand more of a chance to get the ONT located in my tech cupboard ?

Edit: Though I've forgotten about the CSP box, that would need to be inside the loft too, so its all probably moot ?

Edited by broadbandjockey (Wed 05-Oct-22 14:20:31)

Mine was installed through the loft without questions, and it's not boarded (let alone carpeted!) I did however install a 20mm conduit to run up the side of the house and through the eaves into the loft space. And it was FTTPoD which had been going on for nearly 18 months, which may have made a difference.

I concur with Pheasant: if you give them a conduit with a draw string, then they'll use it - anything to make their life easier *and* keep the customer happy.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

The issue is not only the ridges, but that the conduit itself moves overall, so if what’s being pulled through meets some resistance, then the whole shebang moves.

+1

In reply to a post by tony359:

That said, if the ridges are not too big with small dips between them, they shouldn't interfere with the pulling. It's when you have those large and rubbery ones which might become difficult.

sorry but i found myself reading that in a frankie howerd accent..........

(fetching dirty mac.....)

Gotcha all the suggestions thanks.

The link I provided was just an example of the type of conduits, I didn't really check the dimensions or the price.

Just another bit of (anecdotal) experience, my OpenReach engineer seemed very happy to put the CSP in a totally boarded out loft, indoors, fishing the fibre through sofits etc using the old 5-line drop wire which he disconnected.

I think as long as its easy and safe (as it sounds like it will be), they can be very accommodating.

that's amazing thanks. I was hoping for that as drilling and patching in an external wall must be much more time consuming than running a cable into some ducting!

Post deleted by Rhynchelma

In reply to a post by threelegs:

In reply to a post by tony359:

That said, if the ridges are not too big with small dips between them, they shouldn't interfere with the pulling. It's when you have those large and rubbery ones which might become difficult.

sorry but i found myself reading that in a frankie howerd accent..........

(fetching dirty mac.....)

Add the

"Lubricants may help a bit, but its far preferable to have it secure from movement."

and you have considerable "double entendre" material.