Drilling holes and placing cable in a boarded loft

FreedomFibre (TalkTalk) has deployed fibre to the poles and BT has sent my parents a letter to renew and have FTTP. They are not on a priority exchange but an ONT can be ordered. They can receive 80/20 but are on 50/10 based on needs and cost. Their contract (BB and LRS) runs until May so nothing will happen until that date. They have a BT 8600 Truecall call vetting system – and they love it. No spam / nuisance calls.

I’m aware of FTTP restrictions in terms of power outage/no phone service; old hardware/Telecare/analogue alarms will not work. They have mobiles.

I’m aware of other alternatives, such as: Virgin cable – looks expensive; mobile BB – need to test the signal with PAYG SIMS but the biggest hurdle will be the surrender of the landline number and informing companies/contacts of the change; port landline to VOIP but I cannot see how the BT 8600 could be used; another provider who may still offer FTTC until a stop sell is placed on the exchange.

Considering FTTP for the moment. Looking at TBB forums and google, I think I understand the FTTP connections: CBT -> CSP outside property -> ONT inside property, and VRI (Voice Re-Injection – allows current internal extension wiring to be re-used in FTTP scenarios).

Their current setup is as follows: The drop wire enters at ground level (near a gas meter) and the internal extension wiring is used to terminate at the NTE5c upstairs in a bedroom next to the computer and Smart Hub2. The other pairs of the extension wiring are connected as an extension to the NTE5c and downstairs there is an extension socket which is connected to the BT8600 base station. There is another BT8600 handset upstairs next to the computer.

Given the gas meter and the computer location, to me, the best solution seems to be: The CSP could be located at eaves/soffit level, a hole drilled into the middle loft where the boiler is located. The property is a dormer bungalow and there is a first floor walk in (middle) loft which is boarded. Another hole drilled from the middle loft into the bedroom to position the ONT.

Looking at Openreach’s https://www.openreach.co.uk/cpportal/products/fibre-... it looks like the first the “standard option” would meet our requirements.

Am I correct in thinking Openreach would drill holes externally and internally, and access the boarded walk in middle loft to thread the cable from the CSP to the ONT?

Once OR had departed, I could perform VRI by cutting off the female end of a 4 wire telephone extension wire, connecting this to a BT77B junction box, disconnecting the extension wiring from the NTE5c and connecting into the BT77B and finally plugging the male part of the extension wire into the SH2. There is a youtube video to help me. This would make the BT8600 base station work. Alternatively, I could offer the OR engineer some biscuits and a cup of tea.

Thank you

Bt wont put the csp at eaves soffit level it has to be at ground level ie couple of feet oof the ground so that the fibre can be spliced, they cant do that up a ladder..

Or they will place it inside a loft.

Thanks @threelegs

Forgot the need to splice and that the equipment may be too heavy to operate at the top of a ladder.

Thanks @MHC

Having the CSP on the inside of the property in the loft would be preferable

It will be down to the installer on the day. When mine was done, there was already conduit in place for either pre- or post- CSP fibre. He looked at the lofts, well boarded and light and offered me te choice, as well as the easiest for him!

A few months ago I was in Laos and while eating breakfast watched a guy use a fusion splicer up a rickety ladder while his mate held it steady. Did make me laugh and was a great example of how they do FTTP in South East Asia

To be fair you can safely splice climbing up a pole with the right training and gear. It’s done fairly frequently.

Thanks @MHC

It would look "daft" to drop the fibre from pole height at the eaves/roof to a CSP at ground level and then take another cable up the wall into the loft.

If it was dropped to the CSP and then entered the property at ground level, then to avoid electrical appliances in the vicinity of the gas meter, I'd need a piece of fibre to pass under the floor, up a duct that contains the existing copper extension wiring (and the central heating pipes), into the middle walk-in loft and then through the wall into the bedroom. A pull cord may be possible to ease installtion. [When we had cable TV in the days before NTL we were given coax to lay under the floors before the install day. I cannot see OR matching the same service and I bet I cannot buy my own fibre for OR to use [not sure of the price]]

I suppose the ONT could be located downstairs away from the gas meter, say in a corner or behind some furntiure and I could thread a readily available ethernet cable through the house. The router & ONT would be separated for troubleshooting scenarios.

Just trying to find the options. My parents may not like some of the ideas!