Swish Fibre : some questions before ordering

Background

I am currently on Sky's Superfast service and considering switching to Swish (or Sky's Ultrafast).

I have a SkyQ hub, SkyQ box and one SkyQ Minibox.

I have wireless security devices (those immediately adjacent to the house are at 5Gbps, but some are remote, with the furthest being some 25 metres from a WiFi extender at 2.4Gbps.

For reasons of practicality (space and availability of mains power supply restrictions) the ONT would have to be installed some 20 metres further away than the current router/WAP location.

Swish's website is woefully short on technical details and answers, so ...

Questions

1) Does the ONT have an integrated router/WAP or is a separate box supplied/required?

2) I would have to relocate it to adjacent to the ONT, but will my current SkyQ router work with the Swish ONT?

3) Will Plume Pods co-exist with the existing SkyQ WiFi network?

4) If not, how do they replace it whilst maintaining all the current SkyQ functionality (SkyQ box, Minibox)?

5) Would using Plume Pods enable a mesh network extending some 30 metres from the location of the ONT/router/WAP within the house (brick and stud walls and wooden floors) and a further 25 metres outside the house (from a brick and glass conservatory into a double-skinned wooden structure)?

6) If yes, would this be at 5Gbps?

7) Any experience suggesting how many Plume Pods would be required in a four-bedroomed house measuring some 10 metres by 12 metres?

TIA,
FF

I'm not so familiar with Sky Q services / boxes but I do have experience of a fairly custom Swish install. You'd also do well to message Chris from Swish on these forums (here). That said, here goes...

1) The ONT is a separate box that acts as the demarcation point between Swish's network and yours and also translates fibre signals to ethernet. You would then connect a router to the ONT using an ethernet cable.

2) Judging by what I can find online the Sky Q hub appears to be a ADSL/VDSL modem only and doesn't have a WAN ethernet port. This means you won't be able to use it. Caveat here that there appears to be several iterations of the Sky Q hub and I don't know which one you've got. You can use the Plume pod that Swish supplies as a router or buy your own. Also, if it's possible to run an ethernet cable from the ONT's location to your preferred router location then that'd be the best option (this is what I have).

3) Theoretically yes, but per previous answer your Sky Q hub may be of no use for a fibre connection so in reality no.

4) Your setup would be ONT connected to the router (a Plume pod) via an ethernet cable and then other devices connected to that either directly via WiFi, via another cable or via another Plume pod. That router could be placed next to the ONT or it could be many metres away if you're able to run a longer cable. Yes, your other Sky Q boxes will work with the Plume WiFi or connected directly to them via an ethernet cable.

5-7) I don't have direct experience here as I used Unifi access points connected via ethernet rather rely on a mesh system. I do have a similar-sized house of similar construction though and I have 7 APs in total - three downstairs, two upstairs, one outside and one in an outbuilding. This gets me 5Ghz coverage everywhere but could also be considered overkill by some . If you reduce the number of APs, then expect clients to have to drop to 2.4GHz more often in order to maintain a stable, but slower, connection. Lastly, if it's feasible to connect any/all of your Sky Q boxes via a cable to the router (or nearest Plume pod), then do.

@gkw, many thanks, very helpful.

@fitzfoto

did you go ahead with Swish in the end ? If so, how are things with Sky Q ?

I also have Sky Q. Whilst I dont have a sky q router, as currently with BT, I remember all sorts of challenges get Sky and non-Sky wifi to work well together when Sky Q was installed.

Im hesitant to switch to another provider due to the whole set up likely breaking !

I have ordered, but have no date for installation as I am currentky in Florida.

I will revert when I have evidence either way.

PS: I had touse a VPN to post this, as the CAPTCHA was unreachble otherwise!

Update:

Installation went fine. PlumePod is still in its box and my Deco X60 mesh is working excellently.

Download speed has been above advertised, but upload has only managed around 60% of advertised.

I very recently started to suffered connectivity issues for a few minutes at a time (total disconnect) and slow speeds (below 10Mbps up and down). Swish Fibre's email response was quick with a follow-up telephone call to say they could see something "odd" happening on my connection. Unfortunately the engineer didn't show when expected and I await a further appointment. So 50/50 on service.

Were your speedtests on a wired or wireless connection?

A belated reply, apologies.

Wireless.

A Swish Fibre (now Cuckoo Fibre) engineer discovered a poor connection in the slice box outside. After correcting that, speeds were at or above the advertised rates.

The engineer replaced the ONT, but the problems reoccurred at irregular intervals.

Eventually tried to a poor connection in the splice box outside.