FTTP Good Practice

This query is about the way Openreach install underground connections.
I am in the process of getting FTTP installed by Openreach . It became available in the postcode last December but the necessary groundworks for some of my neighbours did not start until late April. The area is 1980s build with no ducting for the phone wires.
I have been given a connection date in July and a few days ago Openreach turned up unannounced to lay the fibre from the pavement to the front of the house. They brought a mini-digger and told me they had expected to dig up 30 metres of pavement but on arrival discovered this had been done by a contractor a couple of weeks before. (As an aside, the contractors cut through my phone connection in the pavement and they did the repair themselves !)
The Openreach guys did some work then sat in the vans for quite a while, and all I saw at the end was a coil of fibre against the wall of the house and the 'engineer' replacing a few blocks in a block-paved path. I didn't see any ducting and he said it was unnecessary. They want trough a couple of flower borders and several metres of lawn as well as the path.
It was only a day ago I found the fibre was not buried at any depth when weeding the border! Also, where it came from the pavement it goes round the edge of my driveway on the surface for about 20 cms.Whilst this is just into a border, it looks vulnerable.
The fibre is about 5mm in diameter and marked DEXGREEN 21 41/25 COF 256 FTTP CONNECTORISED OH DROP CABLE 25 Property of BT BN 161010.
Should I be complaining and trying to get the fibre buried deeper? Advice please.

I would be contacting whoever your ordered your FTTP from , tell them that Openreach have been to fit the buried lead on prior to the final install, and that it has been done in a very substandard fashion, which you wish to be rectified, and completed to an agreed fashion.

What you have there is a clear bodge. It ought to be in some form of ducting, and to the standard depth.

Whinge, moan, do what it needs to get it sorted. You could even email the Openreach CEO’s office …..

Many thanks for that advice. I have contacted Vodafone and, after an hour of 'chats' got through to the appropriate department and they logged the complaint with Openreach. I think I will still complain directly when I summon the energy again!

I think I will still complain directly when I summon the energy again!

I would politely suggest that the above action might well ‘muddy the waters’. Two tasks rattling about for the same remedial work.

See what Vodafone’s prodding does. IF nothing after a couple of weeks, then go the CEO route.

yeah try to avoid Emailing katie untill the issue gets completely stuck and bogged down.

Most of the time the isp should be able to sort it out ...

I didn't hear anything following my complaint about the poor quality of the 1st stage of routing the fibre to the house (no ducting, close to the surface etc.).
Today, 29/7/26, the Openreach engineer arrived early and unannounced to do the 2nd stage of the installation. It should have been 6/7/26 but that was a no show by Openreach. (Just after Mexico/England football match???).
Internal stuff was fine but he discovered there was "no light at the end of the cable - there must be a break: if it had been ducted I could have pulled a new one in".
I continue to wait - hopefully the standard OFCOM compensation will be forthcoming from the ISP.

Edited by Studium (Wed 29-Jul-26 17:04:16)

In reply to a post by Studium:

he discovered there was "no light at the end of the cable - there must be a break: if it had been ducted I could have pulled a new one in".

Did he go and check at the CBT port?

Internal stuff was fine but he discovered there was "no light at the end of the cable - there must be a break

When the initial stage one of my install was pulled in by a contractor, he closed it off with notes stating ‘no light at CBT’.
An Openreach chap arrived unannounced a few days later, to find no light at CBT, and the contractor hadn’t bothered to pull the lead in cable through the duct any way (idle toad) . We pulled the UG feed through, no light on any port at the CBT. No light at the splitter either … (mine was the first worker on the splitter) …. a quick phone call finds that the light for that splitter had been turned off after initial tests were completed. And presto … the node was re lit.