Hope you don't mind me butting in but I have a question, taken from Zens website it says the following.

In reference to www.zen.co.uk/business/broadband/fibre-broadband/fibre-broadband-fa...:

The VDSL modem will need to be within 1.5m of the face-plate and close to a power-supply otherwise an extension kit will be required which can be provided to you.

Why does the VDSL2 modem have to be within 1.5m of the master socket? Can you not just run a long network cable from the master socket to the modem so it can be moved to a different location?

'Why does the VDSL2 modem have to be within 1.5m of the master socket?'

The RJ11 cable provided with the modem is 1.5m long !

'Can you not just run a long network cable from the master socket to the modem so it can be moved to a different location?'

That's what the data extension kit does.

Ah right, so it still connects via RJ11, I was under the impression the new faceplate BT fits, uses a RJ45 port.

So I should be fine with the 10m RJ11 cable I have got, because its all under the floor boards (routers upstairs)

So much conflicting information about at the moment, hard to know what to believe.

Edited by Matt182 (Tue 05-Oct-10 00:08:02)

Like all filter faceplates, the new one will accept a RJ11 or a RJ45 plug for the router connection. So long as the cable you have fitted is good quality it should be fine. If fact if you have a filter faceplate fitted now, that will be fine with VDSL.

As always, and if you have a power socket close to the master socket, the best way would be to install the VDSL modem at the master socket and run a network cable to the new router.

Edited by deleted (Tue 05-Oct-10 00:49:10)

In reply to a post by systemx:

Like all filter faceplates, the new one will accept a RJ11 or a RJ45 plug for the router connection. So long as the cable you have fitted is good quality it should be fine. If fact if you have a filter faceplate fitted now, that will be fine with VDSL.

As always, and if you have a power socket close to the master socket, the best way would be to install the VDSL modem at the master socket and run a network cable to the new router.

The important thing is, is that the cable that runs between the master socket and the VDSL modem is twisted pair, to enable any noise that it might be picked up to be cancelled at the terminating end. CAT 5 and CW1308 etc employ twisted pairs, really the 1.5m RJ11 cable that is supplied should be too, to ensure maximum performance, but it isn't, it's just cheap 'flat' stuff. For a 1.5 metre run there's unlikely to be any measurable degradation though.

I've read that the engineer can route the vDSL extension round doorframes and along skirting boards but will not drill through walls. If this is true, then the extension option is out for me. Does the same thing apply to moving the master socket?

If so I have a possible solution - the extension socket in the computer room is fed by Cat 5 from the existing master socket. Could the engineer do a bit of crafty rewiring by fitting a terminal block and connecting the incoming wires to one of the twisted pairs in the Cat 5 cable and the other end of that pair to the new master in the computer room? Then perhaps the other extension, close to the existing master, could be fed back from the new master via another of the twisted pairs?

I don't know how BT will take to it, but all they install is a filtered faceplate at the master socket.

Once the engineer has installed the service at the master socket and gone, if you were to take off this new faceplate and fit the standard one back on, you can simply use any existing wiring you have to your extension socket and plug the modem in there. Just ensure you still have filters on all other sockets/devices etc.

Nothing special about the new faceplate they fit, it just provides an rj11 socket and filters any existing extension wiring. Take out that faceplate and your set up can be as you have it now with ADSL. As long as you have decent extension wiring (cat 5 is great...) then there should be no real detrimental loss to the signal if the modem is on the extension socket.

Be prepared to plug it back in to the master socket if you ever call BT out of course

Edited by deleted (Thu 07-Oct-10 16:51:54)

In reply to a post by ffox:

If so I have a possible solution - the extension socket in the computer room is fed by Cat 5 from the existing master socket.

Why not fit a RJ11 or RJ45 connector to the end of the Cat5 and plug it into the BT socket, and put the VDSL modem at the other end?

Thinking about it, I really would prefer to have the master socket moved from the front hall to the computer room at the back. That is the logical place for it - accessible power points, short leads to modems/routers/PCs, and easy access to the test socket.

I don't mind paying for it as long as it can be done without wires going round door frames and along skirting boards. My idea of using the existing CAT5 was to avoid unnecessary external wiring and wall drilling. Do you think it would work, and would Openreach do it?

You could have a search of the BT Price List: http://www.bt.com/pricing/index.htm

Not sure if it will help.