I believe the ONT being referred to in Bobs post is Optical Network Termination.

The item you have linked to is an optical splitter.

It's not a splitter.

It's a rather strange item: a GPON interface in SPF form factor. You can't plug it into a switch or router, as it says:

Please note this GPON ONU module is GPON to GPON protocal ! ( not GPON to Ethernet )

I guess it's used in some sort of ONT with interchangeable optics.

Anyway, an OpenReach-supplied ONT is not a router. It's like a transparent modem - you talk PPPoE to it - and you still need a router of your own.

In reply to a post by candlerb:

Anyway, an OpenReach-supplied ONT is not a router. It's like a transparent modem - you talk PPPoE to it - and you still need a router of your own.

And long may it continue that way! Some FTTP Operators - such as Gigaclear Residential - force you to use a combined ONT/router which can potentially create issues such as double NAT if trying to hook up your own router to their equipment. At least with Openreach, their ONT is just a dumb light converter ( ie does zero routing) and you're free to use any router you like.

Apologies then, you�ll admit it does look exactly the same as a splitter though.

I knew your last point though.

Since when has a splitter ever looked like an SFP? But yeah on second looks the description is somewhat odd. However if you want to take this post on face value then it does indeed work in at least one specific router.

https://community.ubnt.com/t5/EdgeRouter/Edgerouter-...

In reply to a post by jabuzzard:

However if you want to take this post on face value then it does indeed work in at least one specific router.

If it is indeed a whole ONT-in-an-SFP that works in an ethernet SFP slot, that raises a bunch of other questions: how do you enrol it to the OLT? Which vendors of OLT does it work with? Is it manageable from the network side?

Post deleted by Zarjaz

I think you guys must be talking about different links

Well the standard defines three ways in which an ONT can register/authenticate with an OLT. The first is to use just the serial number of the device, the second is to use a serial number and password and the third is to use a password. Openreach are by all accounts just using the serial number of the ONT. As such if you have the ability to change the serial number of your ONT to match the one supplied by Openreach it will work.

There are a number of people who have achieved this and one day a ONT vendor is likely to come up with an ONT that explicitly supports it. Here is for example how to change the serial number on a Ubiquiti ONT to whaterver you want

https://blog.onedefence.com/changing-the-gpon-serial...

Kind of cool as the Ubiquiti ONT can be PoE powered.

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

And long may it continue that way! Some FTTP Operators - such as Gigaclear Residential - force you to use a combined ONT/router which can potentially create issues such as double NAT if trying to hook up your own router to their equipment. At least with Openreach, their ONT is just a dumb light converter ( ie does zero routing) and you're free to use any router you like.

If you are willing to hold your nose while doing it, you can mostly overcome this sort of stupidity using proxy ARP. It will however require you use a real router, say Cisco, Juniper, pfSense, Mikrotek, Ubiquiti, VyOS, DD-WRT etc. The use of consumer junk from the likes of Netgear, Asus etc is extremely unlikely to work. It's not quite bridging mode as the hunk of junk you are trying to bypass still does all the NAT and any port forwarding, but otherwise it is out of the picture. Better than double NAT in my view. I won't try and explain it because it would be over the heads of 99% of people here as it's a bit of esoteric enterprise grade networking.

Personally I would be cracking open the Gigaclear router and looking for any serial port headers so at the very least I could insert a custom route if not put it into bridging mode. A quick poke on the internet shows that under the hood it like most stuff is running Linux so bridging mode is technically possible.

Though I might well start by trying a out with a Ubiquti ONT and getting that to pretend to be a Gigaclear ONT seems as though it is by far the ONT best documented hack of this type and one which does not require breaking out the soldering iron.