In reply to a post by marktcordle:

Thanks - sorry can't remember enough code to insert images, here are the links:

The grey box

The telephone pole (or do you need identifying information from a close up?).

There was some debate from the engineers during the day of the wiring as to which end of the street to bring the wire from.

Yup that's a full fibre install! - The grey box is a fibre CSP.

Nothing to do with FTTC, but FTTP - I think there must of been some confusion with what service you requested, because that is a fibre enabled DP.

My advice is now to ring EE back up, explain that the second half of the install for FTTP has not been completed, and get them to arrange the appointment. Failing that, it might need the order cancelling and restarting to get the order pushed through .

Failing that, we may need to go down the route of escalating it through OR, but best to stick to EE channels for now.

Thank you both, that's really helpful, i'll get back to EE.

They did cancel it with openreach (they needed to as it had fallen off the system due to all the delays) and the problem came when they tried to restart the process. We have only requested the fibre+ package from EE, the system showed correctly we can't connect to FTTC, and maybe a database error is showing we can't get FTTP now even though they've already run it to the property. So i'll see if EE can restart it again now armed with a little more knowledge!

My remaining concern is that somehow that EE are not willing now to get openreach to finish the job of connecting us up via FTTP for a lower band fibre package, when they had committed to before, but hopefully that is ungrounded.

For completeness then here's the inside

As it stands if the database says you can't get FTTP then EE won't be able to place the order again, as it isn't showing available.

It is technically the responsibility of your ISP to get OpenReach to correct the database, but ISP's aren't always the best at this.

An email to the appropriate person at OpenReach might help.
There's also a staff member here who can prod the right people to fix these database issues.

Good luck!

So according to EE, openreach have withdrawn several addresses on the street from being available to FTTP due to the lines being too long. The EE manager said when she checked it looked like the ones on the street which are served by cabinet 3.
They say they have already raised the issue with openreach to confirm it is accurate.

(It was the reference to the cabinets (and the speed we were ordering) that made me assume we were getting the 'cabinet' version of fibre, sorry for confusing everyone earlier. )

The withdrawing of FTTP from a wider group of addresses doesn't show up to me at all when i check the wholesale broadband checker - it's just our house showing as not connectable by FTTP. It's possible that it hasn't been updated for the other properties? (and presumably a wider area round us or would it really miss out just a few houses in the street?)

I'm still trying to piece it together. Openreach have now decided the FTTP network now won't quite stretch to our houses, despite having started to physically connect it up earlier in the year. Maybe they are using the cabinet cut off point to determine the limits of the FTTP network, and we are right on the boundary? But the wholesale checker in that case is way off.

If it's a provision decision rather than a physical connection potential question, then i guess my hopes about being connected up anyway from a different direction meaning we could get it after all fade a little, and I would be left with the frustration of FTTP being offered and then withdrawn.

If that's accurate, then if they had finished connecting us up in January/ February, would they have pulled the plug on us now?

Hi Mark

None of that makes any sense whatsoever unfortunately. Distance to cabinets is a complete red herring. Unlike FTTC, the nature of FTTP means that it is in no way reliant on the cabinet for connectivity.

FTTP service is fed from either the nearest pole in the case of aerial distribution or footpath chamber in the case of underground distribution, to a common distribution point known as the Connectorised Block Terminal (CBT). The CBT would typically serve anywhere from 4 to 12 premises directly, depending one the number of ports it is furnished with.

I think you're best best is writing directly to the chief exec at Openreach, Clive Selley. This usually get the tree sufficiently shook and matters like yours can get resolved. His email address is [removed by tbb]

Keep it reasonably short, sharp and factual and hopefully his team will assist in resolving matters.

Good luck.

Edited by seb (Mon 02-Feb-26 21:58:55)

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Hi Mark

None of that makes any sense whatsoever unfortunately. Distance to cabinets is a complete red herring. Unlike FTTC, the nature of FTTP means that it is in no way reliant on the cabinet for connectivity.

FTTP service is fed from either the nearest pole in the case of aerial distribution or footpath chamber in the case of underground distribution, to a common distribution point known as the Connectorised Block Terminal (CBT). The CBT would typically serve anywhere from 4 to 12 premises directly, depending one the number of ports it is furnished with.

I think you're best best is writing directly to the chief exec at Openreach, Clive Selley. This usually get the tree sufficiently shook and matters like yours can get resolved. His email address is [removed by tbb]

Keep it reasonably short, sharp and factual and hopefully his team will assist in resolving matters.

Good luck.

Totally Echo what John and Pheasant have said.

The exec complaints at OR through the Clive Selley email should get this resolved quite quick - I'd make it clear as well that they have already completed part 1 of the install!

Good luck and keep us updated!

Edited by seb (Mon 02-Feb-26 21:59:05)

Are EE so incompetent that they can't talk to the right people at Openreach and stress that FTTP has already been installed to the premises and just needs the internal stage 2 to be done.
As for all the nonsense about lines being too long it seems they are still talking about FTTC connections. It just seems unbelievable that such confusion could happen, however until the checker says FTTP is available no order can be placed , so as others have said get onto the openreach CEO.

I was going to say, it sounds crazy that somehow FTTP isn't available when the external CSP has been installed? Ah well, probably weirder things have happened!

Hi again,

The team at the executive complaints channel were really helpful, came back really quickly and I've now been told its been sorted by them. Our property is showing as available for fibre again, and I've replaced the order through EE.

So, its still a month away from the actual engineer appointment but all seems resolved.

So a massive thanks for your willingness to help, and for giving me the confidence and the email address to take it up the chain. Having faced another indeterminable amount of time in the slow lane, we're now back on track.

The next round is on me. Are there NFTs for pints yet?