Moving to a Private Road (chances of FTTP?)

We're looking at moving out of London (where I get 300/20 from VM) to our dream home out in a town in Surrey. The problem is the property a) only gets FTTC (35/2) and b) is on a Private Road. We're heavy users and I'm most concerned about the lack of upload when we can be on multiple video calls, use a ring doorbell etc.

FTTP is being rolled out in the area by Swish, after multiple enquiries they confirmed the road is not planned (other roads nearby are) - I didn't get an answer why but I'd imagine it's because it's a Private Road. Openreach also have the exchange listed to be built by 2026 but I imagine they too might skip the Private Roads.

I don't yet know the specifics of who owns the road, but having checked the Surrey council website it is definitely not adopted.

So my questions are:

1) Has anyone had any success getting Fibre companies to cover Private Roads?
2) Is FTTPoD an option or will they also refuse a Private Road without a Wayleave?
3) If the wayleave was an option does every resident have to agree?

Does the property have any service currently (even a phone line) - if so how does this get to the house?

I live on a private road which has BT ducting installed to each house. When I moved in there was only a copper service delivered to the house but I have since had FTTPoD installed in the same ducts without any wayleave issues.

Since I had the FTTPoD installed, a couple of neighbours have had FTTP installed using the same infrastructure.

If wayleave is required then the owner of the land needs to agree it. Is the land over which the service will be delivered owned by a single landowner? Is it shared between the properties?

Yes it has a phone line with a FTTC based service in use, there are no telegraph poles so presumably it is ducted or buried. The estate was built in the mid 1990s, I don't know if it was standard to use ducting then?

In terms of the owner of the road, I'm sure that will come up on the searches but I don't know at this time. My concern with it being an old-ish estate is the ownership might not be clear or it might belong to all the residents in which case it's considered too hard to install and we end up buying a house permanently stuck in the slow lane.

Do Openreach automatically have a right to access private roads where they have existing phone lines? E.g. If there was ever a problem with the current line or a second one was requested do they have the right to access? If so does that right extend to fibre installation or is it limited to phone lines?

Mid-1990s would have you ducted, they will use existing chambers and ducts to deploy FTTP to you without any issues.

In reply to a post by Morfik:

Yes it has a phone line with a FTTC based service in use, there are no telegraph poles so presumably it is ducted or buried. The estate was built in the mid 1990s, I don't know if it was standard to use ducting then?

In terms of the owner of the road, I'm sure that will come up on the searches but I don't know at this time. My concern with it being an old-ish estate is the ownership might not be clear or it might belong to all the residents in which case it's considered too hard to install and we end up buying a house permanently stuck in the slow lane.

Do Openreach automatically have a right to access private roads where they have existing phone lines? E.g. If there was ever a problem with the current line or a second one was requested do they have the right to access? If so does that right extend to fibre installation or is it limited to phone lines?

Hi There,
I am on a private drive shared with 3 early 90s, we are on duct 56.
You can check if you have postcode and address number via the BT Availability checker

I have 2 FTTP Lines one from Openreach, Netomnia, then Virgin Ducting (HFC - FTTP roll out in progress locally), when there was a concern of blockage due to mapping issues I called Openreach and they located the chambers however if there was a blockage a wayleave may be required if civil avoidance is not working,

I have Gigaclear which comes over private roads and land. Gigaclear asked the land owners for permission which was granted. Gigaclear gave me £40 because the connection to their house runs a very short way over my land.

Private road, here, and overhead cables.........

fttp 1gbits.........with the smaller new csp! (sorry i had to😂)

In reply to a post by jpm:

Mid-1990s would have you ducted, they will use existing chambers and ducts to deploy FTTP to you without any issues.

But in that case, Swish would also be able to use the same infrastructure via PIA. If they have chosen not to, that could indicate there's an issue. For example, there may be ducted pavement chambers but the lead-ins could be buried. Unlikely in 1990's, but not impossible.

If that were the case, OR could decide to install poles when they get around to FTTP. Swish could also install their own poles, but it probably wouldn't be worth their while (and in any case you'd get two sets of poles if OR install their own later).

See if you can find someone to talk to at Swish about their plans and why/if you have been excluded. But even if they said you were in plan, there are no guarantees that they will actually deliver. It's not available until it's available.

You therefore have to decide: if broadband is important to you, could you live on 5G or Starlink for a (possibly) substantial number of years? Or should you forget this house and find somewhere else?

My advice is always the same. Don't move to a new house with poor broadband if you can't live with poor broadband. Nobody here can tell you what the providers are going to do or not do.

In reply to a post by Morfik:

So my questions are:

1) Has anyone had any success getting Fibre companies to cover Private Roads?
2) Is FTTPoD an option or will they also refuse a Private Road without a Wayleave?
3) If the wayleave was an option does every resident have to agree?

Not a private road, but my 1988-built house is accessed by a short private drive. CityFibre had no difficulty connecting me using the existing BT duct to the nearest BT chamber and the CF cabinet erected alongside it.