I thought so. Plugging it into a new router is something that can be done without sending staff, they can just send you the new CPE in the post along with a "Quick start guide" like they used to do with their hubs on their cable network. They'd only ever have to send staff if something is wrong.

At least that was my thinking. I could be clutching at straws, I was just trying to come up with some reasonable explanation.

Nexfibre / Virgin a just trying to save two bob to provide one box rather than 2. It’s what a lot of Altnets that don’t wholesale do.

Remembering that Openreach is coming from this a completely wholesale network provider with ~300 odd ISP customers. Some of those customers want to be able to differentiate their offering, want their own kit.

Puts a different complexion on it.

We'll know with the first upgrade VM do on their service to Wi-Fi 7, I suspect it will be an engineer visit to register the device to the PON and to inspect/clean the fibre.

That would be a backwards step to me, I felt the DSL router combo units were frustrating, and to learn that FTTP typically uses a ONT tidy on the wall was so nice, doing things properly keep a minimal termination point on the wall, with end users equipment plugged into it via ethernet.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

That would be a backwards step to me, I felt the DSL router combo units were frustrating, and to learn that FTTP typically uses a ONT tidy on the wall was so nice, doing things properly keep a minimal termination point on the wall, with end users equipment plugged into it via ethernet.

+1

The network is mine, the wireless is mine. The ISP gets no say in how it is configured. They don't fiddle with my settings, I don't fiddle with theirs. Having theirs and mine at opposite ends of an ethernet cable really means no doubt as to what belongs to whom.

In reply to a post by aidanh:

They probably don't want you using your own equipment in the first place, or maybe they were trying to avoid the situation of needing to replace all of the ONT's in everyone's homes like BT is going to have to do because they're only gigabit and can't support 10 gig.

As GPON and XGS-PON can run together on the same fibre, Openreach will only need to upgrade homes that pay for higher speeds. 1 gig symmetric works fine on GPON as Cityfibre and others demonstrate.

In reply to a post by jpm:

Doing it this way requires effectively an ONT swap each time a new Wi-Fi standard comes along because it's integrated into the CPE, installing an XGS-PON ONT when someone buys a service that utilises it is probably a once in ten years thing assuming the device doesn't fail or get damaged.

It also hard ties what is advertised as an “open network” to the ISP, in this case Virgin Media, whereas the likes of Openreach or CityFibre’s open networks the ONT belongs to the network provider, and the CPE (router) belongs to the ISP.

Got to be cheaper to the ISP to buy routers with Ethernet WAN ports (even up to 10GigE) compared to buying routers with built in PON.

This is why I am sceptical that they ever really intend to take being a wholesale network seriously - along with the zero progress that Nexfibre have actually made getting wholesale partners on board.

Do they *really* want to have to handle ONT registration for every retail provider? If they're going to put an ONT in place if you buy a non-VM service then why does the Hub 5X exist?

In reply to a post by jpm:

This is why I am sceptical that they ever really intend to take being a wholesale network seriously - along with the zero progress that Nexfibre have actually made getting wholesale partners on board.

Yep, other than their graphically rich website that claims “open” all over the place (https://www.nexfibre.co.uk/) it appears to be operating as a division of VM allowing the ISP to choose what the optical termination is? Plenty of closed, single ISP, alt-nets use a powered ONT and a generic ethernet router.

If they're going to put an ONT in place if you buy a non-VM service then why does the Hub 5X exist?

Maybe the VM support/marketing machine is unable to cope without what they get with DOCSIS coax…. Although even the coax is supposed to be wholesaled this year… really?!

I am in favour of the separate ONT and router thing continuing, all I would change would be to have the ONT powered by PoE as an option, and router WAN ports deliver PoE.