Long marginal line: Tactics

I am trying to help another neighbour obtain broadband on a long difficult line.

I have managed to persuade BT (via the CEO's office) to process an order for broadband after many refusals, but I do not expect it to be plain sailing by any means.

This post asks about what we should expect from BT as the service is set up and how best to work with BT's processes in dealing with the difficulties I foresee.
(Another post asks technical questions about the work I think will be necessary in the customer's house to modernise the ancient and oddly arranged phone wiring.)

The problems arise from history. Nearly 100 years ago this tiny village was part of a Ducal estate. The first to get phones were the Duke in his castle, his Factor or estate Manager and the Vicar - no one else had need of a phone in those days!. The Factor and Vicar shared a party line, although the houses were a mile apart. I am interested in the line to the former vicarage; it is no longer a party line but still runs via the Factor's house.
I have also heard (via another neighbour, not from BT) that this old line is partly aluminium and so of lower quality. Is that likely?

In the 70s a small estate was built just 50 yards from the old vicarage, and houses there are served by a different BT cable, which takes a more direct route to the exchange, and they get a low speed (256 - 512 bps) broadband.

An obvious possibility is to re-route the line from the old vicarage via a spare line in the cable that serves the 1970s estate.

I am told by the BT contact we dealt with that the first step is to get an order on the system and take it from there, so that is what has happened and it is due to be activated tonight.

If broadband doesn't work on the old line as it is, what processes will BT follow to test it and try to rectify the situation? How best should we "plug into" those processes and at what stage? How do we make contact with an engineer dealing with this case?

Ideally, I should like to arrange a meeting in the village with a BT engineer empowered to consider alternatives, the subscriber and I to look at the options for this difficult line. How can I arrange that? Within reason, the subscriber has indicated willingness to contribute to any costs incurred in rerouting, but it would be inappropriate for BT to take advantage of that.

Anyone have advice to offer us?
Thanks.

No guarantees at all, and without seeing the checker result for the line it is difficult to comment on why it too CEO intervention to get an order in, since all lines apart from those where ADSL has failed, or have obvious DACS/TPON/Line concentrator should go through to the point of trying it.

What to expect, activation, and if it does not work, then a fight to get an engineer visit with the proviso that if the problem is wiring that is deemed on your side of things there will be a charge £150+

Do not expect line reroutes - unless you can convince BT to take a few £1000 from you

well you may well have aluminium cable on some of the cable run.

as for a cable re route you would be very very lucky as i have not heard of this being done and if it is done i am sure you would have to pay and once you get into new duct and cable a few grand dont go very far .

In reply to a post by btbert:

and once you get into new duct and cable a few grand dont go very far .

Probably wouldn't make it from the house to the end of the front garden!

about £100 to £150 per meter for electricity ducting to be laid IIRC (long time since i priced a job involving public highway) so will be similar for a 2" BT duct, then BT's infamous markup on everything. Not cheap .

Openreach excess construction charges here

Not far off then . Will keep that page as I've got a few BT installation jobs coming up in the next few years .