FTTC - Best arrangement in the house?

We are interested in transferring to FTTC and its available in our area.
We are with BT for phone but ISA is Gofast and have ADSL
Just trying to get head around what I need in the house.
At the mo the incoming BT is located downstairs and the desktop pc
upstairs.
Would prefer to have cable between all bits if I could...but...

So its a toss up between both the vdsl modem provided by BT and the router to be provided by me being located together downstairs where BT enters the house then I'd need to cable to the pc,
or both together upstairs near the pc,
or the vdsl located downstairs and the wireless router located adjacent to pc...would be glad of any advice ref this?.

If I wanted both located near the pc upstairs would the BT engineer run a
cable from down to up at the time of installation of the new faceplate at the master socket (the total run would be less than 30metres) and would
this cost an arm and a leg?

If I didn't push for cable what do you think of use of Powerline Ethernet equipment...I'm unfamiliar with this..would it be feasable?

And finally ref the provision of a router..have been advised to obtain a PPPoE router with an Ethernet WAN (Wide Area Network) port..any suggestions ref a decent model (the existing ADSL modem is a Netgear with which we have been happy)

Thanks vm,
Pete

And finally ref the provision of a router..have been advised to obtain a PPPoE router with an Ethernet WAN (Wide Area Network) port..any suggestions ref a decent model (the existing ADSL modem is a Netgear with which we have been happy)

Many of the current batch of FTTC providers will provide a router as part of the deal, Sky, BT, Talk Talk.

If I didn't push for cable what do you think of use of Powerline Ethernet equipment...I'm unfamiliar with this..would it be feasable?

Yeah. Make sure they are rated for a decent speed.

If I wanted both located near the pc upstairs would the BT engineer run a
cable from down to up at the time of installation of the new faceplate at the master socket (the total run would be less than 30metres) and would
this cost an arm and a leg?

If when ordering from your new chosen FTTC ISP, your order the 'home wiring solution', then the engineer will either run a data extension lit up to the required point, or shift the existing NTE, as part of the install. Most of the big providers will provide this as a given in the set up costs.

To start the ball rolling ....

The Openreach modem has to be "adsl cable length" from the master socket. That's the short ADSL cable that goes between the socket you use now and your router.

ISPs have a free option when ordering an installation for you. That option is a data extension cable, also called a Home Wiring Solution. That allows either:

- the modem to be up to 30 metres from the master socket, (the official use);
- the master socket to be moved 30 metres from its current location, (the solution most engineers are willing to adopt if asked).

It is wise when ordering to confirm with your ISP that this free option will be ordered for you. Many order it as standard, but some don't. There is also an option for exterior grade cable for this. I assume the default is interior grade.

That covers the first two of the options you suggest.

Regarding the third, the link between the modem and your router is ordinary ethernet. Maximum distance 100 metres. The engineer will not carry or supply such a cable, and even if you have obtained one is under no obligation to install it. It's up to you to do that.

Any of these is preferable to Powerline adapters, good though they can be. 200Mbps or even 500Mbps are needed to cope with FTTC speeds, and don't come cheap.

Do you need a phone where the master currently is?

Re a router - I didn't fancy forking out £70+ when I started with IDNet from O2 LLU. I was pushing it to justify the extra cost of FFTC over ADSL2+ anyway. I got one of these, and 20 months on am now using it in preference to the two Netgear routers supplied by Plusnet. I was a great Netgear fan on O2 ADSL2+, but the Buffalo has far better wireless and a complex but versatile GUI. Setup is extremely simple using the Wizard. Manual setup with a static IP I found impossibIe, though manual setup has always been my preference.

I find the current Netgears supplied by Plusnet a little noddy. At the price the Buffalo cannot be a disaster, and may even be returnable.

I was typing for a long time Zarjaz . Your post wasn't there.

Our posts overlap a bit, but at least we agree. I can't be bothered removing tiddly bits. . Brain would find that difficult, as the post is constructed as a whole.
_{Edit - excellent Chinon.}

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 10-Oct-12 21:41:24)

Have the modem by the master socket. You are keeping any internal wiring to a minimum and whilst an extra 10 or 20 metres might only reduce sync by a few hundred bits per second there is a massive potential to pick up additional noise within the premises. For example, going from ground floor to first will go through a ceiling where there are almost certainly light - any CFLs, fluorescent strips or LEDs will be emitting "noise" which your cable could pick up. If you go close to a fridge, shower, water pump, boiler &c again there are bursts of noise. Any additional noise can cause a large loss in sync speed.

Then, consider the comments from the others about where to put the router.

" going from ground floor to first will go through a ceiling "

not if i am doing it ! its a big no no for us to drill through a ceilling / floor , if the end user is happy to do it fair play to them we are told not to.

Maybe I should have said go through a ceiling level ... so either through it of next to it going up the stairs.

TVM for all the comments so far..very useful.

I had been leaning towards arranging for wiring between the master socket located downstairs and the modem/router/pc all located upstairs. As the lady of house has decreed no internal wires had thought a partial external wall and via loft route would do the trick.
I take your point MHC however about potential losses this way ...so do you think it would be best to have the BT modem located downstairs adjacent the incoming line, then I could run an ethernet cable through the wall, up the outside of the house, in and along the roof cavity and drop down into the upstairs pc room and new router?...
...and if so I expect had better use external quality cable?.... and any thoughts about advisabilty of running the cable whilst outside via a plastic duct?

Thanks again.

In reply to a post by pjcactus:

TVM for all the comments so far..very useful.

I had been leaning towards arranging for wiring between the master socket located downstairs and the modem/router/pc all located upstairs. As the lady of house has decreed no internal wires had thought a partial external wall and via loft route would do the trick.
I take your point MHC however about potential losses this way ...so do you think it would be best to have the BT modem located downstairs adjacent the incoming line, then I could run an ethernet cable through the wall, up the outside of the house, in and along the roof cavity and drop down into the upstairs pc room and new router?...
...and if so I expect had better use external quality cable?.... and any thoughts about advisabilty of running the cable whilst outside via a plastic duct?

Thanks again.

No problems whatsoever. Terminate both ends of the Cat5e cable (Ethernet) in a backbox and socket with a short patch lead to the modem and to the router. Do not try to put RJ45s on external Cat5e. You should use external as internal can break down in a year or so, Duct grade should be fine, pinned to the wall, SWA will be overkill.

I am actually about to put a wired Ethernet connection to my shed using external Cat5e - FS Cables.

Thanks again for that.

Need to swat up on what you mean by terminating in a black box and socket?

Also ref Do not try to put RJ45s on external Cat5e I was thinking it would be possible to purchase the external cable with RJ45's already on?