Running fibre through the loft

I'm doing some research about getting FTTP installed in my detached house. We have an overhead copper wire, so expect fibre to run the same way. I'd like the fibre run through the loft to put the ONT inside a hallway cupboard (there's already a hole from the loft for a TV ariel), but openreach say on twitter this can't be done? Their website suggests it can be installed anywhere within 10m. Why wouldn't this be possible? We have very few plug sockets on the outside walls of the house (1960s wiring)!

It can be done - and is much the same as mine.

Fibre terminates at roof level and from where it comes through the soffit I have 0.5 m of flexi conduit, into 20mm rigid conduit running along a wall for 5metres, then a 45degree swept bend to go through a wall into asecond loft. More rigid conduit and finally into a patree box from where it exits and into te OR equipment.

In teh end it may well be down to teh technician on the day as to wht you actually get co-operation wise.

Thanks! I guess the key is advance preparation for the installer. We'd have limited alternatives because we need to get an electrician in first to fit new double sockets for the OTN and router. It is either the loft or understairs cupboard, though the latter probably won't result in a good signal throughout the house. Our existing copper wire isn't near a plug.

You may have better luck having te ONT in the loft. The electrician can install a new socket off the lighting circuit PROVIDIED it is marked low power 3A only.


Then run a Cat5e or Cat6 link from teh loft to where you want the router

If you want this you will have to do a lot of preparation - you may also find Openreach want to bring the aerial cable down to ground level to splice it so they always maintain an external splice point and can replace the aerial fibre in the future without you needing to let them into your house.

If you want them to go into the loft area then you'll need it to be boarded out with good access, lighting etc. I would probably not put an ONT in a loft just because of the temperatures that a loft can get to, and because I don't want to be climbing into a loft to look at LEDs if I need to call in a fault.

Again, down to who does teh install. My splice point is in the second loft - actually designed/built to house the various comms.

If running through conduit to close to an access point then it will on ly need boarding and lights close by - however, access should be appropriate and te technician could refuse if not suitable.

What if the hall cupboard is against an outside wall ?

Our FTTP setup routed much the same way in a partially boarded loft space. All accessible though. We were of the 2018-19 CSP-less generation / phase too. It’s a direct drop cable from ONT back to an aerial CBT.

Admittedly this was an FTTPoD connection, rather than a native FTTP connection, snd several years ago now. Maybe the engineer was told to be “kind” as we were paying royally for the connection. Although it wasn’t or shouldn’t have been a surprise; the internal pathway and ONT location was all agreed with the surveyor almost a year prior.

In reply to a post by FTTPconfused:

Thanks! I guess the key is advance preparation for the installer. We'd have limited alternatives because we need to get an electrician in first to fit new double sockets for the OTN and router. It is either the loft or understairs cupboard, though the latter probably won't result in a good signal throughout the house. Our existing copper wire isn't near a plug.

If you're going to the expense of getting a spark in to run new cables, it's worth thinking about running in some additional Cat5e/6 cabling from a central location (where your main router and ONT will be will be) for some separate WiFi access points. You will have superior WiFi coverage, than from a single possible not optimal (for WifI signal) router location. It also frees you up to put the ONT and router into a more accessible location, rather than the roof space / loft.

It is really tricky to plan when there is no clear guidance from Openreach as to what they will accept in advance! They say they'll run 10m of internal cables but may or may not bother depending who turns up. Presumably the ONT position is pretty much fixed for decades, without paying to have it moved?

Our loft is fully boarded and lit, so access shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps it would be easier to run the ONT off an extension lead wherever they accept fitting it and get the sparky in after.