Grain Connect

Has anyone had experience with Grain Connect? A potential new build development I'm looking at is meant to be getting this but need to find out if it's the only provider or is Openreach is also going to be there. As I know they partner with both OR and Virgin Media but there's no VM.

The blurb on their Home Page, particularly if you scroll to the bottom and watch the "scrolling across" stuff, says they lay their own dedicated fibre, so I doubt if they partner with OR and/or VM anywhere as you suggest. Particularly as their connections are symmetric speeds.

As for whether either of those other two will also be serving the development, is suppose it's possible, but most new developments with that type of supplier the developer will have signed to exclusivity with the provider. Otherwise it isn't a good bet for the provider.

Have you read the recent ISPreview article about them?

In reply to a post by Bawlk:

Has anyone had experience with Grain Connect? A potential new build development I'm looking at is meant to be getting this but need to find out if it's the only provider or is Openreach is also going to be there. As I know they partner with both OR and Virgin Media but there's no VM.

I don’t believe they partner with either Openreach or VM. What leads you to think they do?

These are three very separate and very different networks.

sorry my bad, I'm new here and Ive realised what I've said.

What I was meant to ask if anyone has had any experience with Grain as they maybe the only provider at this development. The developer also partners with both OR and VM so hoping for Openreach to be there but if not might just be Grain.

Edited by Bawlk (Wed 01-Dec-21 09:16:06)

In which case the only place you are likely to get an answer is the developer. Who may be reluctant.

For example, it is they who lay all the ducting and chambers for Openreach, before roads and pavements are surfaced and drives and gardens are laid.

If they won't be doing that it is unlikely Openreach would come along and dig everything up again. At least in the short term. I suppose long-term duct-sharing by companies such as Grain may be forced by government, as it supposedly is wrt existing OR ducts and poles.

Yes I'm waiting on them getting back but in the meantime I'm asking of anyone had had experience with Grain and what they maybe like as a provider?

I've heard back form the development and they have confirmed that both Openreach and Grain Connect will be available.

After doing a bit of research on Grain, looks like they don't offer a static IPv4 address (Business they do) and are using CG-NAT (No IPv6 yet), but pros is that they offer symmetrical speeds. They will however let you put their router in bridge mode if you contact them but will be CG-NAT address.

I may contact them directly at a later date to see if it's possible to get a public static IPv4 address, If not then I'll need to just go with an Openreach supplier that does.

I'm with Virgin Media currently and although they don't offer static IPv4 their address doesn't change.