YouFibre Installation Expectations

Hi folks,

I've only ever lived at properties with Virgin Media. For the first time, I'm switching to another provider - YouFibre.

In all the research I was able to do, it appeared to me that before the installation date, a pre-install team would come to do any necessary duct work etc and bring the fibre to the premises.

In my situation, we have no sign of BT ducting (known to me) at the house, and have never had use of a BT landline. There is an old BT (I think it's BT anyway) landline socket in the home, but it is in the centre of the home, coming up from the floor, rather than entering in an external entry point. There are BT footway covers in the area, and one quite close to the house.

Installation has been confirmed via YouFibre for tomorrow. I even contacted them last week and queried if the pre-install team was going to come... but I was told the engineer doing the installation will also be able to bring the fibre to property. I'm sceptical to say the least.

I'm fully expecting a YouFibre engineer to turn up and tell me there's nothing they can do. And then to get stuck in a long delay of ducting being brought to the property etc.... frustrating as it's not like I hadn't tried to warn them an double check. Taken time off work etc.

There are no telephone poles in the area, with these houses being built around 1969. So I feel confident the only route can be underground.

Wondering what other folks will think!

I shall report back with a success/failure story tomorrow!

I think I'll be their first customer in the area, as it's only recently been switched on. Openreach doesn't provide FTTP in the area, so VirginMedia have had a captive market until now as the only provider with decent speeds (they provide 1gig here over their non-fibre network).

Edited by shuurajou (Sun 07-Apr-24 19:59:57)

I thought I'd update on my experience so far.

At around 9am on April 8th I received a call from YouFibre to let me know that there had been a mistake in my installation order. I had ordered the 2 gig package, and this would normally mean I would receive the ASUS ET-12, however, the mistake was that the job had been given to a sub contractor and the consequence of that would be that I would be given the incorrect router and that a 2nd follow-up appointment would be arranged to provide the correct device - this follow-up appointment was to go ahead on the 19th of April, but the goal was to move it forwards if they were able. I was assured that the install would still go ahead that day (on the 8th), but they apologised I wouldn't get the appropriate WiFi speeds until the 2nd appointment. I again double checked about no pre-install work having been done. They again confirmed the team would be able to do the required steps of the job today.

A co-branded GForce + Netomnia van turned up are the rear of my property at 12:00, 1 hour before my scheduled install window (which was 13:00-18:00). They did not know where the CBT was. We walked around the area and I showed them areas I had scene Netomnia engineers previously working. I was quite surprised that they didn't have this information? There were two members of the team, and before the 2nd engineer had finished trying to find the CBT, the 1st engineer was already talking about kicking the job back and talking to someone on the phone about 'no network'. He was left on the phone whilst the 2nd engineer and I went looking for the CBT. The CBT was found, and the engineer confirmed the network was live. The CBT we were able to find, was on the other side of the road.

They didn't do any cable pulling of any kind, and left. Before we had even found the CBT I got a text message from YouFibre telling me there's been an issue, and they will try to resolve in 15 days. So, it seems the 1st engineer had aborted the job before the 2nd engineer had even found the network.

I can't say I was impressed at all - I would have expected them to have a map with the necessary information about CBT locations, and the design in terms of what CBT should feed what properties, etc. It was also pretty disappointing to see one engineer had binned the job before the other had even found the CBT. It left me feeling like finding any reason to kick the job back was the primary goal - not actually getting me connected. Not impressed.

Fast forward to today (April 12th) - I hear noises outside around 08:45 in the morning, and there's another GForce team. I popped out and again they were looking for a CBT - and I pointed out where the CBT was that the previous team confirmed was live. They were also looking for ducts. However it seems they were here to attempt install for a neighbour on the other side of the pedestrian foot path outside the front of our home.

The conclusion was the same - they left with no further info provided and no installation done for anyone.

All the properties on the estate were built around 1969 and their BT landlines come up in the centre of the properties in the cavity of the walls of the house - not via an external duct. If this is a barrier for Netomnia (i.e. they can't lay ducts) - they need not have bothered building their network for estate, as all homes with the exception of 1 or 2 (I guess they had an irreparable BT landline fault at some stage and that was a necessary remediation step) have no ducts. There is no BT FTTP in the area. Only Virgin Media cable networks which are buried in the front gardens of those who have it.

I have called YouFibre support, and emailed their installation specific mailbox, but no further information has been forthcoming. Only that their estimated completion time for 'remediation work' is by April 23rd (15 days from the original install date), and this is based on average resolution time for 'similar issues' and availability of teams to attend.

It feels like someone needs to attend the estate who designed the deployment. It doesn't seem the right kind of team is being sent - if they don't know where the CBT is that isn't a great start.

Edited by shuurajou (Fri 12-Apr-24 18:28:00)

I had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago. On an unscheduled visit, First guy turned up in an unmarked van. I showed him where the BT FTTP ducting to my property is as he said that's what they were going to use. He seemed keen to move on to the next job.

A second guy in a liveried van arrived. Not sure what it said. He seemed even more keen to move onto the next job but to my surprise they stayed a while and checked out the ducting. Then they discussed who was going to 'mark the job up'. They sprayed some paint and explained another team would arrive to lay a duct across my garden right next to the BT one.

On the morning of my install appointment, I got a call at 8AM to say they wouldn't be coming. I'd spoken to the customer service team the afternoon before who assured me the appointment would go ahead.

No updates since so I don't know what's happening.

del

Curious to know what happened here? Records are occasionally wrong and they may not install anyone: would likely cost too much.

Vodaphone did not have a duct installedf rom from the street across ouir garden unles you call the piece of flexible pipe used a duct. And that was not put where the first team sent by OpenReach said it would go. It is just buried about 30 cms down until the last few metres below a cill to an external box which then connects to an internal box (I am stilll trying to block the weed that has worked its way through the gap alongside that connection.!)
Virgin have since been along the street laying fibre and at least they have provided a marked connection point for each house for possible future use. (Not where OpenrRach fibre enters the garden!) But my connection does work fine!

Latest update is I called on the 24th of April (15 days after first install didn't take place, which was the target date they set), and they were able to confirm that the 'remedial work' required design/planning and finance approval, both of which have been given and completed. And that now it's going through its final stage (getting equipment and humans to use the equipment) before the work is scheduled in.

Meanwhile I'm stuck out of contract getting exploited by Virgin Media .

It seems the issue is Netomnia (though technically subcontractor GForce in our area?) being rubbish, rather than YouFibre. On the occasions I've called and spoken to YouFibre the staff have been very nice and communicated whatever they could see.

My experience of the Netomnia/GForce workforce has been disappointing. I didn't particularly enjoy the guy hocking a loogie and spitting it on my garden... just a bit disrespectful really. I would also echo the experience of the other commenter - in each instance (and I've experienced 2 teams now), the crew have primarily seemed to be motivated by finding a reason to leave the job.

A further update today, is that a member of the install team dropped me an email.

They've expressed their continued apologies about the delays, but they are now thinking the remediation work is going to be done between 20th May-28th May. They can't guarantee it though, as there are dependencies (permit times, dates, engineer availability listed as reasons it might not go ahead).

Obviously I think I'll still need a follow-on installation appointment, but at least it's some news. I would say, given the previous visits, that I am apprehensive about the 'completeness' of whatever conclusions have been come to about what work is required. If the person who jettisoned the job before even finding the CBT, is providing the info to the planning team about what remediation work is needed, it does leave me in doubt...

On a positive note, separate to the correspondence from the install team, one of the YouFibre Chat Team leaders has reached out to me via DM this morning and is going to try and help get clarity, which is nice to see.

Will keep things updated here.

Seems the main issue with the installs is Netomnia not having a good handle on exactly what their contractors are doing when building the network. Openreach turn up knowing what the pole/hole is, what kit they need and just get on with it.

The MJ Quinn guys who did my pole based youfibre install were good, but they had been told it was a
wooden pole so they had to arrange for a cherry picker to come. They did the sensible thing though and got the wall boxes, hole and kit in before heading to their next job. Cherry picker crew arrived at lunch time and did their bit then the installers turned up in the evening and did the last bit of fibre work and comissioning.

The exact same thing happened 2 months later when a neighbour served by the same pole joined Youfibre.

Edited by Skie (Wed 08-May-24 20:20:54)

In reply to a post by Skie:

Seems the main issue with the installs is Netomnia not having a good handle on exactly what their contractors are doing when building the network. Openreach turn up knowing what the pole/hole is, what kit they need and just get on with it.

The MJ Quinn guys who did my pole based youfibre install were good, but they had been told it was a
wooden pole so they had to arrange for a cherry picker to come. They did the sensible thing though and got the wall boxes, hole and kit in before heading to their next job. Cherry picker crew arrived at lunch time and did their bit then the installers turned up in the evening and did the last bit of fibre work and comissioning.

The exact same thing happened 2 months later when a neighbour served by the same pole joined Youfibre.

The thing that needs to be highlighted is that PIA is in use and as such Openreach always know everything however some commercially sensitive info is not shared, this is direct info from an Openreach member of staff that advsied me this.

I have seen various provider maps, and Openreach's Maps and Openreach showed some ducts that other providers leased line or broadband didn't this is just the way it is, it is not a factor that can be controlled in some cases as it is not possible to know what is where when you are never given the info of what poles / chambers go where. At the end of the day getting the job done is what matters,

Edited by RR_The_IT_Guy (Wed 08-May-24 21:59:12)

In reply to a post by RR_The_IT_Guy:

The thing that needs to be highlighted is that PIA is in use and as such Openreach always know everything however some commercially sensitive info is not shared, this is direct info from an Openreach member of staff that advsied me this.

Except Openreach know that this is a hollow pole, wheras Netomnia didnt. I've had an Openreach line on the pole for years and when it was installed they arrived with a cherry picker. Neighbours the same.

When Netomnia/YF installs happen it always results in a second visit. It might have been fixed by now (it's been live a few months) but Netomnia clearly arent getting the right info, or consulting a supplimentary record with duff info. And not doing a good job of flagging requests for cherry pickers mid-job as a data quality issue.