Thanks for the latest posting. The router in the backroom is in a position where I have always kept my routers. Does have a cat5e Ethernet cable connected through to the room with the bay widow, and can reach the bay window. I will be looking to replace the cable at some stage.

I doubt the engineer will be able to offer another location. The existing copper line is bought into the house via the top corner of the front door as it has been with previous doors. This time the door installer boxed it in to the door internally.

The front door leads to the hallway and the nearest plug socket is at least 18 feet away which is opposite the room I have the router in. He won’t want to do anything there, as he would need to drill through the outside wall into the pantry , where the gas and electric meters are ,and then through an internal wall.

I am not a very good judge of character based on my previous experiences with tradesmen, but I have thought through this fibre situation a lot in recent months. If he can think of another suitable place I will certainly consider it. A possible alternative to the side of the bay window where it meets the brickwork would be further down the same side of the bay window necessitating a hole to be drilled through the brickwork which would only be about 3 feet distance from the 4 gang socket. However based on what I have written in previous postings I am not going to suggest this unless he does so first.

Thank you also for the other information

Alot of what you said, is hard to understand as we are going form your worded description.

I understand your concerns about a contractor coming into your house - i get that completely. but this is a single hole, and you have completely over complicated it.

If i was you, i would gohead with the install, if you and the engineer can't find a solution that is fine but at least you will have a better idea what someobdy else whos does the job on a daily basis thinks what can be done.

Take a brave step forward.

In reply to a post by Taras:

I understand your concerns about a contractor coming into your house - i get that completely. but this is a single hole, and you have completely over complicated it.

If i was you, i would go head with the install, if you and the engineer can't find a solution that is fine but at least you will have a better idea what somebody else who does the job on a daily basis thinks what can be done.

Take a brave step forward.

Well said Taras

Original poster here.

The engineer arrived one hour early, in a van that appeared to have no markings that I could see.
Had no identification on the front of his uniform as to what company he represented, no personal identfication either, said it was in the van.

I had cleared the area for him to use, but he said he could not remove the cables or use the space that they occupied. He had a quick look in the hallway, no plug sockets. So that was it. He seemed in a hurry to leave which is near enough exactly what I thought would happen.This all happened in a time period of less than 5 minutes

Got on to Plusnet and reluctantly cancelled my interest in FTTP. The interesting part was because I had gone through an engineers visit I would be able to see out my fully copper existing contract until the end of its term and with no termination fees !

Edited by sadguy (Thu 27-Aug-26 13:50:05)

I suspect that in 3 months time you might well have the option of no internet, or having FTTP.

What a waste of his and your time.

The engineer arrived one hour early, in a van that appeared to have no markings that I could see.
Had no identification on the front of his uniform as to what company he represented, no personal identfication either, said it was in the van.

Then, were it me, I would not have let them in until they provided their ID.

In reply to a post by sadguy:

Original poster here.

The engineer arrived one hour early, in a van that appeared to have no markings that I could see.
Had no identification on the front of his uniform as to what company he represented, no personal identfication either, said it was in the van.

Can you report this back to Plusnet please, as this shouldn't have happened.

In reply to a post by sadguy:

My home is in a poor condition caused by all the tradesmen I have used in the past and have only noticed problems some weeks, months or years after the so called tradesmen have left. I have learnt to live with the conditions.

This being said I am limited in what I will now allow. I will give the Openreach engineer or representative an option of removing two satellite cable wires where there is considerable room to thread their cable, but because fibre cable is inherently fragile he may refuse due to the diagonal angle the wires use to get outside or he may have other reasons.

a couple of questions

is your property a single story (aka bungalow) or a standard two story house?

where does the coax cable enter the property, at ground level or higher?

Have you got any one who could help you to remove the the said coax cables ?

Out of interest how many FTTP jobs did you turn up for that you had to push back because of the customers property layout and where there was no possible install solution?