Zen 330mbps Gigafast FTTC service - hardware question

I am currently 4 months into an 18 month Virgin Media M200 contract having moved from Plusnet FTTC 80mbps contract.

I am having a shocking time with Virgin (speeds dropping to sub 20mbps with high latency every afternoon/evening) and will shortly be triggering the Ofcom speed guarantee to give them 30 days to resolve or let me out of my contract without penalty.

Zen always seem to get good ratings, and have confirmed I can get their GigaFast 330mbps FTTC package to my house.

My question is around hardware.

I have a wired home network, with my very reliable ASUS RT-AC68U wifi router as the hub of the network. Previously with Plusnet I had a BT ADSL Modem which they provided that connected to the BT master socket and then I connected the ASUS WAN Port to the ethernet port on the Fibre Modem via a patch cable.

With Virgin, the Hub 3.0 is connected to the Virgin Fibre, the Hub is in modem mode, and my ASUS WAN port is connected to the Hub.

With Zen I had assumed I would go back to a similar method to Plusnet. They would provide an interface of some sort that connects to my BT master socket, and I connect my ASUS to that via ethernet?

However, I have had mixed messages from Zen today. The lady in sales said that I wouldn't get any hardware from Zen if I signed up, but the guy in tech support said I would get a BT Openreach ADSL modem as well as a Fritzbox.

Can anyone who has signed up to Zen Gigafast FTTC recently confirm which is actually the case?

Thanks in advance.

Matt.

Edited by EggDaddy (Thu 31-Dec-20 18:43:55)

You won’t be getting 330Meg over FTTC. You will be getting that over either G.Fast or FTTP.

If it’s FTTP, BT will provide an ONT to terminate the circuit, and Zen will provide a Fritzbox to plug into the BT ONT. If you don’t want to use the fritzbox, just stick it in a cupboard and use your own router in its place. You will just need to configure the PPP credentials that Zen email you.

If it’s G.Fast then I’m not 100% sure. Either BT will supply a modem as part of the install, in which case the instructions are the same as above. If Zen are now sending out G.Fast capable FritzBoxs instead, then you will need to place the Fritz into bridge mode and hook your router up to that. I’m fairly certain it’s the first option though.

Hi,

Yeah it is G.Fast. I assumed that was still called FTTC as it uses a fibre to the cabinet at the end of my road and the copper to my house like traditional FTTC, just that it uses special modules in the cabinet to get greater speeds?

So you think with Zen G.Fast, they will send a BT G.Fast compatible ADSL modem and a Fritzbox, and I can just use my ASAS RT-AC68U router instead?

And if it is the second, is it easy enough to put a Fritzbox into bridge mode?

Edited by EggDaddy (Thu 31-Dec-20 20:18:35)

In reply to a post by Geordish:

You won’t be getting 330Meg over FTTC. You will be getting that over either G.Fast or FTTP.

VDSL2 and G.Fast are both FTTC. Fibre to the cabinet.

Edited by j0hn83 (Thu 31-Dec-20 20:36:15)

In reply to a post by EggDaddy:

I assumed that was still called FTTC as it uses a fibre to the cabinet at the end of my road and the copper to my house like traditional FTTC, just that it uses special modules in the cabinet to get greater speeds?

It is.

So you think with Zen G.Fast, they will send a BT G.Fast compatible ADSL modem and a Fritzbox, and I can just use my ASAS RT-AC68U router instead?

OpenReach will provide a Huawei MT992 G.Fast modem to use with the Fritzbox.

Edit: removed my confusing reference to bridge mode.

Edited by j0hn83 (Thu 31-Dec-20 22:07:39)

Thanks j0hn83.

If Zen provide a G.fast modem, cant I just connect my ASUS Router to that? Why do I need the Fritzbox in bridge mode?

In reply to a post by EggDaddy:

Thanks j0hn83.

If Zen provide a G.fast modem, cant I just connect my ASUS Router to that?

Yes.

Why do I need the Fritzbox in bridge mode?

You don't.
I could have worded that (much) better.

The G.Fast modem (the Huawei MT992) is preconfigured in bridge mode and can be used with any router.

Zen send the Fritzbox to be used in router mode with the modem disabled (the opposite of bridge mode) but you can use your Asus instead.

In reply to a post by j0hn83:

In reply to a post by Geordish:

You won’t be getting 330Meg over FTTC. You will be getting that over either G.Fast or FTTP.

VDSL2 and G.Fast are both FTTC. Fibre to the cabinet.

🤦🏻‍♂️ you’re right

In reply to a post by j0hn83:

In reply to a post by EggDaddy:

Thanks j0hn83.

If Zen provide a G.fast modem, cant I just connect my ASUS Router to that?

Yes.

Why do I need the Fritzbox in bridge mode?

You don't.
I could have worded that (much) better.

The G.Fast modem (the Huawei MT992) is preconfigured in bridge mode and can be used with any router.

Zen send the Fritzbox to be used in router mode with the modem disabled (the opposite of bridge mode) but you can use your Asus instead.

Perfect, just like my old Plusnet setup then! Do Zen provide the router WAN config settings when you sign up or do you have to request specially?

All i had to do was to logon to https://portal.zen.co.uk , lookup my services, if like mine, select the broadband service and then see technical infomation. That has your username and password to connect.

Hopefully its as easy for you to find out.