ZEN take over a FTTC?

Would ZEN take over an existing FTTC - that is migrating to ZEN?

In addition would transfer of landline number work with their DigitalVoice setup - probably plug handset into Fritzbox?

I'm aware of new orders likely being FTTP only, however this could be tricky at my location.

New orders are not FTTP only - that can only work when there is a live FTTP feed. If no such feed exists it is a transfer from one ISP via copper to another ISP via copper.

What can no longer transfer is a PSTN copper phone line. If your current set-up is still the old-style analogue phone then changing your ISP will mean that your analogue phone line will be ceased and you will need a VoIP phone service. This may be with your new ISP or you may choose to unlink your phone service and go with other provider for that. Depending on the systems in place at your new provider you may get a compatible router which has some electronic magic inside and you plug your existing phone into a traditional phone socket on the router (as in Zen and their version of the Fritzbox router). Alternatively you may need to plug an ATA adapter into one of the LAN sockets on the router then plug your phone into the ATA. Another route is to buy phones with the electronic magic in their set up so you plug the phone directly into one of the LAN ports on the router. Finally you may decide that you don't need the traditional domestic phones in the house but you want to retain the old landline number. If that is the case you can retain your existing landline number by porting it to a VoIP provider then putting an app on your mobile so that your old landline number will cause your mobile to connect and ring.

thank you.

I had done some reading and was aware of most of your points on the phone aspect.

There's a fairly short distance to the Fibre cabinet so that short stretch of copper makes me wonder if not really to bother about Full FTTP and maybe if it would ever beremoved in the future. So thinking about a migration to Zen made me ask about them being ok to take it over.

It is not a case of FTTP being tricky at your location. It is either available or it is not. When you try and place an order with Zen you will know whether FTTP is available. There is no other available technology Zen may use that will provide 500MB or 1GB connection so if those speeds are offered then FTTP is available.

The location of the cabinet is irrelevant as the fibre for the FTTP does not use cabinets. At some indeterminate date in the future most people will have their existing copper infrastructure removed and will have to use FTTP but there is no timescale for that as yet.

If FTTP is not available then Zen can take over your existing FTTC connection but will have to cease the PSTN phone connection.

Edited by GonePostal (Tue 27-May-25 00:37:57)

In reply to a post by bradlink:

There's a fairly short distance to the Fibre cabinet so that short stretch of copper makes me wonder if not really to bother about Full FTTP

If you get a chance to go full fibre jump at it.

Presuming you are currently on Full Fibre 2 with download speeds in excess of 70Mbps, the biggest benefit would be the availablility of higher upload speeds on the Full Fibre 300 (or higher) products.

The tricky part is the actual house layout. What faces the short footpath from the street is not great in that extra mains extension or long cat5 from ONT to router would be needed.

I don't know exactly if _all_ copper paths - like my shortish one to the FTTC cab - would likely be removed in the furture. In some respects just need to bite the provebrial perhaps.

ta for replies

Edited by bradlink (Tue 27-May-25 23:08:25)

In reply to a post by bradlink:

The tricky part is the actual house layout. What faces the short footpath from the street is not great in that extra mains extension or long cat5 from ONT to router would be needed.

I don't know exactly if _all_ copper paths - like my shortish one to the FTTC cab - would likely be removed in the furture. In some respects just need to bite the provebrial perhaps.

ta for replies

There have been lots of reports on this Forum of installers being able to run the fibre indoors to a site for the ONT of the user's choice even if some distance from the external CSP. The actual fibre currently used is so thin as to be barely visible to the casual view so it is not a domestic intrusion. The final copper connection to your house may be removed (along with the copper connecting your current cabinet to the exchange) but that is irrelevant once you have the FTTP installed,

That’s kind of true for multi-dwelling installs / flats etc. where they will use very fine internal fibre (aka OFS InvisiLight and the like).

In an ordinary single dwelling install they will typically just have standard ‘inside-out’ cable on the van which will strip down to an approximately 3mm diameter white coloured fibre cable. Still able to be routed well internally, but not as ‘invisible’ as InvisiLight.

In reply to a post by bradlink:

Would ZEN take over an existing FTTC - that is migrating to ZEN?

In addition would transfer of landline number work with their DigitalVoice setup - probably plug handset into Fritzbox?

I'm aware of new orders likely being FTTP only, however this could be tricky at my location.

If your property has FTTP available(*), and your exchange area is under a "stop sell" for copper, then you cannot migrate an existing FTTC line to a new provider. You cannot even regrade the speed on your existing provider. Any such change will involve installing FTTP and moving you over to that.

If that doesn't apply, then the next thing to look at is: is your FTTC using analogue PSTN, i.e. your phone plugs directly into the master socket? If so, the only migration option is to SOGEA (the digital-only version of FTTC) with digital voice. It sounds like you know that already.

Zen's digital voice will happily migrate your existing PSTN number, and yes, you'd plug your handset into the voice port on the router they supply. Alternatively, you could choose to migrate your phone number to a third-party VOIP service to make it completely independent of your broadband (which is not as simple as the all-in-one Zen offering, but it does give you flexibility for easier broadband changes in future)

(*) Check at broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com and click on the "Address" tab. If it says "WBC FTTP", then you have it. If it says "FTTP on demand" then you *don't* have FTTP available.