Openreach Fiber Cabinet Questions about going Live

Associate
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Ok well 2 weeks ago a nice new green fiber box arrived next to one of BT main cabinets and ducts, the exchange llisted as future exchange on the openreach website (2014).

How long does it normally take for these to to go live & accept orders, roadworks.org lists work being carried out soon for cabeling just wondering what people in now might think?

Lead Road From Leadgate To Spen Lane, Ryton, Gateshead
Works Start: 13 May
End: 27 May

Description : RYTON, TYNE AND WEAR (PCP 9) STREET CABINET & POWER INSTALLATION. Excavate to lay approx 12m BT ducts in f/w, Lay concrete plinth, Stand cab. Excavate to expose low voltage cable for Power Connection and lay approx 25m duct in f/w.
POWER engineer to carry out inspection prior to jointing. POWER jointing team to insert cable and execute jointing works. Reinstate, Check and clear site.
Current status: Advanced planning
Traffic lights, etc: None/signing only

Thing is the box is already there and so is the other one listed as works to be carried out.

EDIT

There are no other boxes close to myself though and nothing planned, my house is about 400 meters from the new cabinet, do these use the pole via copper for the rest of the connection?
 
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Associate
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Does your Exchange have an RFS date set yet? (See the availability checker: https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/main.html). If so, they are generally on target to have most cabinets active by the RFS date for the Exchange. As an example, I'm on the other side of the hill to you (Chopwell), and our Exchange is scheduled for May 2014, however I was able to place an order for FTTC three weeks ago and went live last Friday.
 
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looking at roadworks.org there are only 7 cabinets being cited in the NE40 area with in the next 12 months with the last being done by mid may. Looking through how BT install them they have to have 10 before going live altough some of this area is dominated by virgin.
 
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Does your Exchange have an RFS date set yet? (See the availability checker: https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/main.html). If so, they are generally on target to have most cabinets active by the RFS date for the Exchange. As an example, I'm on the other side of the hill to you (Chopwell), and our Exchange is scheduled for May 2014, however I was able to place an order for FTTC three weeks ago and went live last Friday.

Sadly this aint bringing anything up apart from ADSL stuff :( the rfs date is callender 2014
 
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Sadly this aint bringing anything up apart from ADSL stuff :( the rfs date is callender 2014

:(

The ADSL checker started showing FTTC numbers around the end of December 2013 for me, so ~5 months prior to the cabinet going live.

Looking at what majestyk said, it may be that it is pot luck and the experience I've had at work (with cabinets being live prior/on the Exchange RFS date) is the minority.
 
Soldato
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If it helps, my FTTC cab was fitted December 2013. FTTC info became available on the BT checker page early January, with a live date of March 2014.

The cab went live and I was able to order FTTC end of January, which I then had installed around the 10th Feb.

I have heard horror stories where a FTTC cab has been fitted, but then they have had power issues lasting a year+ so it does indeed seem pot luck.
 
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Cab fitted here mid February - was available for orders in late April.

I have friends whose cab was done in 2012 that aren't live yet though, so I wouldn't hold your breath
 
Soldato
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There's no real way of knowing, the box often goes in before electricity and fibre ducting are sorted out, at which point it's anyones guess because they need to get council permission for the streetworks. It's been a couple of months since the first box appeared in my village, it's still not accepting orders or showing any dates on the bt wholesale checker.
 
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There's no real way of knowing, the box often goes in before electricity and fibre ducting are sorted out, at which point it's anyones guess because they need to get council permission for the streetworks. It's been a couple of months since the first box appeared in my village, it's still not accepting orders or showing any dates on the bt wholesale checker.

I think the pass through for the cables are early to mid may according to the roadworks site, gonna see if I can catch an open reach engineer when I take my son to school as they are always one of main cabs on my walk. I do hope I get it by the end of the year :) TBH I cant complain as since I asked sky to fiddle with my line I'm no longer on adsl1 but on adsl2+ and get the full 8mb now, I wonder if sky has acquired all of o2's equipment.
 
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:(

The ADSL checker started showing FTTC numbers around the end of December 2013 for me, so ~5 months prior to the cabinet going live.

Looking at what majestyk said, it may be that it is pot luck and the experience I've had at work (with cabinets being live prior/on the Exchange RFS date) is the minority.

I think the ebchester exchange only recently got sky enabled, I should move just over that hill :) will be the same distance to get to prudhoe for work... infact quicker if I went through Hedley ;)
 
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I think the ebchester exchange only recently got sky enabled, I should move just over that hill :) will be the same distance to get to prudhoe for work... infact quicker if I went through Hedley ;)

You are right, Sky LLU became available in early 2013 IIRC, before that it was TalkTalk/CPW or BT only. BT only upgraded the Exchange to support the new 21CN/WBC infrastructure in April of last year - the Ebchester exchange gets very little love (until now!) :)
 
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well a little update :D they are laying the fiber from the cabinets within the next 2 weeks so its looking more like september once the testing phase is done, atleast it looks like fiber this year. The only concern I have is that the green cab that supplies me is 400 meters away & this is also where one of the new fiber cabinets sits.

Will that distance cause an issue with the speed? mind its telegraph poles to my house so its direct via the road.
 
Soldato
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well a little update :D they are laying the fiber from the cabinets within the next 2 weeks so its looking more like september once the testing phase is done, atleast it looks like fiber this year. The only concern I have is that the green cab that supplies me is 400 meters away & this is also where one of the new fiber cabinets sits.

Will that distance cause an issue with the speed? mind its telegraph poles to my house so its direct via the road.

I'm approx 350m from my cab and achieve 55Mb, so I doubt it will cause you an issue.
 
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