BT Infinity, How does it work?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 10:59

ok, so I don't have BT Infinity available to me, but other people that come off of my exchange do. Why would this be?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 11:17

I live closer to the exchange than the people that can get it. its not just me, my work cant either and that's just up the road from my house.
I get 15Mb/s+ (1.6-2MB/s download) now so don't think its the speed that's the problem.

just seems odd that the 4 phone numbers I know around the exchange don't get it, yet people that live a little bit further out of town do, yet it all goes through the same exchange :confused:

or do they have boxes that come off the exchange, and maybe we all come off a different one?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 11:21

AMMUT said:
Then its possible you are connected directly to the exchange.

If you are connected directly to the exchange, you might be one of the lucky ones to get FTTP in the future.

is there any way to find out?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 11:27

AMMUT said:
https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?snapid=S351604JNil

Filter by your postcode and see what it says.

I get a blank :confused:

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 11:31

AMMUT said:
http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/adsl/adslchecker.welcome

Put your phone number in there. The fact your postcode isn't on that sheet suggests that Fibre isn't planned for your area.

I cant find any postcodes via the filter, even ones I know have infinity.

THE BROADBAND AVAILABILITY CHECKER

For Telephone Number 0120971**** on Exchange CAMBORNE

Your exchange is ADSL enabled, and our initial test on your line indicates that your line should be able to have an ADSL broadband service that provides a fixed line speed up to 2Mbps.

Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL Max broadband line speed of 6.5Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 5.5Mbps and 8Mbps.

Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL2+ broadband line speed of 14.5Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 12.5Mbps and 16.5Mbps. Our test also indicates that your line could support an estimated ADSL 2+ Annex-M broadband upstream line speed of 1Mbps and downstream line speed of 14.5Mbps; typically the downstream speed would range between 12.5Mbps and 16.5Mbps.

The actual stable line speed supportable will be determined during the first 10 days of use. This speed may change over time, to ensure line stability is maintained.

If you decide to place an order, a further test will be performed to confirm if your line is suitable for the service you wish to purchase.

Thank you for your interest.

Please note that postcode and address check results are indicative only. Most accurate results can be obtained from a telephone number check.
Note: If you already have a Broadband service enabled on this line and you want to switch service providers, you will need to contact both your current provider and your new provider to get your service changed over new and existing service provider to have this service transferred.

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 11:46

AMMUT said:
According to http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/WWCAMB

FTTC is only available in some areas.

http://www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/where-and-when/ might give you an idea of what's happening.

according to the bottom link its Accepting Orders.

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 11:46

ok got the first thing you sent working, what info do I need from it?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 11:58

AMMUT said:
Post all the info that is in the sheet for your postcode. Star out the postcode if you don't want us to know it.

which sheet? the one ^ there?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 12:03

AMMUT said:
Yeah, if that's what you got working. Although it isn't too exact.

For example, my parents can't get infinity, but the spreadsheet says that 100% of the lines in their postcode should get it with a 9.87 uplift. The cabinet is upgraded as people down the road from them can get it but they can't.

this is my problem, people come into work saying BT have offered it to them, we check their numbers and yes they can get it. yet my house, work and friends that live within the same area off the same exchange cant :confused:

sure if the exchange is working it should be available to all? or do I get a special cable that comes to my house for the broadband, so will take a while for them to put those up?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 12:10

AMMUT said:
In my parents' case, I don't know why they are not able to get it from the cabinet. Its possible BT think that it will be <15Mb but by their calculations of a 9.87 uplift, the speed would be around 30Mb (get around 3-3.5Mb at the minute on ADSL).

You could always call BT or whoever your provider is about it and see what they say. They would be able to tell you for sure if you were connected directly to the exchange.

I tried talking to this rather rude lady at bt who just basically said 'its not available to you sir, we will email you when it is' I explained that Camborne exchange was done as people can already get it, she refused to acknowledge that and continued with the 'we will email you when its available' route. is there a special department I should be calling?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 12:16

whats the difference betwwen fttp and fttc?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 12:27

so if I go by that database, I should get FTTP? which means I might not have it as they have not done my street/house yet? or do they do all that when an order is placed?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 12:40

also, if it comes to my property, does this mean that I should be able to, one day, have virgin tv?

paradisiac · 28 Mar 2012 at 13:48

drunkenmaster said:
100% of people means how many people are connected to the cab, not that 100% of people can have it today.

What no one seems to have mentioned clearly in this thread is,

an exchange gets fibre enabled but for people to actually get connected the cab they are connected to(green box end of road or a nearish road) gets a new cab placed near it(most of the time afaik, sometimes new big cab replaces?) with Fibre connected between it and the exchange, only when that new cab is installed, and turned on, then enabled can people connected to that cab get Infinity.

In my case my exchange became fibre enabled and was "accepting orders" 18 odd months ago or something stupid, which basically means at some point 18 months ago they had one cab somewhere in the area connected.

My cab was listed as 100%, decent uplift(current average speed x uplift is the average the area should achieve, so if you get 3mb now and a 8 uplift you should get 24mb), but my cab still wasn't actually done yet. I got it installed last week, exchange being enabled and other people in the area being able to order unfortunately aren't even slightly connected to you getting it.

Its up to the order and time taken for BT to do your specific cab.

Lot of cab's to install and get working unfortunately, lot of network improvements needed and lots of people to connect to infinity, its going to take time unfortunately

You do hear about people now and then who call up and BT realise their cab is done but the system hasn't recognised it properly. The online checkers dates are bogus, it's just a placeholder 99% of the time, dec 31st, to march 31st, then June 31st, etc, etc. The date moves 3 months back within 1-2 weeks of the date. if the date changes to something significantly different, like April 13th or something, its likely to be a real date.

Realistically best chance of getting infinity asap is, register online(and hope BT are basing their choice of cab upgrades on demand), and check the bt site's speed checker every week till it says you can order.

If it is FTTP, they are likely doing it in a specific order, because you don't want to randomly dig up the road for everyone who orders, so it will be based on luck more than anything else.

this is pretty much what I needed to know, was it just the exchange or is there something else that needs doing. thanks for that, just hope mine isn't one of the last to get done