BT Telephone line/Cabinet question

edwardcasbon1

edwardcasbon1

edwardcasbon1

Associate
Joined
29 Mar 2004
Posts
593
Location
Cambs, UK
Hi all,

I've been researching my telephone connection, as my ADSL broadband is really slow, and we can't get fibre or cable.

On further investigation it looks like we have a reach issue on our line, so guessing our house is too far from the cabinet to get decent speeds (Currently getting around 4mbps!).

My question is, is it possible to have our house connected to a cabinet that is closer than the one we're currently connected to, therefore getting a better ADSL connection speed, and possibility of fibre?

What would be involved?

Thanks

Edward
 
A very long and arduous process. BT won't class your line as unusable so don't expect any sympathy from them. It'll cost a bit and even then that's if there is a closer cabinet as there are certain routes that the lines follow.
 
As above, but also assuming that any other cabinets aren't already oversubscribed (i.e. with waiting lists for new customers - as there are in some areas)
 
With ADSL its the total distance from the exchange, its only Fibre that's the distance from the cabinet that matters.

So even if you could get the line re-routed to a different cab, the distance from the exchange could be the same or worse.
Also, just because the cab is closer as the crow flies, doesn't mean the cable would end up shorter, as the routing doesn't go in a straight line.


Have you checked on the link below to see if you have any dates for fibre?
http://www.connectingcambridgeshire.co.uk/
 
Ah right, is this quite rural then? My sister's line is like this - but she lives in the middle of a field and the nearest cab is about 5km away.

I've seen cases before where someone has had a new line installed and had it routed a different way - but it's incredibly difficult to get Openreach to do this for you and may not even be applicable to you as even a nearer cab on paper might be just as long or longer in reality.
 
No, not rural at all really. We live in a village called Yaxley, near Peterborough. I'm guessing it was the nearest (or only available) cabinet when our house was built (one of the first on a new development in 2000). As the crow flies we're about 400m away from the cabinet, and we only get around a 4mbps connection, which is horrible :(
 
Scottland said:
You're 400m away from the current cab or the nearest one that you're not connected to?
Click to expand...

Current cab. Nearest one is about 50m away I think (but that ones not been upgraded yet).

Not sure whether it would be better to be connected to a cabinet that is further away but upgraded for fibre (but can't get because of reach issues), or a closer cabinet that hasn't been upgraded) - The latter I guess.
 
edwardcasbon1 said:
http://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/when-can-i-get-fibre.aspx reports:

"Your cabinet is enabled for Superfast fibre however you're not able to order fibre just yet.
This might be because the length of the line is too long to get Superfast speeds. We're actively looking at other options. If you'd like us to let you know if fibre becomes available, register your details."

:(
Click to expand...

Why would they enable the cabinet for fibre if the line was too long?
Therefore cab must be full, you'll have to keep trying everyday till a connection becomes available.
 
edwardcasbon1 said:
"Your cabinet is enabled for Superfast fibre however you're not able to order fibre just yet.
This might be because the length of the line is too long to get Superfast speeds. We're actively looking at other options. If you'd like us to let you know if fibre becomes available, register your details."
Click to expand...

If you're about 400m away from the current cab that's still fine for FTTC, I'm roughly 500m away from my cabinet and I still get 44 down/7 up. Unless the actual distance is significantly longer where the line zigzags its way to you... Could be the fibre cabinet is fully subscribed?

As for ADSL you're pretty far from the exchange so I don't think moving cabinets will help much either.
 
For the time being you're stuck - perhaps the cab is full as 400m shouldn't be too far away at all, nowhere near in fact (unless it's figuratively routed round the houses!).

When the other cab gets fibre enabled, you may have some luck putting in a new line order and see if you can get it routed via that cab - but you'll need a CP that'll play ball with Openreach in that regard.

In the mean time, see if you can raise a complaint with Openreach or even write to your MP to see if you can get a more definitive answer.
 
Youre lucky!
Try being 3.21 km from your nearest cab(which is not even fibred yet)
IF they ever upgrade it I would still be **** out of luck :(
 
edwardcasbon1 said:
Current cab. Nearest one is about 50m away I think (but that ones not been upgraded yet).

Not sure whether it would be better to be connected to a cabinet that is further away but upgraded for fibre (but can't get because of reach issues), or a closer cabinet that hasn't been upgraded) - The latter I guess.
Click to expand...

Edward how far are you from the cabinet? Do you know where Yaxley exchange is on the main drag near the pub? where about are you in relation to that.

This does not sound like a line length issue.

Do you speak with neighbours? any indication of what speeds there getting.
 
edwardcasbon1 said:
Hi all,

I've been researching my telephone connection, as my ADSL broadband is really slow, and we can't get fibre or cable.

On further investigation it looks like we have a reach issue on our line, so guessing our house is too far from the cabinet to get decent speeds (Currently getting around 4mbps!).

My question is, is it possible to have our house connected to a cabinet that is closer than the one we're currently connected to, therefore getting a better ADSL connection speed, and possibility of fibre?

What would be involved?

Thanks

Edward
Click to expand...

To answer this question unfortunately you are unable to use a different cabinet (PCP) as your line from your house will go to what is know as a DP and from there it will only go to a specific PCP so it cannot be changed.
 
Iron-man said:
To answer this question unfortunately you are unable to use a different cabinet (PCP) as your line from your house will go to what is know as a DP and from there it will only go to a specific PCP so it cannot be changed.
Click to expand...

It can, it's just incredibly difficult to get Openreach to do it.
 
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