Does getting Fibre means they dig up your drive/front garden?

[Raymond Lin]

Zzoomm recently installed a line outside my house, and in the surrounding area. I can now get Fibre. I also see BT Openreach package for Fibre is also available to order on my account online. My current contract is up in December so I can actually get Fibre and save some money in either one of these.

My question is that does Zzoomm make a mess on the front of the house? There is probably like 4 feet of pavement between where they laid the cable to the front of my front garden bit which is covered by gravel (if they put the cable under the gravel. But is there more digging required and another hole drilled through the house?

Would this be the same with BT as well or does BT uses existing phone lines, like broadband for their Fibre?

Cost wise Zzoomm is much cheaper at £25 with the first 6 months free but BT is like £40 (including a landline).

 

[Nemiyen]

Sometimes they can get the cable down the side of the driveway if there's a gap. They may even be able to go along a wall if you don't want any digging to be done and then come across at the closest gap / point that works.

I'd expect they will find any way possible to avoid digging up concrete or a driveway!

You will probably need a new hole drilling into your house as the holes that are already there will be the size of the existing cables. Unless you removed one of them or the previous holes were drilled too large!

Edit: A pic of the area you're concerned with will help to see the issue.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Sometimes they can get the cable down the side of the driveway if there's a gap. They may even be able to go along a wall if you don't want any digging to be done and then come across at the closest gap / point that works.

I'd expect they will find any way possible to avoid digging up concrete or a driveway!

You will probably need a new hole drilling into your house as the holes that are already there will be the size of the existing cables. Unless you removed one of them or the previous holes were drilled too large!

Edit: A pic of the area you're concerned with will help to see the issue.

Sorry, here is a photo.

My property starts where the gravel is, and the path to the house is the slabs. You can see the newly laid Zzoomm line.

 

[Nemiyen]

Thanks for the pic. Usually, there's some tubing to get from where they laid their cable in the street to the boundary of your property. Once here, I'd guess they will dig up some of the gravel close to your paving slabs or the pavement and lay the cable that way.

If looks like you've got some weed cover stuff? So I'd guess they will lift that up, dig a little underneath, lay the cable and then put everything back down over the top.

Providing that gets them up to your property OK and then in through another hole.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Thanks for the pic. Usually, there's some tubing to get from where they laid their cable in the street to the boundary of your property. Once here, I'd guess they will dig up some of the gravel close to your paving slabs or the pavement and lay the cable that way.

If looks like you've got some weed cover stuff? So I'd guess they will lift that up, dig a little underneath, lay the cable and then put everything back down over the top.

Providing that gets them up to your property OK and then in through another hole.

Thanks, I expect they would tuck it between the gravel and the slabs. But my main concern, even though it's not my property as such, is that few feet between the cable they laid to the gravel, I gues they will dig up that bit too?

 

[Nemiyen]

Thanks, I expect they would tuck it between the gravel and the slabs. But my main concern, even though it's not my property as such, is that few feet between the cable they laid to the gravel, I gues they will dig up that bit too?

They will have to yeah if there's no ducting to get from that line to your property. I'd expect it's already there but they may do that bit when people sign up to save money during the main installation works.

It's on the public path so hopefully it doesn't matter to you or the owner of the property what the path outside looks like. They probably didn't want a tram line going down it all but they got it when the fibre was installed!

 

[Caged]

There should be a little plastic 'toby' box on your boundary. Here's what one looks like for G.Network, the boundary is the garden wall in the picture.

 

[Raymond Lin]

There should be a little plastic 'toby' box on your boundary. Here's what one looks like for G.Network, the boundary is the garden wall in the picture.

On the top right corner of my photo, is that it?

 

[Deleted member 77746]

They would probably have to dig from the main line to the point into the house where they plan on putting it.

Don’t know how this changes things with rented property.

 

[Nemiyen]

On the top right corner of my photo, is that it?

I was looking for one of those grates / boxes on your photo, but couldn't see one. Unless it's just off the camera shot?

 

[Avalon]

Irrespective they are going to have to get the cable from the street to your property and then into the property, depending on the contractor policy, they may or may not insist on you lifting any slabs/gravel as they aren't willing to do so and risk you complaining about it's reinstatement or any damage, so as the question either before or at install. This will be the same regardless of BT or Alt-Net and if it isn't your property, they will likely need to have way leave to do so.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Irrespective they are going to have to get the cable from the street to your property and then into the property, depending on the contractor policy, they may or may not insist on you lifting any slabs/gravel as they aren't willing to do so and risk you complaining about it's reinstatement or any damage, so as the question either before or at install. This will be the same regardless of BT or Alt-Net and if it isn't your property, they will likely need to have way leave to do so.

Don’t worry about the ownership of the property aspect, it’s not a rented property. I just am concerned if it looks like a mess on the pavement side and how they would feed the cable to the house that’s all. I think, and hope it should be simple with the gravel there to hide it.

 

[Deleted User 298457]

Don't count on them doing absolutely anything other than making a path from the pavement to your house and then laying it on top of the gravel, becoming your problem to hide.

 

[edGfaCTor]

Walk around the street and see if any of the houses have the Toby flap outside them.

If they do not it may be like my area the ducting which already does to each home can be used (this is the one the current openreach cable will be coming through unless your area is fed by poles not the ground)

 

[Raymond Lin]

Walk around the street and see if any of the houses have the Toby flap outside them.

If they do not it may be like my area the ducting which already does to each home can be used (this is the one the current openreach cable will be coming through unless your area is fed by poles not the ground)

I looked down the entire line that they dug up and don't see a single box! The one in my photo is not a box. The only box on the pavement is for Water Mains, and label as such.

 

[Caged]

It's possible that Zzoomm are using Openreach PIA to use their ducts to get to your house. How does the phone line get in at the moment?

 

[Glanza]

Depends on the setup, ours was brought over from the phone pole and doesn't run underground at all.

 

[Raymond Lin]

It's possible that Zzoomm are using Openreach PIA to use their ducts to get to your house. How does the phone line get in at the moment?

There is a line that come up from the ground by the wall in the house then go in.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

@Raymond Lin probably worth noting that most companies wouldn't hold your contract against you if yer upgrading

Get the order in laddie!

 

[TangoEchoAlpha]

@Raymond Lin I have Zzoomm installed. You are looking for a plastic cover where the pavement meets your property boundary, that is labelled Zzoomm. I would take a photo of the one outside our house, but it's dark - but you are looking for a plastic cover about 3" x 8"

The installers will then run a line from that point to your property. In my case, they took up some block paving on the very edge of the driveway and laid the cable underneath that. What they will do depends upon where the point external to your boundary is, so find that and you can then guess the route the installers will run the cable.

If the property isn't yours, you will need to sign and give permission for the works to start - if it's a rental, as mentioned you will need the way leave sorted.