FTTP install - anyone had it done? How messy?

Showboat

Showboat

Showboat

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I'm thinking of ditching virgin and switching to sky and going with the ultrafast broadband.
Has anyone had the FTTP install done to their homes, can you comment on how it was done?
Driveway dug up / mole machine? Wires clipped around the side of the house? Do they bring it in alongside the existing phone cable connections?

If im every going to have driveway dug up now is the time to do it as im having sewers replaced and new driveway down later in the year.
I won't want that done in a few years time, so perfect time to do it now if its a mess!

Appreciate any stories!
 
Zero mess for me.
I drilled a hole in the floor boards under the stairs, then when they came to install asked them for the internal cable. Ran it myself under the crawl space and through an air brick where they connected it to the external box.
They then fitted the ONT and that was that.
 
Just had it done here, generally not too bad - they couldn't enter through the same wall box as the phone line though due to how tight the space was, so I do now have an extra box on the wall above it... mostly behind a bush though so nevermind!

From the street cable was simply run through the existing conduits, no digging. I guess that will depend on individual situations though.

Other than that I do have a thin white optical cable pinned above the skirting board and running to the console in the hallway, when I get around to it I will do a small amoutn of chasing down to the skirting and then run behind so it's all invisible.

That gigabit speed though, brilliant!
 
ChrisD. said:
How is the current Openreach copper fed? From a pole or underground? They will use the same route if possible.
Click to expand...
Erm.... pass.. we have a phone line coming in from a telephone pole! Anytime ive had Broadband before its only been 60MB, so assuming it was coming over that.

So no existing conduit for me to use.
 
If your phone line is overhead your FTTP will be overhead as well.

If you are having a driveway done anyway then it might be worth having some ducts buried in case another fibre network like CityFibre comes along, it gives you options without having to worry about digging things up.
 
Zero mess, as it was a new cable from the pole they put it where I wanted it to go, as to quote 'now is the time with it being it's own cable' . Job done within a hour.
 
I was watching a BT/OR video about this the other day, there may be a new cable on the outside (either up from the ground, or down from the overhead) with a cover over the hole, but once inside they use a two colour cable, with black for the ingress into the house, and white where it emerges from the rubber gromit and goes to the new wall mounted NTE (which is a lot smaller than it used to be).
the NTE just needs a power socket, be aware without a UPS, you wont have a working landline if there is a power cut, you can request (if vulnerable) a power adaptor with a built in 1hr battery however.

Virtual Tour of Openreach's FTTP Network - YouTube from time: 32.30
 
Gregnet said:
I was watching a BT/OR video about this the other day, there may be a new cable on the outside (either up from the ground, or down from the overhead) with a cover over the hole, but once inside they use a two colour cable, with black for the ingress into the house, and white where it emerges from the rubber gromit and goes to the new wall mounted NTE (which is a lot smaller than it used to be).
the NTE just needs a power socket, be aware without a UPS, you wont have a working landline if there is a power cut, you can request (if vulnerable) a power adaptor with a built in 1hr battery however.

Virtual Tour of Openreach's FTTP Network - YouTube from time: 32.30
Click to expand...

I'm not sure they'll offer battery backup for much longer given the transition to digital voice.
 
Showboat said:
Erm.... pass.. we have a phone line coming in from a telephone pole! Anytime ive had Broadband before its only been 60MB, so assuming it was coming over that.

So no existing conduit for me to use.
Click to expand...

OR FTTP will come from the pole too if that is how the copper comes to you. They are 2 seperate networks but they are following the same routes.

Have you checked you can get FTTP?
 
Yeah, checked around some of the neighbours houses and I can see a cable going into a box on outside wall with open reach on it. My telephone line is directly above where I would want it going into house so I’m good!

thanks for all the feedback!!
 
Showboat said:
I'm thinking of ditching virgin and switching to sky and going with the ultrafast broadband.
Has anyone had the FTTP install done to their homes, can you comment on how it was done?
Driveway dug up / mole machine? Wires clipped around the side of the house? Do they bring it in alongside the existing phone cable connections?

If im every going to have driveway dug up now is the time to do it as im having sewers replaced and new driveway down later in the year.
I won't want that done in a few years time, so perfect time to do it now if its a mess!

Appreciate any stories!
Click to expand...
If you are considering Sky hit me up for a friend's and family code.
 
I had a pipe already that the copper BT cable ran through. This went back to an underground cabinet about fifteen meters up the road. It took them a few minutes to run the fiber from one to the other. They fed the fiber through the same hole as the copper phone cable in my house wall. It came out at the bottom of the Openreach socket on the wall inside. The new fiber box is tiny. Smaller than the old copper openreach box. Then they replaced the small grey cover on the wall outside with an optical splicing box, which is about six inches on the sides and two inches deep. Job done. No mess at all.
 
My copper line comes into the house from an overhead pole same as all houses in the street, but the cables run down the pole into i'd assume a duct under the pavement and there is a BT manhole cover at the end of the street.

I'd assume it would be cheaper to have the fibre strung from the pole too rather than them digging up the street.
 
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