how do i check if my cabinet will be fibre enabled?

daz.wallace · 14 Jun 2016 at 22:14

I am moving into a new build at the end of September and want to know when the cabinet will be fibre enabled or not. I know the exchange and cabinet number but can't get any results for fibre or not. Years ago there was a document available which told you when each cabinet would be enabled, is this still available?

Thanks in advance

RJC · 14 Jun 2016 at 22:23

I used open reach to check:

http://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/when-can-i-get-fibre.aspx

daz.wallace · 14 Jun 2016 at 22:37

Ah thanks, not come across that one

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

Doesn't look good

Caged · 14 Jun 2016 at 23:25

If the building isn't finished until September then there's really no way to know - you need to get a phone line installed which then updates the Openreach databases and at that point you can start checking your phone number for availability.

The only way that will change is if home buyers put pressure on developers and make quality Internet availability a central part of the completion process. But lol if that's going to happen because if you walk away from a property then fifty other people will step right in.

bremen1874 · 15 Jun 2016 at 00:12

It's amazing that basic decent connectivity isn't built into the planning process. You've got all of this gov.uk 'superfast broadband' policy going on and they still let new build happen without any provision.

I bought the house I'm in approx. 13 years ago and even then broadband was a major factor. At the time I was checking the that I was in a NTL area and could get the 512Mbps broadband that was available rather than standard dialup.

daz.wallace · 15 Jun 2016 at 12:31

Thanks all. I guess it's just a case of wait and see. Before we bought the house we knew that the exchange was fibre enabled so we thought everything would be fine but we found out by chance that an old friend had moved to the same estate 6 months ago and she could not get fibre when she moved in so I guess we will have to wait and see if anything has changed by the time we move in.

linktoinsanity · 15 Jun 2016 at 16:10

Fibre is not available at my new build and will not be for a few months at least.

Though I'm lucky with my 2MB ADSL line, in that some of my neighbours have no internet connection at all.

BT sucks. :/

XeNoNF50 · 15 Jun 2016 at 16:27

daz.wallace said:
Ah thanks, not come across that one

Doesn't look good

I got the same as this. It's been like that for months.

Caged · 15 Jun 2016 at 22:04

The process is like this:

- Developer builds new housing, installs ducting and pavement chambers etc. to Openreach spec from Openreach stores
- Openreach install cabling in duct and connect houses to telephone exchange via a new cabinet, existing cabinet with capacity, or direct to exchange
- Once the cabinet starts to fill up it will trigger a predetermined level at which point it will be scheduled for an FTTC upgrade

Unfortunately if you have an estate being built in phases it could take years before a threshold level is reached. There are processes in place for getting the network build to happen at the same time as the houses themselves, and developers can go full FTTP if they want. The problem is that because it involves more than zero effort and there's no legal requirement for it, developers don't bother. Because houses are worth the market rate, and the market doesn't generally care about broadband connectivity.