There’s fibre outside - how do I get FTTP?

There’s fibre outside - how do I get FTTP?

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Discussion

Miserablegit

Original Poster:

4,021 posts

109 months

Friday 3rd March 2023
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I’m on BT broadband - there’s FTTC a few hundred metres away and we get for 14-50Mb (nearer 14)
I’ve regularly checked the fibre checkers which say fibre not available in my area.

Openreach are doing work outside so I asked if they were putting fibre in - they were very helpful and said no, they were repairing a copper cable but did show me that there’s a fibre line running in an access manhole near the house. They said I needed to find out where the BCD/PCP/ABC/DNA is - I forget the correct acronym- but apparently there should be one within a few hundred metres from which a house can be connected.

Does anybody here know who I contact to see if I can be connected please? All the fibre searches I’ve undertaken are saying not available.
Many thanks

nice1two

328 posts

199 months

Friday 3rd March 2023
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Where abouts is your house roughly? can you look to see if a local supplier is running the cables to install it later?

quinny100

922 posts

186 months

Friday 3rd March 2023
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A fibre cable in a chamber nearby is almost completely irrelevant in terms of whether you can get an FTTP service. Most of the fibre serving a city runs about 50m from my house and I can’t get FTTP.

FTTP requires specific infrastructure to be built out to service individual properties.

MikeHo

1,254 posts

266 months

Friday 3rd March 2023
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You need to find the chap I spoke to once from openreach. I rang them and said the house down the road could get fttp according to their website but mine couldn't.
After a long chat he ticked a box in their system to say my house was fttp capable so I could place an order.
He said don't worry, if you place an order they have to do it.
Bloke turned up to connect me, said where's the fibre? Me .... Nfi

In the end they ran it 200 yards through a field and bingo !!!

camel_landy

4,903 posts

183 months

Friday 3rd March 2023
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Have you put your details into here:

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADS...

?

M

Miserablegit

Original Poster:

4,021 posts

109 months

Saturday 4th March 2023
quotequote all
Many thanks all.
Thanks camel_landy
I put my details in and I see that only FTTP on demand is available. My research suggests that’s hugely expensive to install and rent so that’s the end of that.
Hugely frustrating as it passes 1m from my front gate.
Don’t know why they aren’t offering FTTP if the fibre is here- I had believed there was no fibre out here in the sticks and that was the reason but no.

Captain_Morgan

1,229 posts

59 months

Saturday 4th March 2023
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Miserablegit said:
Many thanks all.
Thanks camel_landy
I put my details in and I see that only FTTP on demand is available. My research suggests that’s hugely expensive to install and rent so that’s the end of that.
Hugely frustrating as it passes 1m from my front gate.
Don’t know why they aren’t offering FTTP if the fibre is here- I had believed there was no fibre out here in the sticks and that was the reason but no.
As has been said just because a fibre runs past it doesn’t mean that it’s a domestic connection fibre.

That said have you investigated the fttp on demand option yourself or are you working off anecdotal reports on cost?

If it’s a suitable fibre & ducting as close as you say you could find the costs surprisingly reasonable, a friend of mines were in the low hundreds range as someone else had ordered it & the run went past his property. It is worth asking the question rather than assuming.

Failing that if a speed increase is required have you considered the 4/5g mobile offerings or starlink?

williaa68

1,528 posts

166 months

Saturday 4th March 2023
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I had a sort of similar issue with fttp available to some houses in my street but not others, for reasons that were hard to fathom. I spoke to zen, who spoke to Openreach, who sorted it. Zen were excellent - worked to find a way around the “computer says no” mentality. It took quite a while - about three months, but they got there in the end. There are cheaper ISPs but zen worth every penny to me.

jurbie

2,343 posts

201 months

Saturday 4th March 2023
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Miserablegit said:
They said I needed to find out where the BCD/PCP/ABC/DNA is - I forget the correct acronym- but apparently there should be one within a few hundred metres from which a house can be connected.
That'll be the CBT, a Connectorised Block Terminal. It's a big black box, more of a tube really but if your street is pole fed then it'll be sat at the top of your nearest telegraph pole. But you've already said there is fibre in a duct at the front of your property in which case the CBT will likely be inside an underground chamber nearby. Look for a big rectangular concrete lid with BT written on it but probably best you don't try and lift it to check inside.

Miserablegit

Original Poster:

4,021 posts

109 months

Sunday 5th March 2023
quotequote all
Many thanks all- all internet searches are indicating FTTP is not available in this area so I’ll brace myself and call BT during the week.

Captain_Morgan

1,229 posts

59 months

Monday 6th March 2023
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This might shed light on any other options
https://bidb.uk/

Also iirc openreach will direct you to 3rd parties if investigating fttp od, if you google fttp I’d providers you can cut out the openreach conversation.

donkmeister

8,180 posts

100 months

Monday 6th March 2023
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Miserablegit said:
Many thanks all- all internet searches are indicating FTTP is not available in this area so I’ll brace myself and call BT during the week.
The build programme is quite long. Openreach recently installed the new fibre access units on the telegraph poles round here, complete with the chunky armoured fibres to them via existing ducts. However, the Openreach checker is currently saying "by December 2026" for FTTP.

So I literally have an FTTP connection point at the end of my drive and a catenary wire from there to my house, but I cannot order FTTP yet.

I understand from some googling that it is one of those situations that can suddenly move very quickly, some people see the units appear and can order FTTP within a week or two. No such luck here!

somouk

1,425 posts

198 months

Monday 6th March 2023
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donkmeister said:
The build programme is quite long. Openreach recently installed the new fibre access units on the telegraph poles round here, complete with the chunky armoured fibres to them via existing ducts. However, the Openreach checker is currently saying "by December 2026" for FTTP.

So I literally have an FTTP connection point at the end of my drive and a catenary wire from there to my house, but I cannot order FTTP yet.

I understand from some googling that it is one of those situations that can suddenly move very quickly, some people see the units appear and can order FTTP within a week or two. No such luck here!
They build out the whole network segment and then enable it so depending how big an exchange you are on that can take weeks or months until it becomes available for you to buy.

ooo000ooo

2,531 posts

194 months

Monday 6th March 2023
quotequote all
jurbie said:
That'll be the CBT, a Connectorised Block Terminal. It's a big black box, more of a tube really but if your street is pole fed then it'll be sat at the top of your nearest telegraph pole. But you've already said there is fibre in a duct at the front of your property in which case the CBT will likely be inside an underground chamber nearby. Look for a big rectangular concrete lid with BT written on it but probably best you don't try and lift it to check inside.
PCP - Primary Connection Point - The Cabinet - big green box where the fibre ports live, if the cabinet hasn't been updated yet then there's unlikely to be fibre there, some times there's a second cabinet beside an existing one.

Miserablegit

Original Poster:

4,021 posts

109 months

Monday 6th March 2023
quotequote all
Many thanks all-
No FTTP until 2025- there’s fibre outside but no chance of connecting to it.

I’m paying £70/month for a 50Mb connection which is rarely 50Mb and a phone line I rarely use.
I called Bt today as speeds had dropped again- they confirmed no fibre connection is available yet and have indicated I can get a cheaper package at about £50/month so the call was worth it.

somouk

1,425 posts

198 months

Tuesday 7th March 2023
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Miserablegit said:
Many thanks all-
No FTTP until 2025- there’s fibre outside but no chance of connecting to it.

I’m paying £70/month for a 50Mb connection which is rarely 50Mb and a phone line I rarely use.
I called Bt today as speeds had dropped again- they confirmed no fibre connection is available yet and have indicated I can get a cheaper package at about £50/month so the call was worth it.
No decent 4G coverage in the area?

Miserablegit

Original Poster:

4,021 posts

109 months

Wednesday 8th March 2023
quotequote all
Alas no!

somouk

1,425 posts

198 months

Wednesday 8th March 2023
quotequote all
Miserablegit said:
Alas no!
Sounds like a good business case (man maths) for Starlink.

Miserablegit

Original Poster:

4,021 posts

109 months

Saturday 11th March 2023
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somouk said:
Sounds like a good business case (man maths) for Starlink.
Hmm…might be but I don’t want to give that awful man any money…

Grayedout

407 posts

212 months

Saturday 11th March 2023
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Wish I could find the right person at OpenReach to speak to!

Watched them lay fibre on the far side of my road last year and if I enter the details of the house across the road it says fibre available. Enter my details and it says fibre not available in the area !!!!!!