This topic

New Build Fibre Connection

ShaunCambo — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 15:41:41 GMT

Can anyone advise how to get in touch with open reach to discuss how to get a new connection for our new build? We are currently doing first fix and want to ensure all the cabling is in place so it can be hidden.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

Keith_Beddoe — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 15:43:56 GMT

@ShaunCambo wrote:

Can anyone advise how to get in touch with open reach to discuss how to get a new connection for our new build? We are currently doing first fix and want to ensure all the cabling is in place so it can be hidden.

@ShaunCambo

https://www.openreach.com/building-developers-and-projects/fibre-for-developers/registering-your-site

You need to register your site.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

ShaunCambo — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 15:46:01 GMT

Great thankyou.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

ShaunCambo — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 16:12:55 GMT

I have just been on the site and I’m not clear if I need to contact a provider to arrange a FTTP and FTTC or fill out the BT open reach form. We are building our own house so we will be the ones wanting the connection as we will be living there.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

Keith_Beddoe — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 16:25:53 GMT

@ShaunCambo wrote:

I have just been on the site and I’m not clear if I need to contact a provider to arrange a FTTP and FTTC or fill out the BT open reach form. We are building our own house so we will be the ones wanting the connection as we will be living there.

Its Openreach you will need to contact if you want then to provide the infrastructure. Its up to you which provider you choose once the infrastructure is in place. If you do not intend to use Openreach, and there is an alternative fibre infrastructure provider, then you would have to contact them, but bear in mind you would be tied to them forever.

You will probably have to pay for a site survey, and you will then be given more advice.

Unless you arrange the infrastructure now, it could cost you a lot of money later.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

ShaunCambo — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 16:32:11 GMT

Ok that makes sense. Any idea of the cost for a single dwelling?

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

Keith_Beddoe — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 16:41:46 GMT

@ShaunCambo wrote:

Ok that makes sense. Any idea of the cost for a single dwelling?

Sorry, no idea, I am just a BT Retail customer, as this is a BT Retail customer forum.

Openreach should be able to give you an estimate, once they do the survey.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

Starwire — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 17:38:55 GMT

Depends on what needs doing.

For example if it needs a Telephone Pole(s) then they cost about £400 each give or take.

If Dig and Duct work is needed that works out at about £120 per metre.

Any work within the boundary of your property can be done by you/your builder which should bring down costs.

Any work done on public land that requires anything connecting to the Openreach Network would need to be done by someone who has all the Necessary Openreach Accreditation’s and Correct and Valid Cards like Street Works, etc.

To be honest though there’s to many scenarios so you’re best off paying for a Survey, I think they’re about £500 and they’ll cost everything up for you. If you go ahead with Openreaches works then I believe the £500 Survey Fee is taken off the final amount.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

ShaunCambo — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 17:49:39 GMT

Thanks for the advice

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

ShaunCambo — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 13:15:18 GMT

So I am still waiting for BT Openreach to contact me about a survey. I have established that the connection to my new house will be FTTC and I guess they will tell me where they intend to run the cable to my house when the survey is done. This is fine because we are in no rush to complete the groundworks, the issue is getting the cabling right inside the house as we are currently underway with first fix. Does the copper cable finish at the entry point the house? We are planning on having the entry point in the downstairs utility room and then having the master router upstairs. Can we just run CAT6 from the entry box to the router or do we need some other cabling for it?

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

iniltous — Sat, 11 Sep 2021 07:48:24 GMT

Single plot builders are not dealt with the same as larger housing developments ( large scale developments like Taylor Wimpy, Persimmon etc., who would have the choice to go for FTTP ) , and ‘internal’ wiring isn’t something OR will be involved with ( that’s up to you, if you want to run internal cabling for broadband from the probable position of the router/OR master socket )

Is the property registered with the council ( for council tax ) and other official entities ( like the Post Office ) or if it’s going on a plot that had a building that was demolished , will it be known as the same address ?

Quite a lot depends on what exists locally, for example if your building is going on a vacant plot in a ‘regular’ street , or is to be sited on the plot of a previously demolished residential building, ( so in a ‘built up’ area ) , then the method surrounding buildings are served by, will also be how yours would be served ( overhead using poles, or underground using duct ) if it’s underground duct , installing OR duct to the curtilage of the plot from the house wall , will probably reduce the costs to you , if it’s an overhead area and the pole that would serve your property isn’t too far away , then that is the method that would be used ( and probably no extra installation fee ), in all cases OR will pay upto a certain amount ( around £3400 ) as every residential property is entitled to a basic service under the USO ( universal service obligation ) but anything over , you pay the ‘excess construction costs’.

If you are building in a remote area, quite some distance from other residential property’s and existing line plant ( like converting a barn for example ) then you pay the excess construction costs , which depending on what’s required could be significant.

If underground duct, the point on the external wall where the duct would surface , OR would fit a small termination block and feed a cable onto the building and terminate on a socket, or ONT if in the case FTTP is available , if overhead the dropwire from the pole attaches to the building in the normal way.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

Devon_Dave — Sat, 11 Sep 2021 19:47:01 GMT

Suggest you run an ethernet cable from each room (plus one for the TV) back to a central point at front of house where potential your phone service would enter the house ( understairs cupboard?) , this should future proof any connections yo may go for.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

Starwire — Sun, 12 Sep 2021 10:35:12 GMT

As Dave said you’re best off installing a Cat6 Data Lines back to a central point where you plan on keeping the Router.

Also bear in mind at some point in the future you’ll most likely be upgraded to FTTP so make sure you future proof for that as well.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

ShaunCambo — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 11:28:55 GMT

Thanks for the advice. It is now over ten weeks since I registered the new site and I have not been contacted by Open Reach to arrange for a survey. Do you have a contact number for me to chase up the application as I cannot find anything on the website?

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

NeilO — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 13:23:33 GMT

Hi, @ShaunCambo there's no phone number that I'm aware of but there is a contact us option on the Openreach website to raise a complaint by filling out a contact form.

Thanks

Neil

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

iniltous — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 16:25:47 GMT

You haven’t give much in the way of details, is the property you are constructing remote , and not close to other properties, or is it close to other properties, if near other properties and they are served from a telegraph pole, and this new building can also be served from existing overhead means, then Openreach won’t necessarily be interested, once your address is valid , then it would appear as an address in the database providers use to order service on your behalf….if the property is remote and no existing pole Openreach pole coukd be used to provide service then obviously OR would need to do some ‘construction’ , however it could be you order service with a provider, once your address is registered, ( knowing it will fail ) and OR retrospectively provide the ‘network’.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

ShaunCambo — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 18:08:17 GMT

Thanks for the reply. It is a new build in a village. The neighbouring houses are served by overhead lines. I was just expecting openreach to contact us to arrange a survey so we knew how they were going to connect us. If ducting was required we could have laid it while doing the groundworks.

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

hannah82w — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 14:47:43 GMT

Hi @Starwire and all, I found this thread whilst searching for help on how to approach getting two self-build properties connected to fibre and hope you can help! We are building two self-build houses on a redundant farm site owned within the family. There were agricultural buildings on the site, now demolished, and it is in a village location which has recently had Virgin fibre put in, but not to all properties. We will be starting on site soon so was trying to get all our ducks in a row for services. I spoke to Openreach and they directed me to the New site registration page which I signed up to and they have sent me a quote for £2000 per plot for full fibre connections.

Having read through this thread, and looking at the info OR have sent me with the quote, I get the feeling they are treating us as a development (2+ plots) rather than two separate self builds which happen to be next to each other.

We don't want to pay £4000 unless we really have to, and certainly not at the moment, so am I better to cancel this completely and de-register the site (if possible) and then later when the houses are closer to being finished approach BT or another provider to place an order for Broadband and then they will get OR involved? Would this be cheaper?!

They have also offered us the alternative of copper or partial fibre connection at no charge - is this a good alternative for now with the assumption they will upgrade it to full fibre eventually?

NB there is a telephone pole on the site carrying a single copper phone line from there down to my in-law's house. This will also need to be moved at some point, but having started looking into that they want to charge us £350 for a survey to work out the best options and then charge us for moving either the pole or the cable. Again, if we can live with it for the time being are we better to wait until they get round to upgrading all lines to fibre anyway?

Re: New Build Fibre Connection

iniltous — Sat, 13 Nov 2021 10:41:14 GMT

Obviously it your choice, but not proceeding with the FTTP offer , and just ordering any service when the addresses are registered and appear on the relevant databases that Openreach use , as well as a potential delay, will almost certainly be a copper pair based service , and although FTTP may happen eventually , it could be many years away.

TBH £2000 per plot isn’t bad, set against the probable total build costs , and although resale may not be a consideration, the consensus is that property’s with access to FTTP are worth considerably more than an similar property without FTTP.
As far as shifting a pole , (AFAIK) any survey fee is discounted from the works cost, ( to discourage time wasters ) so if a pole shift is ( ball park guesstimate ) £950 , after the survey is paid upfront, there should be £600 left to pay.