This topic

Fibre install, will I need digging?

justhe — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 16:49:32 GMT

Hello, I am just wondering what to expect when I get BT fibre in terms of install.

I live in a house that was made between the 60'-70's and I am unsure whether or not we have ducting, a few years ago Openreach put fibre in my street and now a few centimes off my property on the public walkway there is a very small Openreach cover.

When I check on https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/ it says this about my install.

Our records show the following FTTP network service information for these premises:-Single Dwelling Unit Residential UG pre built to the curtilage.

does anyone know what this means? I just want to know if I need digging or if they can have the cable come out from that small cover and just put it down my driveway to my house

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

36ULW — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:31:44 GMT

Sounds like they’ve put a Toby Box in.

Also given age of your house and that the Checker says it’s prebuilt to Curtilage then yes. They will need to dig across your land to get an FTTP Cable in.

Openreach will arrange for a Dig once you place an order.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

justhe — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:32:50 GMT

I have already p laced an order and not had anything told to me about a dig, will it be a deep dig or can they just go a few CM under my driveaway to lay the cable?

Also is it not possible to put the cable above the ground and just run it down my driveaway and protect it?

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

36ULW — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:37:30 GMT

Openreach will send out a L2C, that Lead to Cash Step 1 Team, usually unappointed to agree a dig location with you and to get a PTD Form, that’s Permission to Dig Form signed.

The preferred depth is 150mm. I think a few cm will be to shallow, especially under a driveway as it may cause damage to the Duct and Cable.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

justhe — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:43:07 GMT

I see on my order that my engineer visit is still being finalized but I have an engineer visit outside of my property on Tues 26th Sept.

I assume that might be the date I could talk to them about how they will get fibre to my house? I am just worried because my front lawn is an awkward shape and has a step drop between the grass/pavement to my house.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

36ULW — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:47:33 GMT

Wouldn’t worry about it.

Openreach use their own DL Civils for L2C and they’re on a Salary, not Paid per Dig so they’ll take their time to do a good job because it doesn’t matter if they do 1 job that day or 100, they still get paid the same.

I know loads of Openreach Civils lads, I’d happily let any of them dig up my garden.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

justhe — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:49:34 GMT

Ok well that is good, I am currently On virgin and our contract runs out in early Feb so I hope they can figure out where that cable is not to cut it as well. I will be using both my Virgin and BT connection till my VM contract runs out.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

36ULW — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:52:12 GMT

Yeah, VM Cable won’t be difficult to find. It’ll be buried under 2mm of top soil, if that.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

justhe — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 18:02:13 GMT

Thank you for your help, now I just need to patiently wait till I get it installed and I can be free from virgins awful latency and DNS issues on gaming

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

justhe — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 05:24:01 GMT

I forgot to mention it before but it also says for my install that I am "KCI2 Assure".

Any idea what that means if if it changes anything you mentioned previously?

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

36ULW — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 07:15:39 GMT

I believe KCI is something to do with the Activation of the Service.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

pippincp — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 09:14:17 GMT

KCI = Keep Customer Informed. KCI 3 is when provisioning order completes.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

iniltous — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 09:16:03 GMT

KCI , keeping customer informed, KCI 2 assure , is a two stage install , normally because at survey the method of delivery dictated that it’s not possible to do all work on a single visit .

With a dwelling that’s ‘ built to curtilage hard’ the first stage is primarily the dig from the recently provided toby box at the curtilage , to the house wall , ( ideally a soft dig across lawn ) , if someone had all hard landscaping , then at this stage a discussion could be required about the route for the trench it will happen that some orders will be cancelled this point when the householder realises that their hard landscaping ( block paving , imprinted concrete, resin bonded ) driveway needs to be excavated because that’s the only route from toby box to house wall …the surveyor indicates the ‘best’ location for the toby box , but occasionally other buried services make that impossible or there was never a good location because there is no soft surface ( grass ) outside the consumers property, like when someone makes the entire front ‘garden’ hard standing for cars .

The first stage may install the cable from the CBT in the footway box , through the Toby box , across the garden to the house wall leaving the cable coiled for the second stage tech to complete on the contractual date

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

justhe — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:25:43 GMT

I guess that is why on my BT order I have two visits, and the first one being on the 27th stating its a visit for outside my property?

The Toby box is literally just touching the edge of my property, is their no way they can have the cable come out from that and be above ground and run down the side of my property to my house

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

pippincp — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:33:02 GMT

They will not run fibre cable on the surface of a property 's drive.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

iniltous — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:59:36 GMT

What do you mean ?,

Is your property so close to the public footpath that the toby box is already almost touching the wall of your property ? , if it is a few cm’s between then obviously there is nothing to ‘dig’ to get to the house wall , this could be the case with a terraced property where the public footpath is right outside the house , ( so no front garden area to get across ) in most domestic situations though , the toby box would be in the footpath on the public side of the front garden , in those cases , not least because it would be a trip hazard, they wouldn’t lay a cable overground across this area , it would have to be buried.
Perhaps you can explain more clearly how and what part of your property can already be almost touching the Toby box that’s in the public footpath , I have seen situations where an attached garage was very close to the footpath , the house set back from the garage and footpath, it’s acceptable to take the cable to the garage from the toby box , then cable on wall to the house etc.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

justhe — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:02:31 GMT

Yes my property pretty much touches the public footpath and the toby box is on the closest part of it to my property almost touching my grass. I live in a Cul-De-Sac and their no wall between the pubic footpath and my property they just sort of start together.

Here is an image from google maps of above my property with a little red X that shows where the "Openreach" little black thing is on our street, every single house on our street has one of these outside their house which was put in 2-3 years ago.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

licquorice — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:20:20 GMT

I have no idea why you are so obsessing over this. Openreach do this day in day out and will dig a trench, install a duct and reinstate your garden. You cannot possibly expect a fibre cable to just lay on the ground unprotected.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

justhe — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 18:19:55 GMT

I am just trying to get an understanding for two reasons, one being that I am still on contract with VM and trying to see how long it might take to get my BT internet up and running. The other being that I plan on doing some work on my front lawn next summer so I am also trying to see what options there is for laying fibre.

Re: Fibre install, will I need digging?

iniltous — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 19:19:02 GMT

That image doesn’t really show any part of the fabric of the property on the footpath , it appears pretty standard situation in that the the toby box is in the footpath close to the curtilage and the properties ‘front garden’ is between the footpath toby box and the house wall , the image shows a car , so taking the car as a guide for distance I would think it’s approximately 6-7 metres, ( not centimetres ) so the cable would have be buried under the front garden …the cable cannot be simply laid overground.

Its the distance from the toby box to the house wall that’s important, I suspect what you were referring to as ‘only a few centimetres’ , is it’s a few centimetres to the garden , it’s then at least 6m to the house wall.

TBH , if the prospect of your front garden being excavated is a deal breaker then obviously there is no point ordering, but FYI , if you currently have Virgin , this is exactly the same method they used when providing their services into your home.