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Full fibre install

pandaman — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:02:29 GMT

Openreach are coming on the 20th May to install full fibre broadband. On their blurb it says there should be a double socket near the hub. Now the current BT box enters into our lounge the hub and my desktop pc are upstairs in a boxroom with a cable running through the wall into our hall then through a wall into the built in garage, across the garage roof, then up through the floor into the boxroom which is above the garage. I have a 6 socket extension lead from the single wall socket for the pc, hub, printer, monitor and external hard drive, leaving one free socket on the extension lead. Apart from the kitchen there is only one double socket in the whole house, built in 1995, and that has an extension lead for the recorder box, tv, and signal booster.

My question is can the box for the fibre connection be plugged into an extension lead? If so I will have to get one with more sockets. I have a feeling this installation will not go smoothly.

Re: Full fibre install

Kimberlin — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:26:56 GMT

@pandaman Any electrical 'advice' should always only ever be given by a qualified electrician. Get it wrong, potential house burner, especially when it comes to using multi-socket extension gang leads. Plus you'll have all the usual house insurance issues if you don't follow safety and something goes wrong.

The ONT for the FTTP ideally, should be plugged into a suitable wall socket. I live in a recent new build property and the ONT, the box that the fibre cable is connected to when it comes through the external wall into the property, was installed immediately adjacent to a walled double socket. This is the ideal scenario as the ONT is going to be on 24/7 365. You don't want that plugged into a 2/4 or 6 gang trailing extension lead on a permanent basis. More so as even a 1995 house now has 30 year old wiring and you've probably got a plastic cased MCB consumer unit fitted in the house. New builds invariably now have metal cased consumer units with RCBO's that are infinitely safer and will detect electrical spikes etc far quicker.

Upshot is, I'd get an electrician in to install a dedicated double wall socket near where you believe the fibre cable will enter the house.

Re: Full fibre install

gg30340 — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:05:51 GMT

You will need an electrical socket for the ONT (Fibre Modem) which will most likely come into your house near to where the "old" telephone socket is situated.

The ONT then connects to your hub using an Ethernet Cable, not a phone extension cable, which might be what you are using at the moment.

The new hub can be placed anywhere you want including the box room where your old hub is situated but it will require you to run an Ethernet cable from the ONT to the hub. The Openreach fitter will not do that for you as a matter of routine.

Obviously the hub will require an electrical socket.

Given that you seem to have few electrical sockets it may be that you will have to get an electrician or a competent person to change your single sockets into double sockets to accommodate the ONT and the hub at your chosen locations.

However it may be the case that if you speak to the Openreach fitter and discuss what you want he could run the Fibre cable up the outside of your house into the box room and fit the ONT there. This would negate the need for a long Ethernet cable to run from downstairs as the new hub could be situated where the old hub is at present.

It would still require an electrical socket and as already stated it is best not to be on an extension lead so would require an electrician or competent person to change the single socket to a double and while he/she is at it they could add another double socket for your other devices in the room.

Re: Full fibre install

pandaman — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:07:41 GMT

Thanks for that comprehensive reply. That has given me somethings to think about.

Re: Full fibre install

pandaman — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:15:20 GMT

Thanks for reply, as with the other answer there are some problems to deal with and wonder it it is worth all the hassle and just stay as I am with my current arrangement.

Re: Full fibre install

gg30340 — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:07:56 GMT

It might be a bit of hassle but it will be worth it and at some point in the future you will probably not have the option to stay as you are so you are as well getting the job done now, plus who could not do with more electrical sockets!

Re: Full fibre install

WSH — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:20:20 GMT

Essentially it will run through an extension lead and the installer is unlikely to be bothered, (provided he has somewhere to plug it in). The Adtran ONT I have uses 6W, (according to the specification).

Both @gg30340 and @Kimberlin make very good points there however. I too am no electrician, so this is merely an opinion. The biggest problem with the current setup you describe is the "printer". If that is a laser printer it will pull a lot of current when the heater for it's fuser kicks in. I have an old Brother printer I use occasionally and it jumps to 1040W (4A) when the heater kicks in. A laser printer really ought to have a socket to itself.

Re: Full fibre install

pandaman — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 05:27:09 GMT

Yes I suppose it will have to change eventually like the landline changed to digital. Still a bit of a pain though.

Re: Full fibre install

pandaman — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 05:44:55 GMT

Thanks for info, the printer is an Epson ink jet, a few years old now but works fine. Hub has been plugged into the extension lead for years now with no problem so the ONT should be ok also. The 6 socket extension lead runs from the only single wall socket it the room so may get that changed to a double, also the single wall socket near the old bt box in the lounge, I have a 3 socket extension lead there as well for the landline home phone and the digital phone adapter as not sure where the ONT box is going to be sited. If down stairs in the lounge it will need a very long ethernet cable to get to the hub upstairs.

Re: Full fibre install

gg30340 — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 07:17:18 GMT

Ethernet can be run up to 100 meters so unless you live in a very high rise house you should be OK.

Re: Full fibre install

pandaman — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 07:47:55 GMT

Thanks for info, wasn't sure about distance.

Re: Full fibre install

pandaman — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:36:02 GMT

Further to my previous posts, have just collared an Open Reach guy that was installing full fibre to a house across the road. I asked about where the box needs to plugged in. He said an extension lead is fine, it just needs power. He suggested where the cable could run to get it to the box room. That set my mind at ease somewhat.