This topic

Long-term options, if any, for fibre

jrgb — Thu, 28 May 2026 08:32:30 GMT

I help care for a property in a remote part of Wales which currently has copper DSL with Digital Voice. The property is at least a mile from the nearest highway (and, hence, BT infrastructure or cabinet). The service is entirely underground and, I suspect, laid direct rather than ducted.

I assigned a community broadband funding voucher for the area to BT to aid fibre transition. But, realistically, what are the chances of fibre ever making it to the property? If the service is currently laid direct, is anyone ever going to contemplate trenching a fibre along the same route? There are two services to two properties at the end of it but the economics sound awful.

Is someone going to suggest overhead fibre on poles over a similar distance? The route is over agricultural land, so I don't suppose that will go down well with the landowner.

Fibre would improve the copper speed of 2-3MB/sec and, crucially, make the service pretty much immune to lightning damage, a previous issue. But is there any realistic hope of getting it?

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

licquorice — Thu, 28 May 2026 08:47:21 GMT

It is not BT that provide the infrastructure, it is Openreach. You need to direct your queries there. This forum has no connection with Openreach.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

36ULW — Fri, 29 May 2026 18:12:37 GMT

If you’re doing a Community Funded Build speak to the Clerk of Works who manages the PON Build.

You might be able to come to an agreement to do the dig and lay the duct yourself. Although as it’s about 1,600m that’ll need a few joint boxes dropping in on it as well.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

jrgb — Fri, 29 May 2026 18:21:15 GMT

Thanks. The site's owned by a charity which barely breaks even so options will be limited, I fear. Whilst the copper service isn't great, all the time it works, I'll struggle to get much interest in spending serious money. Mobile alternatives aren't viable - there's no service within 50 metres of the place. Starlink's been suggested but that's not without its own problems - anything outside gets pummelled by Atlantic gales and salt spray.

A case, I suspect, of sitting tight for a bit longer and see what comes along. If the plan is to get rid of all copper at the exchange, then fibre will have to happen somehow. But, maybe a copper-free exchange isn't viable in situations like this.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 18:26:54 GMT

If you can get a mobile phone signal at the location have you considered Mobile Broadband. Most mobile phone companies do it at a reasonable price.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

jrgb — Fri, 29 May 2026 18:28:58 GMT

That would be a lovely solution but the nearest service from any mobile provider is 50 metres away up a hill on land owned by others.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

Kimberlin — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:28:53 GMT

@jrgb If I'm correct, I think you may have misunderstood @gg30340 solution......

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

jrgb — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:37:52 GMT

How so?

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

Kimberlin — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:45:15 GMT

@jrgb see the following link. I don't understand what someone else's land has to do with anything, 50 metres up a hill or otherwise. Unless I'm missing something?

https://ee.co.uk/broadband/mobile-broadband

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

jrgb — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:55:48 GMT

Err… there’s no mobile service at the property on any network. Nothing. Zero. No 2G,3G, 4G or 5G. So a terrestrial mobile solution won’t work. Even AirWave the emergency service uses struggles and that has 99% coverage of UK land mass.

It’s satellite or wired copper / fibre.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

Kimberlin — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:03:26 GMT

Well you're not going to get 2g or 3g anyway as it's being taken out of service. Therefore, if you have no other phone signal, Starlink is probably one of the only options left because you clearly from your own explanation, are not going to get fibre any time soon due to your location and the exorbitant costs involved.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:07:25 GMT

@jrgbwrote:
Even AirWave the emergency service uses struggles and that has 99% coverage of UK land mass.

Just for information, Airwave, which is supplied by O2 is only contracted to give coverage in rural areas up to a certain distance from the road when using the O2 Airwave handset.

Police vehicles normally have a vehicle radio which has a repeater capability which if used acts as a base station for the handsets and increases the coverage to a greater distance from the road.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

jrgb — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:58:01 GMT

I wonder what the plan is if there's just a handful of copper services left on an exchange? Presumably, there's an obligation either to maintain it going forward (which is going to be painful and costly) or offer those customers a fibre service at elevated cost to someone? Is there a third option where Openreach can just declare that the service is going to be ceased at some future point?

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

pddco — Fri, 29 May 2026 22:43:06 GMT

While fibre may be out of the solution, I take it that you’ve spoken to BT and there’s no option to speed up your copper service then? Someone may post a link that’ll take you to the broadband service checker.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 23:19:29 GMT

@jrgbwrote:
I wonder what the plan is if there's just a handful of copper services left on an exchange? Presumably, there's an obligation either to maintain it going forward (which is going to be painful and costly) or offer those customers a fibre service at elevated cost to someone? Is there a third option where Openreach can just declare that the service is going to be ceased at some future point?

It is the exchanges that are being closed down not the copper landline cables.

Very basically, If a customer wants a landline phone service only or they are at present unable to have Full Fibre broadband and want a landline phone service, in this case Digital Voice (DV), it will be offered to anyone who wants it.

They will be given a scaled down broadband service using the existing copper cables if required with a BT hub that can only be used for DV. The DV phone will work in the same way as it does at present where Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) broadband users can have DV.

DV does not require much bandwidth so if you have a copper landline you will be able to get DV in the future.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

jrgb — Sat, 30 May 2026 09:10:02 GMT

OK - so DV over DSL for the foreseeable, then. More speed (than 3-4 Mbit/sec) would be nice, but that's not essential. A working landline phone is, given the lack of any mobile service at the site.

I've put in a 14Ah backup battery for the router which lasted over 11 hours when I last tested it. So, that's probably all that can be done for now.

I can still see a day coming when someone will want to pull the plug on the copper service because of the disproportionate costs of maintaining it for a handful of customers, but we'll see.

I have wondered about shelling out the 50 quid or so to get cable route maps out of BT - (a) to see exactly where it runs and (b) to confirm it's laid direct and not ducted. The service runs under agricultural land, so I can't see it being ducted with pulling pits in the middle of fields of sheep. But maybe I should find out.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

gg30340 — Sat, 30 May 2026 10:34:36 GMT

The main costs are the exchanges and its equipment. That is why they are doing away with them.

The landline copper wire will be here for many years to come as it is only the means to get the DV signal to the property if FTTP or FTTC can not be fitted. The actual calls are all Internet based regardless of whether it is by FTTP, FTTC or a stand alone no broadband DV only package.

As regards getting maps, to what end. Openreach will only run FTTP when and how they decided to do it.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

FLC — Sat, 30 May 2026 11:14:05 GMT

@jrgb

If there's signal 50m away it may be worth investigating an external 4/5G aerial on your own mast.

Re: Long-term options, if any, for fibre

jrgb — Sat, 30 May 2026 11:31:13 GMT

Thanks - that's an idea I had thought about. But, the environment is challenging - Atlantic storms bringing savage winds and lots of salt spray. The bigger issue is that the property sits in a National Park so planning is very constrained. We could probably get away with a Starlink slab inside a plastic housing tucked somewhere out of sight but operating costs mount up a bit.