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Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

IainCurrie11 — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:43:41 GMT

First post. We moved into a house 10 days ago. The house is 4 years old, end of terrace. There is an Openreach box outside, and an Openreach modem inside (which is powered “on”, showing a red light and a green light). I unplugged it and switched it back on, but still the same red light, and same response from suppliers. The Openreach availability checker consistently says (I paraphrase ) “full fibre is available to the property, contact suppliers for deals available” . I have contacted 6 suppliers, all say “fibre is not available to the property”. The previous owners had a full fibre contract with Sky, but cancelled it some time before we bought the house. All the neighbouring/attached houses are shown as having full fibre available. We are in a catch 22 - the suppliers can’t help, or give us a contract, as they say fibre is not available to the property. Openreach seem unable to engage with us or them, unless we have a contract. I’ve now tried the Openreach “Availability checker Enquiry” form, and am awaiting a response, but one supplier (Plusnet) tried this on our behalf and after 10 days appear not to have had any response. I feel that what is maybe needed is an engineer to check the installation, or someone to check if something went wrong when the previous owners cancelled their contract, but don’t know how to break out of the vicious circle. Any ideas and suggestions very welcome! TIA

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

imjolly — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 21:37:22 GMT

When you have tried to place an order previously did you quote the serial number from the ONT? If not then try quoting the serial number and that should enable openreach to trace your fibre availability

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

IainCurrie11 — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:14:38 GMT

Thank you, but what is an ONT? Excuse my almost complete ignorance, I’ve lived abroad for the last 28 years and have no experience of how this all works in the Uk. Openreach say I have fibre available, there seems to be a disconnect between this and what the commercial vendors see. None of the commercial suppliers have asked for an/the ONT.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

licquorice — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:14:29 GMT

It's the Openreach modem.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

IainCurrie11 — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:33:20 GMT

Thank you! I’ll give Openreach a few days then try again couple of suppliers armed with that info. My understanding is that once there has been a fibre connection to the house it should be there “for life” (Openreach’s own words)…have you or anyone else any thoughts as to why this disconnect (in any sense of the word) between Openreach and the suppliers may have happened? TIA

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

iniltous — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:39:53 GMT

Put your address in here and post the results, does it show WBC FTTP as available ?

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL/AddressHome

A new build around 4 years old generally will have had Openreach FTTP from the outset (as part of an arrangement between OR and the developer ) , unlike retro build FTTP areas where FTTP is fitted after the copper network, the existence of a CSP (grey block on the outside wall ) and ONT (mains powered white box on the inside of the property) in new build doesn’t necessarily mean there has ever been a working service , whereas in retro build areas it does , so do you know for certain that a previous occupant had a working service (from Sky according to you ) and not just an order that potentially was never completed .

The existing evidence of FTTP may simply mean the devolper had some interaction with OR , not necessarily an occupant with an ISP .

A definite problem (as well as your inability to order service ) is if the LOS light is lit (red) then there is another issue as the ONT is not receiving ‘light’ from the headend and even if you could order this issue needs addressing.

You don’t seem to mention BT at all , is it BT you intend to use as if it isn’t this forum isn’t really an appropriate place for your queries.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

IainCurrie11 — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:54:02 GMT

Thanks. The vendor insists they had a working Sky service ( and is getting slightly annoyed at being asked more than once what they consider a straightforward answer to a straightforward question).

The response from the BT broadband checker is not encouraging …

“We cannot determine broadband availability at this location. This may be a new address to which connectivity is not yet complete.”

…but gives no suggestion as to what action I could then take.

…the Openreach checker however is still giving the following response

“Available to order now…Full fibre broadband…up to 1600 mbps etc etc”.

I forgot to mention (and don’t know if it’s relevant) that when I bought a tv last week from Curry’s they tried to cross-sell me fibre - their initial process showed Sky offering full fibre to the house, so we started to set up a contract…but then their second level enquiry (line check?) said “fibre products NOT available”

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

IainCurrie11 — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:58:11 GMT

Sorry I didn’t answer your question about using BT ( befuddled after days of feels like bashing my head against a brick wall) - in a nutshell, we would use anyone who would give us a clear answer about how to proceed…this forum has already helped quite a bit, and we certainly need handholding - that is why I reached out to what appears to be a serious and helpful community.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

iniltous — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:33:33 GMT

The reason why providers are not able to proceed in effect is the same reason you got an ambiguous return from the DSL checker , the back end systems that all providers use can’t confirm FTTP availability so can’t raise an order , even though the evidence is pretty strong that FTTP is available ( the fact that Sky once were able to raise an order is unfathomable as that would suggest the address once did show availability otherwise how did Sky ever complete an order , but clearly it no longer does show availability )
You can get (very occasionally) issues where the plot number used by the builder (and the initial purchaser ) for the first ISP connection to FTTP is mismatched to the eventual postal address , ( the house number/street name the Royal Mail keep ) but after several years this shouldn’t really be an issue as the plot number now is irrelevant but the initial Sky order may have used the plot number to identify the particular property if the roads etc were not ‘registered’ at the time of first occupancy.
If your ONT had a steady green PON light instead of the red LOS (loss of signal) light , some providers could use the serial number of the ONT (normally on a printed label on the ONT ) to locate the service address , regardless of the address being matched (or not matched) , but I suspect this won’t be available to you , the ONT probably can’t be searched for if it’s not actually currently communicating with the headend equipment , it’s also something the majority of ISP customer service reps would have no idea how to do.
Have you enquired with BT ? , in my opinion you would stand a better chance of ordering with a sliver/bronze status address (which yours effectively is ) but failing that fill in this formwize in particular the section ‘my neighbours can get FTTP but I can’t ‘
https://www.openreach.com/forms/fibre-broadband-availability---customer-form

Ignore the new build statement as that’s a different thing , for brand new builds for the first occupant.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

licquorice — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:50:46 GMT

Is it conceivable that there are no ports available on the CBT and the reason for the red LOS light is that the port that it was originally connected to has now been allocated to a different customer.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

iniltous — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 12:30:12 GMT

That is a possibility, but the design criteria for new sites was every address allocated a port on the CBT , so (for example) if an 8 port CBT were designed to cater for 5 addresses , 5 ports would be made ‘live’ on that CBT , so one each in normal circumstances , and even if it were possible for an address to order a second service (that was not delivered by a multi port ONT but by ‘pinching’ the CBT port the OP address once had because it wasn’t currently in use ) , I’d suspect the ‘network at capacity ‘ message would be presented.
It may be though that if the CBT port this address once used , has been reallocated (possibly due to a fault on someone else service requiring them to be moved to a different CBT port , used by an empty house so won’t be immediately noticed ) and there is now effectively a deficit on the CBT , so basically more addresses than working ports on the CBT , and that’s why the LOS light it lit (because there is no longer a connection to the headend ) and somehow this is manifesting itself as the ‘We cannot determine broadband availability at this location’ message , then the OP basically is screw*d , but I think this is not very likely.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

36ULW — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:09:55 GMT

Doubt it. It’s Openreach build policy to provide enough Capacity for each premises plus and additional 2 spares.

Even if say the neighbour had a faulty port and an Engineer took it then I can virtually guarantee they wouldn’t report that they took it so there’s no way Openreach would know.

As far as they’re concerned that NAD Key will have an ONT, which will be assigned to a CBT so they’ll just liven it up at which point they’ll not detect the ONT and force through an Engineer Appointment to find out why it’s not working.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

WSH — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 20:04:35 GMT

@IainCurrie11

Just a wild shot in the dark here, and my apologies if this doesn’t help, but you say it was a Sky connection.

Are you sure the ONT is actually Openreach? Sky have favoured Cityfibre for a few years now. In fact, trying to get Sky to put in an Openreach connection is an up hill task today. It may be the ONT is a Cityfibre unit.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

FLC — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 09:26:17 GMT

What you describe suggests that something has changed since the property was built.

When you enter your postcode into the BT Wholesale checker, have a look at all the addresses on the drop down selection box for anything unusual. Does your address appear twice or is there another very similar address? Possibilities include the original buyer was one of the odd folk that like to add a name to their property, or a subsequent build shares a number (eg 1 & 1A).

Given that the previous ISP was Sky, it might be worth seeing if they can trace service from the ONT serial number.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

IainCurrie11 — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 09:44:19 GMT

The ONT box has “Openreach” embossed on it in 2 places, so I assume it isn’t Cityfibre?

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

IainCurrie11 — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 09:49:22 GMT

I’ve checked, but our address is shown correctly, and there are no “A”s etc or house names. I’ll take up your suggestion of trying Sky re the ONT number, but am not hopeful based on anyone actually wanting to help. Thanks anyway.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

IainCurrie11 — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 10:18:19 GMT

Many thanks for this and other helpful comments from you and others. I understand the problem much better…but still don’t feel any nearer to understanding how to resolve it. I filled in the BT/Openreach web form on 18th June and haven’t yet had a reply. I’ll try contacting BT as suggested later today.

Can I ask some probably naive questions, but I do need to eliminate all options before giving up for the sake of my mental health, and/or thinking the unthinkable and looking at Star**** ( my absolute least favoured option by a mile)

- who is actually responsible for the physical infrastructure and repairing what might be a physical fault with the cable, junction box etc?

- is it possible SKY made an admin or technical error in cancelling the previous contract, and are they likely to respond to a non-customer (me) trying to pursue this?
- is there any direct means of getting an engineer to look into the problem? I can’t help thinking that if I can get an engineer on the ground, the solution could be very obvious.

- Are there any private contractors allowed to intervene? Can one PAY Openreach to intervene? Are there any professional consultants who could act on my behalf and follow up practically on the suggestions this forum has put forward?

TIA

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

licquorice — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 11:19:00 GMT

Openreach is responsible for the physical network. It is not possible to either get Openreach or anyone else to investigate any possible fault on your behalf. Openreach are not customer facing and only deal with ISPs.

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

IainCurrie11 — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 15:09:57 GMT

Thank you. The answer I expected. I spent 88 minutes on the phone with BT this morning - very helpful agent, who spoke to the “urgent repairs” and “connections “ teams at Openreach…but same story - fibre is not available to the property and they won’t send an engineer. My last hope appears to be that Openreach respond to the form I submitted to them last week (or maybe it’ll have to be Mr Musk).

Re: Fibre availability confirmed by Openreach but suppliers say fibre NOT available

iniltous — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 15:45:27 GMT

What do you think an engineer visit would achieve if you could persuade OR to send one of its staff to an address that has no ISP ‘paying’ rental for , to confirm that an Openreach ONT exists , that’s has been established already , possibly fix the LOS problem, that’s not likely, why fix something that isn’t currently earning revenue, and fixing it will not change the incorrect ‘data’ for this address , that’s the issue that stopping you raising an order in the first place .

The Openreach formwize is the only way really way to have this seemingly incorrect data looked at and hopefully changed , only if that avenue fails is it worth exploring other avenues, and realistically that is via BT Group executive level complaints (or same within Openreach ) and not via an ISP