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FTTP Install question

gaskell1974 — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 18:46:59 GMT

I am in the process of ordering FTTP to the house and the engineer turned up yesterday to fit the main cable and outside box and i've noticed he has attached the main tension cable to the house on the gutter soffitt and not the wall. I tried to get him to move it down but he said that’s the way its done?? surely this is wrong as it needs to be secure to the wall especially with the weather where we live. Has anyone else experiences this?? and who do i get in touch with the get it moved. will it be openreach or my provider?? Any info would be appreciated

Re: FTTP Install question

andydenyer — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 19:24:40 GMT

Your contract is with your provider (who I assume is BT if you are posting in the BT Community Forum*), not Openreach. So you need to contact BT (or whoever your provider is if not BT).

* Unless you're thinking that there is a connection with Openreach, which there isn't any more (and hasn't been since 2018) following an OFCOM requirement to separate the Openreach business from BT (albeit it remains part of the wider BT Group, but operates as a completely separate company).

Re: FTTP Install question

chrisjp — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 22:00:18 GMT

My telephone/broadband copper cable has been attached to the end gable wooden barge board of my house for as long as I've owned it - which is several 10s of years. It's never given any trouble (tempting fate!)

Still, I guess that fibre optic cable might be heavier and put more strain on the fixings, but I'm not sure whether this would cause them to come loose

Re: FTTP Install question

Edinburgh-wg — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:38:47 GMT

Why would a fibre optic cable be heavier? It's fibre! (Vs. copper in a DSL cable)

Re: FTTP Install question

imjolly — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:50:36 GMT

@gaskell1974

my copper line was attached for many years to the wood below the guttering and now my fibre cable is attached exactly same without any problems

Re: FTTP Install question

chrisjp — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 16:05:41 GMT

"Why would a fibre optic cable be heavier? It's fibre! (Vs. copper in a DSL cable)"

That was just my speculation that the covering for the fibre might be more substantial to protect the fibre from too much flexing.
Still, if it's no heavier, then that is the answer to the OP's question - there's no reason why the cable shouldn't be secured by a hook screwed to wooden soffits or bargeboards.

Re: FTTP Install question

WSH — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 16:34:02 GMT

@chrisjp It is steel reinforced, as the fibre is not strong enough to support it's own weight. See:

https://kitz.co.uk/adsl/fibre-optic-cables.htm

That having been said, I've seen lots attached to the facia board with no apparent problems. I'd be more concerned about what happens when the day comes that you want to replace the board and if you replace it with PVC, will that be strong enough?

Re: FTTP Install question

Edinburgh-wg — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 18:14:34 GMT

It's a thin layer of protective steel. Nothing as heavy as copper, though. You just need to think about it as plastic, essentially. Not sure how authoritative this source is, but fibre is significantly lighter, according to it!

https://lesolson.com/blog/copper-vs-fiber-optic-cabling-pros-and-cons-for-2024/

Also, fibre can only be bent up to a point, hence the mention of the hook. Ours has a hook in the stonework and then it goes down the downpipe to then enter the property. Since it can only be bent at 90 degrees angles, it does stick out a bit near door frames. We had to use poly fila to make it as close to the door frame to stop the cat from playing with it, as they sometimes do.

The OP doesn't have to worry about the cable. It's meant to be looser and to dangle to allow for flexibility and movement. The soffit is a strange place to attach it to, and I'd have probably attached it to the wall, but if it detaches itself from the soffit, the OP just needs to phone BT/EE, who will then arrange for an OR engineer to redo it.

Re: FTTP Install question

WSH — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 18:14:55 GMT

Did you refer to the link I provided? It's somewhat more than a "thin layer".

Yes it can only be bent as far as the critical angle for the TIR in the fibre allows.

The brackets attached to brickwork are a lot bigger and required large bolts in the wall.

(Your comments about Draytek are accurate though. They certainly have gone to pot. Probably be the last Draytek router I buy).

Re: FTTP Install question

36ULW — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 21:53:21 GMT

Only COF215 has Steel Supports in it and Openreach don’t use that as Drop Cable to peoples homes.

It’ll either be RFOD or ROC, depending on who is installing it. Openreach Installers prefer to use RFOD and Contractors ROC. Not entirely sure why?

Either way neither RFOD or ROC has steel supports of any kind.