This topic

Quality of fibre routing inside house FTTP

oldguy — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 16:19:51 GMT

FTTP is just available in my street but I am concerned at the quality and routing of the internal fibre cable from the street connection to the router?

The existing cable was put in by a private Comms firm and is very neat and runs through the loft of our bungalow-a very straight forward run.

Will BT follow this routing for the full fibre cable or decide their own route?

I think there is a 'site visit' before any thing happens-should I not agree the proposed routing can I arrange a private install and will BT accept this and connect to it?

Re: Quality of fibre routing inside house FTTP

WSH — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 16:45:30 GMT

The connection for full fibre involves installing a new wall mounted box in the house, called an ONT (Optical Network Terminal). So, to answer your questions:

The ONT will be close to where the fibre comes into the house. It does not necessarily have to be where the old phone line comes in. The ONT needs a power supply though, so it has to be close to a power socket.
I doubt whether they will do a site survey first, but the installer will negotiate on where you want it, up to a point. It has to be doable in the budget, both time-wise and cost. If I were you, I’d have a couple of places in mind in case your first choice is not doable.
The connection from the ONT to your router is standard cat 5e ethernet cable. It can theoretically be up to 100m. If that is what your cable in the loft is then it might be reusable. However, that is your responsibility and nothing to do with Openreach. (Openreach do the install and are a completely separate company to BT and this forum has no direct connection to Openreach).
I’m 99% sure Openreach will not accept a third-party installing an ONT and then connecting it to their network. It has to be one of their sub-contractors.

Re: Quality of fibre routing inside house FTTP

iniltous — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 17:11:41 GMT

Short answer no , if you feel that a standard type installation (surface wiring etc )won’t be acceptable don’t order .
However , the external fibre generally terminates on an external wall at a block called the CSP , this is generally fitted soon after appearing out of the duct or where the overhead cable hits at height and runs down to a safe working level , the most visually acceptable method is for the interior cable to immediately enter the property at this CSP point , and the ONT fitted immediately where this cable enters the property, this is the minimum amount of visible cabling and therefore usually acceptable to both the customer and installer …you are then at liberty to run your own Ethernet cable to the location you prefer for the router location if locating the router next to the ONT isn’t wanted .

What’s not going to be considered is entering loft spaces that are not boarded , adequately lit and have a proper staircase with handrail , cabling excessive lengths internally so for example cabling (surface wiring ,along skirting boards etc ) through various internal rooms because the cable entry is at the front but the ONT required at the rear , and no external cable route around the building (at a low level ) is available or would be rejected by the householder as unacceptable.

The thing to have in mind is , will it take a reasonable amount of time , and can it be done safely , if you expect a tech to take hour upon hour for nothing but aesthetic reasons to ‘hide’ cabling to your satisfaction , don’t order , you will be wasting everyone’s time including your own

https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESYwHrOzAVxRIVGF-WmktCcZMlwObZi_jAZRMdNZ_hwKeRnDJRWYSOC6hWjhFf9u5aSlzgzNdEcFn0dzAwrwkt9cRHTiHuFR7Et4Qs8G1EGHPKegOLI7qAU1P3z3aXTYQ2tfe0Uw

This video explains the basics , there is no pre-install internal survey , you agree with the tech on the day or you send the tech away if agreement can’t be reached and cancel your order , but if you suspect your expectations will be too high (as I do) then ordering will be a pointless exercise.

Re: Quality of fibre routing inside house FTTP

oldguy — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 15:49:27 GMT

Thank you for replying.

I now have a much better idea of what the process is etc.

Is it acceptable for me to prewire the run from the ONT o/p to my BT router some distance away so once Openreach have completes their bit they can simply connect to this new cable run?

Not sure what happens at the old Master Socket end -is there a new socket fitted and is the existing BT Smart Hub still used ?

Slowly getting there but there are too many horror stories on the web relating to 'botched' FTTP installs and the contractor just walking away saying the damage was not them and basically do your worse trying to claim any compensation back!

Re: Quality of fibre routing inside house FTTP

licquorice — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 15:55:03 GMT

@oldguywrote:
Thank you for replying.
I now have a much better idea of what the process is etc.
Is it acceptable for me to prewire the run from the ONT o/p to my BT router some distance away so once Openreach have completes their bit they can simply connect to this new cable run?
Absolutely
Not sure what happens at the old Master Socket end -is there a new socket fitted and is the existing BT Smart Hub still used ?
The old master socket becomes completely redundant unless you wish to use it to re-inject Digital Voice into your telephony wiring. The BT Smart Hub2 is still used. Port 4 can be configured as either a LAN port or (for FTTP) a WAN port.
Slowly getting there but there are too many horror stories on the web relating to 'botched' FTTP installs and the contractor just walking away saying the damage was not them and basically do your worse trying to claim any compensation back!
In the scheme of things, the 'many' horror stories are but a tiny percentage of installs. Nobody reports a good install.

+

Re: Quality of fibre routing inside house FTTP

oldguy — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:04:07 GMT

Thank youfor your prompt reply.

I have Digital Voice so how do I continue to use this with the new FTTP system?

Afraid the Port4 configurations as a LAN port or WAN port-which I will need to do are a bit above my current pay grade-is the configeration easy to do and will pen reach take care of all this?

Many thanks

Re: Quality of fibre routing inside house FTTP

WSH — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:00:46 GMT

As Licquorice says, yes, it is fine to prewire the run from the ONT to the router.

However, I would add a note of caution. As I said the ONT does not necessarily go next to the old phone socket. Also as Licquorice said, the old master socket has no bearing on things. It becomes completely redundant, so it is possible that the ONT may end up not quite where you expected. I would be inclined to wait and see.

Also remember, I said it needs to be within reach of a power socket. (The cable on the PSU is about 1.5m but you can always use an extension lead).

Edit: The phone just plugs into the back of the Smart Hub, as it does now if you already have DV. If you go into the hub setting pages on 192.168.1254. Go to the "Advanced settings" then "Broadband", there is a setting for "Full Fibre (FTTP) mode". When turned on that puts port 4 into the setting for FTTP. The ONT then just connects to that.

Re: Quality of fibre routing inside house FTTP

licquorice — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:11:16 GMT

The change from LAN to WAN is a simple setting in the hub manager which thge tech will do in order to test the install.

If you already have DV, nothing changes.

Re: Quality of fibre routing inside house FTTP

gg30340 — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:14:46 GMT

Buy a set of cordless phones and plug the base ststion into the BT hub and the other cordless phones will work "like in the old days".