How is Full Fibre cable routed to connection point?

[RayP]

Many years ago when we used modems to connect to t'internet it meant you couldn't receive or make phone calls. So I had a second phone line installed by BT. This is routed along the side of my semi-detached and along the back of the house entering a back bedroom where my master socket is now located. The second line was dropped some time later.

Looking through BT's blurb they don't mention how the full fibre cable gets to your master socket. Is it above ground using the same routing as my existing copper telephone cable or via a different route?

[licquorice · Accepted solution]

Full fibre is totally independent of your copper line and doesn't connect to your master socket. If your current copper line comes from a pole, chances are your fibre line will do so. It will terminate in a CSP (Customer Splice Point), a small box on the external wall and then the internal fibre will connect to the Openreach ONT (fibre modem) this then connects to the hub via an Ethernet lead.

[RayP]

Thanks licquorice, explained very well. I do have a Smart Hub 2 but because the SSDs can't be easily split I prefer to keep using my TP-Link Archer VR2800.

I suppose the engineer may insist the SM2 is used for the installation but I would still prefer to keep using my TP-Link which is fibre compatible.

[licquorice]

The only problem with using the TP Link is if you have Digital Voice, which requires the SH2 to work as it provides an inbuilt DECT base station. If you are maintaining your copper line or don't use the voice line there won't be a problem.

You will probably get a new SH2 with a WAN port, although there is some discussion about whether the latest firmware allows one of the LAN ports on the FTTC version of the SH2 to be used as a WAN port.

[RayP]

I’ve not heard of Digital Voice but as I’ll be keeping the copper wire it shouldn’t be an issue.

I have a brand new SH2 plus disc sitting here. At the time I requested it as an upgrade from my HH5 the TP-Link had developed a problem which I thought was terminal. But then I was able to get it working again so when the SH2 turned up and especially with its limitations on splitting SSIDs I decided to stay with the TP-Link.

Do you have full fibre yourself? Did you manage to negotiate any discount as a long-standing customer? I’m thinking of the Full Fibre 100 package which is just over 3 times my current download speed of 47Mbps.

You would hope existing customers might get a better deal than new ones.

[pippincp]

You can hope.

[RayP]

@pippincp , if you don’t ask you don’t get. 😉

[licquorice]

Very true.

No, I'm still on FTTC which at 60M is plenty fast enough for my requirements.

[RayP]

Fair enough. I have a subscription for Sky UHD movies and as a flight simmer I often need to download quite large files so the extra speed will be welcome.