How long from when fibre appears on the pole until available?

[GlynH]

Hi there,

Been waiting for this ever since I used to channel-bond ISDN back in the day and watched with interest when Openreach were rolling out the spine in my home town and finally yesterday they pulled it through to the pole directly outside my house and put the box on the top!

I have already registered my interest and being the impatient person I am wondered how long I might have to wait until BT deem it available to me for purchase to save me logging on the BT Checker page every 10 minutes or so! 🙂

I am currently paying £69 per month for 65MB of my 80MB service so intend to sign up for Full Fibre 900 and still save money.

Reason I ask is I don't trust BT to notify me in a timely manner as previous experience leaves a lot to be desired like for instance when I ordered Infinity on a second line but they installed ADSL saying VDSL wasn't available in my area despite the Openreach modem on the wall serving what was already an Infinity FTTC service on my original line.

Not sure what might impact the availability of freshly installed fibre while they are still rolling out the service?

Thanks & kind regards,

-=Glyn=-

[NeilO]

Hi, @GlynH there's no hard or fast rule as to when you'll be able to order after the fibre goes up as each area is different. I personally had to wait about 3 months but I seen a post last week from another community member and it was available within a couple of days. 

Thanks

Neil

[pippincp]

@GlynH  Even though the CBT unit has been installed on the pole and the fibre to it, it still may not be connected to the head end as different contractors work on different sections.

Hopefully it won't be too long before you can order. I recommend using the availability checker every Friday after 3.00 p.m. as thats when I've been told it is updated fully.

[crimsom]

Hi @GlynH  I also registered my full fibre interest with Openreach, and then again in October 2021, but Openreach says it has no plans to provide full fibre in 2022. 

Our local telegraph pole recently had Openreach upgrade of Connectorised Block Terminal (CBT) full fibre and this became live within a week. Openreach continue to say it has no plans to provide full fibre, despite the full fibre hybrid service being live. Very strange lack of communication within Openreach and its external ISPs.  

Do not wait for Openreach to tell you (and local ISPs) that full fibre hybrid connection is live. I put put my full fibre order in by phone (not online) in first week of October 2021. BT Sales could not validate Openreach full fibre services, so transferred to Technical Support who gave me existing BT Customer discounts and started the full fibre journey. 

I have the current BT discounted full fibre package and Openreach is scheduled to complete full fibre installation within 15 days of BT order.  My Openreach 1st Stage hybrid (copper wire + fibre optic) cable to house installation has been undertaken, and now waiting for 2nd Stage ONT modem installation inside house, during next week. 

[GlynH]

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys.

It's been 8 weeks now since the CBT went up on the pole directly outside my house although I have to say it looks like it has been installed by Bodgit & Scarper...the workmanship is appalling.

I check OpenReach website every day and call a couple of times a week and still nothing although some adjacent streets are showing as available and installations have taken place already according to the OR Engineer I was talking to a couple of weeks ago.

Ah well fingers crossed that we might still get it in time for Christmas. This Christmas! 😂

-=Glyn=-

[crimsom]

Hi @GlynH   Openreach continued to say it has no plans to provide full fibre, despite the full fibre hybrid service being live. Very strange lack of communication within Openreach and its external ISPs.  

My Openreach 2nd Stage ONT modem installation inside the house was completed during last week of October 2012. Openreach was requested to install their four port ONT modem complete with their uninterruptable power supply (UPS) adapter. But Openreach engineers were not given my requested kit and just the single port ONT modem was installed.  I am Working-From-Home (WFH) and my employer wanted to connect their secure account to my four port ONT modem. Request for Openreach four port ONT modem continues to be open. Request for Openreach to update their database so that all full fibre ISPs can provide FTTP is rejected. Other ISPs create free telephone number to tag their full fibre broadband,  so that externally powered copper wire phone can be used during power cuts. 

BT then blocked my copper wire phone number, so that my BT telephone number is used to tag their fibre optic ISP service. BT then says there is a fibre optic ISP transmission fault that changes the download/upload line ID so that data transmission is interrupted and speed is unstable. Waited a week, then cancelled messed-up BT fibre optic ISP order. 

Openreach sent email end of November 2021 to say "Our engineers have finished upgrading your area to Full Fibre and you have access now to Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband, with speeds of up to 1Gbps." But now, I am not using Openreach full fibre connection. Virgin Media ISP now provides broadband to the house, with speeds of up to 1Gbps. 

[GlynH]

Sorry to hear of the grief you have suffered trying to be a BT Customer...I feel your pain crimsom.

Just popping back to close this thread down as when I carried out my daily check on the OpenReach Ultrafast Checker I see I now have the Ultrafast option so I've just placed an order for the 900MB service which is being installed on Tuesday 15th February.

That's almost 4 months to the day since the CBT was installed although it feels like 4 years as I have been checking at least once a day since last October.

Still can't believe its finally available...hopefully you guy won't have to wait as long as I did.

Although I had signed up 3 times over the last 12 months to be notified I never received notification that it was now live and I could place my order.

In addition I have a live ticket that has been in progress for the last couple of weeks where the FTTC Team were going to investigate on my behalf and get back to me but the silence there has been deafening also.

Ah well not to worry...I got there in the end.

Regards,

-=Glyn=-

[GlynH]

Well almost there...but I'd forgotten what it was like when dealing with the dinosaur that is BT.

Firstly the agreed install date of 15th February (next Tuesday) had mysteriously morphed to 24th February when two copies of the paperwork dropped through the letterbox yesterday following our tele-con last Friday 4th.

This is particularly galling as I have an all day appointment for the first time in 2 years on that day! 

SO I was forced to ring them this morning and the next available date after that is 1st March...

Ah well 1st World problems I suppose. At least FTTP is available here now so I should think myself lucky I suppose...

-=Glyn=-

[pippincp]

"That's almost 4 months to the day since the CBT was installed although it feels like 4 years as I have been checking at least once a day since last October."

Funny how availability only appeared on a Friday which is when I told you the database would be updated. That's bye the bye though. Have you been given a reason for the delay?

Perhaps give the FTTP team a ring and see if they can shed a light?  0800 587 4787

[GlynH]

The reason for the delay was lame.

They said they only make provisional appointments when I ring and place an order and it was only when checking with OpenReach afterwards they realised they didn't have the resources available on that date.

I mean can you imagine that in this day & age of email, shared calendars, custom scheduling software etc?

What a poor excuse for the usual cockup.

If I sound cynical its because I am. Not just because of the missed appointment but they are still addressing mail to my father who passed away in 2007 despite my ringing and even posting correspondence including on one occasion each letter of my name printed full size on a separate sheet of A4 and a pack of Blu Tack so they could stick it on their damn wall as a reminder! 🤣

When I placed the order last week and was asked at the end if there was anything else they could do I said yes, explained the addressing problem which still upsets me when I see mail with my Dads name on it which they promised to change.

Well they didn't as two copies of my order arrived by post earlier this week addressed to my Dad and this morning he got a Smart Hub 2 in the post.

Tempted to refer all of my BT bills to the cemetery by way of protest as that is where he has 'lived' for the last 15 years but as he couldn't pay it would only be me who gets cut off!

I am tempted to leave the Smart Hub on his gravestone though instead of flowers when I next go down as I won't be using it but as technically I am liable for its return I'll just put it in the loft with half-a-dozen other BT Home Hubs of various vintages resting in peace up there.

I also checked which mobile number they have for me and sure enough that was 18 years out of date as well so I asked them to change/update their records to which they said they would but as I haven't heard a whisper from them (a friend of mine got half a dozen or more texts when he ordered Full Fibre confirming the appointment and delivery of his Smart Hub) I'm guessing all texts will end up going to the SIM card in my Burglar Alarm!

It's been a stark reminder for me that service has not improved.

Not sure when the OpenReach list was updated as unusually for me I hadn't checked for a couple of days last week...

-=Glyn=-