BT Fibre over Copper Cable

[Keith_Beddoe]

@SteveDaviesUK 

See https://www.openreach.com/help-and-support/full-fibre-broadband-installation-checklist

It does not involve any copper wiring to the house. 

[rbz5416]

The checker shows that a hoist is required, possibly because the pole is unsafe to climb or to access your property. I suspect his may be why BT needed to check with Openreach & then wires were crossed as to why?

[countrypaul · Accepted solution]

@SteveDaviesUK 

Check your order carefully, if it says "Full Fibre 2" then it will be a new cable and an ONT that requires a 13A socket near by for power. You do not need to have the ONT where your existing telephone socket is, you can negotiate with the BT engineer where you want it to a certain degree.

If it just says "Fibre 2" then it will be copper from the cabinet to your telephone socket as you  currently have. "Fibre 2" is also known as FTTC and VDSL, the maximum speed will be 80Mb/s but it is dependant on distance to the cabinet, state of the copper wires etc.

his "Fibre" vs "Full Fibre" causes a lot of confusion as people are often unaware that the slight difference is a huge difference in technology and performance.

FYI - We have FTTC/VDSL/Fibre 2 and get a speed of around 70Mb/s with a high degree of reliability (until the power cable to the exchange where our cabinet is failed). The exchange and cabinet are about 400m away at the entrance to our road.

[imjolly]

@countrypaul 

As FTTP is available at the address openreach will install FTTP with this renewal of broadband package not change the FTTC

[SteveDaviesUK]

Thanks for this reply, it now makes sense to me.

Yes the order I placed does say Fibre 2 so as you say, it will run over the existing copper cable, it would make more sense for BT to call it "Copper 2".

I'm really surprised they do this because if I find the speed inadequate within the 14 day cooling off period I will either cancel it or go for one of the higher speed broadband versions which will mean another engineer coming out to replace the copper cable with a fibre cable.

You would think they would future proof the installation by using a fibre cable, but I guess they save money using the existing copper cable I already have.

[iniltous]

You should be provided with FTTP as a new or recontracted customer in an FTTP area , it doesn’t matter if the speed profile you want ( F2 80Mb ) can also be  delivered by FTTC , there is no need to order 150/300/500/900 Mb to to get FTTP it should be the default, even for 40 and 55Mb speeds, so if you are getting F2 over copper and FTTP is available ( and it appears it is ) then I would  be asking   BT  why they are (apparently ) giving you FTTC  when FTTP is available, as this shouldn’t be the case .

Currently on BT’s website the price for 150Mb is only £1 a month more than the 80Mb service and bizarrely 55Mb is more expensive than both 80 and 150Mb.

As 150Mb is only available on  FTTP ( or Gfast but that’s no longer for sale ) , then personally I would change my order to 150Mb and see what BT do about that ……Openreach incentivises providers like BT  to use FTTP once it’s available, to provide FTTC in these circumstances makes no sense whatsoever 

[countrypaul]

As @iniltous and @imjolly have said (along with others) it would be surprising for FTTP not to be installed and @SteveDaviesUK to remain on copper given that Fibre is preferred. I read somewhere, maybe this forum, that there is a shortage of telegraph poles in the country affecting not jus OR but many companies. Perhaps by remaining on copper OR can avoid replacing the telegraph pole(s) but allow BT an upgrade in the short term.

Just speculation on my behalf.