Can VDSL be 'removed' from a line?

[jjoelio]

Hi

I have recently moved into a remote property which BT advised me could have fibre - I checked before purchase as I need internet to work. I move in and find out a slight catch - Every time I place one it gets cancelled by OpenReach 24 hours later. After going round in an eternal loop of many orders I escalated to a complaint. They advised that fibre was in the process of being installed in the area and as such I can't place an order yet, but I can be put on a waiting list. Given I would theoretically have been able to place an order 6 months ago, before I purchased the property, it seems this wait has already been a while!

The only current option BT will supply me is ADSL which I'm getting about 7 down and .5 up - I'm unfortunately really struggling to work remotely with this.

That said, currently I have no option but to accept the explanation, so went down a rabbit hole of forum posts, and started to try to understand when I could expect to be upgraded to no avail. What I did find in my search however was the BT Wholesale Checker which gives observed speeds for ADSL (current) and VDSL (2 years ago):

I don't wish to be obstinate or difficult with any one of the teams who have helped me. From a customer services perspective, BT have been very good...

But if my research has served me correctly, VDSL is FTTC and its therefore is currently in my area? Or can it be removed?

The only other conclusion I can come to and cannot confirm or deny through research, is that observed speeds are tied to a number and this was an observed speed on this number when it was in use in a previous location before - I think this is unlikely however.

I am re-raising with BT but wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction so I am better informed about all of this when I next speak to them 🙂

Many thanks

[imjolly]

What you posted is an extract from dslchecker results so can you post the full result.

It is possible that FTTC is available in your are but currently there is. Waiting list for connections hence why you are only offered adsl

[jjoelio]

Thanks for the quick reply! Absolutely, though I have cut off the phone # at the top:

The text under this then reads:

The exchange is not in a current fibre priority programme

WLR is currently available at the exchange

SOADSL is restricted at the exchange

FTTP is not available.

For all ADSL and WBC Fibre to the Cabinet (VDSL or G.fast) services, the stable line rate will be determined during the first 10 days of service usage.

Actual speeds experienced by end users and quoted by CPs will be lower due to a number of factors within and external to BT's network, Communication Providers' networks and within customer premises.

The Stop Sale date for IPstream is from 29 Nov 2018.

If you decide to place an order for a WBC fibre product, an appointment may be required for an engineer to visit the end user's premises to supply the service

In order to be eligible for handback, downstream speed should be less than Downstream Handback Threshold values.

[iniltous]

Something looks odd , May 2020 shows an observed (VDSL ) speed of 45Mb , Feb 2022 shows ADSL of 7Mb , seemingly there is no ‘waiting list’ problems , but the predicted VDSL speed is suspiciously low 1Mb ….this suggests to me a database error.
This apparently dodgy data isn’t something BT Consumer are responsible for…so unless a manual order can be raised , ( assuming a manual order can be pushed through effectively ignoring the ‘data’ that indicates VDSL is worse than ADSL) ,   it will need BTw ( or whatever group that supply the data ) to correct this data error before your order can progress.

[jjoelio]

Thank you  - I hope it is just a database error 🙂

Any idea how I can progress this? I've spoken to BT, BT Complaints team and Openreach all of whom cannot help - Either that or I am asking the wrong questions/people.

Just this morning I have attempted to speak with BT Wholesale, but after playing around with the virtual assistant for a while I'm not quite sure what route in I need with them.

BT Complaints indicated this morning that they wouldn't be able to push through a manual order and the data would need to be correct first, but were unable to help with getting it updated.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

nb. One final detail I have recalled from when my ADSL line was being setup that I forgot to mention. The Openreach engineer who got it working for me said the setup I had was 'odd' and that I had been put on a slower circuit, when faster ones were physically available. He was seemingly not able to change this himself on the day, but said until FTTP was available I should be able to get faster speeds if I spoke to BT - Though that is where I find myself now.

[imjolly]

if dslchecker results were using phone number can you try using address and posting results please

[jjoelio]

Certainly, please see below:

The text under this then reads:

The exchange is not in a current fibre priority programme

WLR is currently available at the exchange

SOADSL is restricted at the exchange

FTTP is not available.

For all ADSL and WBC Fibre to the Cabinet (VDSL or G.fast) services, the stable line rate will be determined during the first 10 days of service usage.

Actual speeds experienced by end users and quoted by CPs will be lower due to a number of factors within and external to BT's network, Communication Providers' networks and within customer premises.

The Stop Sale date for IPstream is from 29 Nov 2018.

In order to be eligible for handback, downstream speed should be less than Downstream Handback Threshold values.

[imjolly]

so was there no vdsl availability shown?

[jjoelio]

Correct. Interestingly, using address, VDSL is removed from the top as a featured product. That is only visible when I use phone #.

All of the ADSL products remain listed, but with significantly lower speeds than what I am currently seeing

[iniltous]

How remote is the property ? , presumably your service is delivered by overhead means , are there any neighbours served from the same pole as you ?, have you checked what ‘speeds’ they have available if close enough to you to be useful as a comparison ?.
Even on the address checker return you posted ( the one that deleted even the low speed VDSL availability )  FTTPod still shows as available, a reasonable indicator of FTTC just according to records you are too far away from it to benefit) , presumably you cropped the images you posted to not show the line ‘ phone number/address served from cabinet **’.
Quite often , especially in sparsely populated areas , the address info is non standard , in that it doesn’t have the usual format of ( for example) No.9, Anywhere Street, Anytown, Anycounty, AB19BA…is there any difference on what the PostOffice/Royal Mail have as your address on their website compared to what Openreach have recorded ?
If the OR tech mentioned that there was anomalies when providing the service , I suspect somehow your address data is now incomplete or inconclusive and where doubt exists , low estimates are provided as it’s better to under promise and over achieve rather than over promises and under achieve.

It couldn’t hurt to get an ORDI ( Openreach data integrity ) check done so that your address matches in OR’s records what the PO have….if a Mod happens to offer to submit this request for you , take the offer , it may not solve the issue in itself but it’s a start.