FTTP MDU Commissioning Issue – Address Cannot Order Fibre

[GJG99]

Hi,

Hoping somebody from BT provisioning/escalations may be able to advise.

I’m trying to order FTTP in the CR2 0HE area.

Full Fibre has been live in the street since late 2025 and neighbouring properties, including others on the same site/development, can already order FTTP.

Openreach Executive Escalations are already involved and have confirmed:

• my NAD is already “gold”
• infrastructure already exists
• no further permissions are required
• this is an MDU commissioning/provisioning issue

The fibre connection point is also located at the end of the drive with ducting already in place.

However BT systems still show my address as unavailable.

I’m therefore trying to find out whether BT can:

• escalate this to a provisioning/back-office team,
• attempt a manual Openreach review,
• or potentially submit a manual FTTP order/survey request to trigger the final engineering work required to connect the building.

This appears to be a commissioning/records issue rather than lack of infrastructure.

Thanks

[imjolly]

I had a quick check using just postcode and Oakview House shows FTTPoD as does flats 4 to 9 whereas 1,2,and 3 Oakview house show FTTP available . on the same post code 'The Woodfields' address appears all to have FTTP available

which applies to you?

[GJG99]

Hello, @imjolly 

Thank you, and yes I’ve spoke to engineers when 1-3 had theirs installed he checked his system and as yes it’s available just order with a provider. However Openreach are not updating their systems properly which is causing an issues to having an install. I’m currently trying to get any provider BT SkY EE to force a manual order through to get it rectified. I have a complaint with openreach, they have been requesting for over two week that the relevant team update it but still nothing. 

I tend to catch the engineers quite often as the main port is at the end of our driveway, and all the BT duckting was installed as part of the new build so then simply just need to correct the system and blow the fiber from the end of the driveway to the property. 

shouldn’t be this hard. I had the same with virgin. And I started it process January. 

[imjolly]

so what is different between flats 1,2 and 3 to the rest flats 4-9?

so fibre cabling is not to your home but just to end of the drive?

[GJG99]

Hello @imjolly 

so basically this Property used to be one and was bought and developed in 2022  into three houses and six flats. 

the free houses have a direct point on their wall where their Internet goes into like any other house and the flats the Internet goes into a communal area which is already set up with cat6 cables etc but still has the old copper line. 

last year around summertime they removed all of the old chamber entrances and place new ones where the fibre port switch is located from there. There is underground tubing/tunnels that go to the main building but as it gets to the building three additional tubes come off and go to the three houses and for some reason when the system was updated it only stated them three being able to order them despite the port having enough for the whole Property. 

when the property was built. BT was contracted to integrate their chambers and ducting into the foundations as part of the build and they controlled all the connecting from the street to the communal to each property. 

when the first free properties which are the house is had their upgrade to fibre installed an open reach engineer came out on behalf of Sky and just run the new fibre cable from the chamber at the end of our drive through the ducting to each of the three house. 

however because we are building of multi occupancy permission had to be granted for anything to be done however this was granted well before they even started to install as I’d already made the enquiry regarding fibre and despite them referring me to the relevant forms which were all filled in by myself registry in my interest and by the developers our block appears to be Missed and due to being such a small block didn’t have it own build plan and should be showing available and according to openrach when the first person places in order it triggers them to come out and run the cables for all six properties into the communal area however no one is able to order because their system says we can’t get it. 

since been in contact with a complaints manager with Openreach every week he said they are going to upload these six addresses onto the system so we can order and trigger that last step of install but over the last three weeks all that has happened if the website goes from they are planning to build in this area to they are not planning to build in this area and back again. 

I had the same issue with Virgin however they manually added my address to the system as it was still showing as one Property then sent out an engineer to do a site visit and decide how we were going to get the cabling in after that, the cables run to the end of our Property boundary then a Virgin engineer came out and installed it although it took awhile with Virgin also once they understood what needed to be done they override their system and forced a manual order so that it will trigger their external engineers to come in so so I’m struggling to understand why it’s so complicated and taking so much time. 

I have also made a complaint to BT and going to do the same with Sky in the hope one of them will manually raise an order so that it will trigger the engineer visit and will be resolved

[imjolly]

so have virgin installed their cables to all the flats 4/9 in Oakview house?

Not sure why complain to BT or SKY as they cannot provide FTTP until openreach cable your building and say FTTP is available.  This is something the building owners should have arranged when converting to flats 

[GJG99]

Hi @imjolly 

no virgin’s just ran to mine as no one else ordered and they didn’t need to enter the communal areas to install so was straight forward and didn’t require developers permission as no alterations were made. 

It was advised to complain by this very BT community to get them to raise a ORDI or something or set up manual order then Openreach would have completed site visit and updated the website. 

the reason they advised complaint is before neither BT Sky or EE will accept a new order as they can only go what’s on the open reach checker which it currently says no even though it’s all there  and by raising a complaint the will make that request to open reach and get it updated  

full fibre was not available when these properties were built, an again openreach done the full install their self and it’s a complete new build property. 

[imjolly]

I can't find any of your previous post apart from the ones on this thread so did you post under another ID?

[iniltous]

It’s quite common for MDU contained within an area of mainly SDU’s  (single dwelling units ) to be deliberately excluded from the regular retro build program and picked up separately by a group that specifically deals with MDU and the legalities of these type of dwellings , especially if there is a common entrance to the MDU and the existing copper service is internal , installed as the building was under construction  , the communal areas are the responsibility of the freeholder/managing agent and not the individual who makes or could make an order for service…., of course the developer could have approached Openreach at the build stage where copper pairs are not installed but FTTP infrastructure from the start , but would need the developer to make a contribution towards FTTP as they gets copper ‘for free’ , (infact they get a payment from OR ) some developers go for the free option to save a few ££ per flat .

 The three SDU  that are part of this development have individual service ducts that appears on their own building wall  and therefore no third party permission are needed and the regular SDU build program picks these up the same as every other SDU in that PON area .

As the flats show no availability it’s almost certain that they were deliberately excluded until the MDU ‘team’ get around to contacting the freeholder etc , the way these things are normally done (once permission is granted ) is effectively the entire MDU is ‘block wired’ in advance of any order being possible , people in this situation may observe the ‘block wiring’ being installed and an individual access points being provided outside each flat , and once that’s done availability is shown to ISP (and also on the DSL checker ) and the only remaining work (once an order is received from an ISP ) is a small cable from the access point into the individual address (flat)  , the MDU build ensures that ‘light’ is already outside each flat in the unit , there is no requirement for an installer to bring any new cables from the outside , although clearly part of the MDU build process is to do that , and most likely a multi fibre cable or a splitter in a common area like a utility room or in the risers within the building.

So your NAD being gold is irrelevant, it’s not specific to FTTP , it just means the address is matched with the Royal Mail entry , Infrastructure already exists …I’m afraid that’s probably not the case ,
No further permissions are required, again probably not true .
This is a MDU commissioning/provision issue ….if this were true you should be able to see a newly provided access points outside each flat .

For all that , there can be occasionally MDU that are served from an external CBT , where a cable brought inside the building (into the communal area , utility room etc ) and then basically the person who orders needs to gain the permission from the freeholder and effectively surface wiring ran around the communal areas (like corridors, risers , false ceiling etc ) but if that were how it were designed the DSL checker would show availability albeit with caveats (basically saying possible wayleaves needed ) as the flats don’t show this , the MDU process previously described is the most likely decision that was made when the SDU were given availability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hxegsCrEuQ

[GJG99]

Hello @iniltous 

last year when they started to build fiber I raised an enquire the advise it’s in the build phase but as a MUD the freehold need to provide permission and attached a for, my freeholder completed that form plus emails and other forms giving approval. 

the openreach operative who’s dealing with my complaint has stated all permission has been granted for fiber to go ahead it’s the team that update the online service to allow a order. 

he advised that when it’s live on the website I can order fiber and the engineer team will come out and make the decision if they are going to service the whole building or just my property depending on setup etc. 
He has also advised me that they are literally awaiting the batch loading of addresses to be added to the website to allow me to place an order. 

however there has benne errors  on their system end which is causing issues. He also advised the permission was granted before the exchange box outside my property was installed so it should have seen dealt with together but got missed which is common with a small build like met. 

I guess it’s just a waiting game