Full Fibre Install Options - which do you think is best?

[honestjohn]

So, I made the leap and ordered the Full Fibre 100  with the engineer booked in for the 18th.  The house I live in has solid walls which means all the mains sockets are on internal walls and there are only 2 per room on the whole. I had three locations in mind for the Fiber Box & Router etc. 

1. The back bedroom where the existing BT line and standard broadband is installed. Its goes around the outside of the house and into the bedroom. The mains power sockets are on the opposite side of the room. Chat GPT said I should run 10M surge protected (though only need 6.5m) 6 gang extension from the power socket across to the opposite corner where the current BT socket is for the new equipment. Then to plug in the BT Fiber box, router, laptop and desk light in there since its a 6 gang. The other option would be to run 2 long extensions and put the BT equipment on one or split them over two of them. Is there any point to that? So would one extension be enough?

2.  Front bedroom (box room). Again sockets are on internal walls but approximately 3 feet away possible location. However it would mean placing the equipment within 1.5feet of a radiator and on closer inspection the walls are damp. Historically speaking all the houses of this type has damp issues on their northerly facing walls. (We all live in the back mostly). Its my understanding that dampness could cause problems with the equipment over time. So I discounted this room even though I was thinking "Office" but probably not now. 

3. The Dinning room which is north facing but has a lean to garage attached to it. Would they install the  cable 10 foot into the garage so they can come through near the electrical sockets which are naturally the opposite side of the room and within a few feet of the radiator. However there is no dampness there. No extension would be needed there but its not an outside wall. Is an outside wall required? 

I would appreciate any views or insights as I'm going round in circles with this one!

[Christopher_G]

Hi @honestjohn 

We've got some fantastic, knowledgeable community members who may be able to give you some advice on this.

I'd definitely recommend having a chat with the engineer, when they arrive. They'll be able to have a look around the property to offer some advice too.

Chris

[iniltous]

Mains power isn’t really Openreach problem , but two outlets are required one for the ONT and one for the router , they don’t have to be next to each other but if too far apart you would need to supply and route an Ethernet cable between the two devices yourself , the cable OR supply with the ONT is pretty short so the ONT and router if using this supplied cable need to be effectively co located.

Using an electrical extension lead is to increase the number of outlets is acceptable, the rest of your equipment and where that is connected isn’t really a concern for the installer.

How is your property currently served  ? , from a telegraph pole or underground , if underground do you know if it’s a ducted feed or the underground cable is DIG ( direct in ground )
Wherever the service arrives from , there are limits to how far on a standard installation the Openreach or contractor will run cabling from the CSP which is a block on the outside wall close to the point where the cable from the pole or underground cable appears at the house wall , to the location of the ONT .
The installation tech will normally look to do why you want. unless your demands are too time consuming or impractical.
https://www.openreach.com/help-and-support/full-fibre-broadband-installation-checklist

[honestjohn]

It's served by a telephone pole. I spoke to a member of the team at BT who informed me the optic cable cannot bend which I didn't appreciate. This means the only entry point would had been in the box room which has a significant damp issue. I had no alternative but to cancel the order until the erroneous wet issue has been resolved. However, even when the wet issue is resolved, dampness generally will always be an issue sighting any equipment on a north facing wall. The majority of my neighbours have underground connections with virgin media.

[tonysmini018]

There are two cables, the feed from the CBT and an inside/out, both can bend so that won’t be an issue.

[honestjohn]

Oh the original line goes around the outside of the property and enters to the rear. I was told the optical cable can't bend around corners like that. He said the optical cable can only go in straight lines. Hmm

[iniltous]

Optical cables don’t like tight bends , but can make gradual bends to get around corners, if the existing copper cable hits the property at the front and runs along the wall to the rear , then the optical cable should be able to follow that routing but not be as close to the wall as it turns around corners as the copper cable .

[pippincp]

He was a numpty who doesn't know what he's talking about, the standard radius of fibre is similar to a £2 coin.

[Anonymous]

@honestjohn 

re the damp issue:

Have you tried a dehumidifier in the affected room(s)?

.