I'll have FTTP installed throught BT soon and I was told there was a problem, now resolved, and Openreach have contacted me directly and told me this is what the civils engineers will need to do: "11m of new duct required to cross carriageway from existing CBT to a new JF4 box across the road to serve even numbered premises off [Street Name] as there is currently no duct of ours serving these premises. Box needs to be big enough to T off to other even numbered premises. , 13m of new duct will be required to run under customer drive block paving (reinstated like for like)".
My query is exactly what this will involve? Will the road be outside my house be closed, will it be noisy, how long should this take? I've replied to Openreach and tried calling BT (too long holding to get through, though) but I'd like any insight as it sounds like a bit of a big job from those notes.
It’s quite common with housing built it the 1960’s and onwards up until fully ducted became the standard in the very late 1980’s/early 1990’s for all the BT (Openreach) usable jointboxes and ducts to be on one side of the street , the copper cables cross under the road ( TBH , usually also in a duct ) to the other side of the street and then onto the individual houses, so all the accessible infrastructure is on one side, with the exception of very small JB23 boxes on that are no use for FTTP .
When FTTP is provided by OR in these areas , the current policy is to add more infrastructure to the existing infrastructure as and when orders are received, so in this case a new duct from an existing joint box across ( under ) the road to the location of a new jointbox ( it will be built pretty much opposite the existing jointbox ) it’s likely to be the same size as the existing jointbox, from this new jointbox on your side of the road a new duct provided to your home, partially in the footpath and partially under your garden or driveway .
Should any close by neighbours on your side of the street also order FTTP another new duct from this new box to their homes provided, but the same road crossing can be used .
Will the road be closed ?
If it’s a small residential road with hardly any traffic , probably not totally, the contractor will ‘manage’ the minimal traffic flow , the road could be excavated without too much disruption, contractors doing one side and providing a metal plate over the excavation so it can be driven over , then the other side excavated, then full reinstatement once the road crossing is done , then new box built and duct to the house .
Will it be noisy , ?
to a certain extent, you cant do this work silently.
How long will it take ?
probably a couple of days to a week , depending on the contractor,
Once the new infrastructure is built the fibre cabling can be provided from the existing jointbox , through the new road crossing, into the new box and through the new duct to your home …..
They’ll not close the entire road.
they'll just close one side to dig on there then close other side and continue the dig.
Depending what time they start work they’ll most likely have it done in a day, maybe two.
Ref to your block paving, they’ll just lift the slabs/bricks out, dig down a bit, put duct in and them place the slabs/bricks back over top.