Issues with changing to FTTP

[Daedalus2000]

>>>...if you supply your own Ethernet cabling , and more importantly you install it , then you can have the ONT and router in different locations....

True, but... I wish that I'd known about that 3 months ago before I spent £££££ on a  refurbishment that could have included extra sockets and a conduit from one floor to the other thru' which to push the Ethernet cable had I known 😞  Now it's going to be a complete mess and my wife is already upset by the potential upheaval involved - so much for caring for 'vulnerable customers'.

Meanwhile...can someone advise what is the difference in specification between the 'outdoor' and 'indoor' F/O cable? OD and MBR?  Can the indoor be used outdoor - ie going from the JB back up the wall to the room with the ONT?

[chrisjp]

Yes, I've wondered why the main fibre cable can't go straight through the wall and connect to the ONT, rather than having an outside box in which the outside cable is spliced to the inside cable which then goes through the wall to the ONT.
Perhaps someone is able to explain this apparently complicated setup?

[iniltous]

The external grade optical drop cable has a factory fitted male plug that fits into the CBT female socket ( installed at the pole top or in a jointbox ) and is ‘bare’ cable at the other end , so it can that can be shortened to the required length  ( the cable is available in multiple lengths , the tech selects the closest appropriate pre-made  length of cable for the approximate distance to be covered then finesses it to the exact lenght ) the internal cable also available in multiple lengths has a factory fitted SC/APC plug on one end that fits into the ONT , and is  ‘bare’ at the other end , it too can be shortened to the precise length needed , that means there are two bare ends to be spliced together in the CSP ….thats one reason why the external cable can’t be fitted into the ONT , it only has a CBT plug on it , not a CBT plug on one end and a SC/APC at the other end , plus external and internal cables have different construction as they are subjected to different environments , external cables much more rugged etc , another reason external grade cables are not suitable to be used internally .

[iniltous]

@Daedalus2000 …there are enough messages on this post for you to now use at least one correct abbreviation  , no such thing as a FTTP JB , ( presumably it’s a CSP you are referencing )  , but your other abbreviations are unrecognised , F/O cable ? , MBR ? If you don’t know or unsure about the appropriate terminology you would be better off using long descriptive sentences.

This post now seems to simply be reiterating the same points , in the most basic terms , if you don’t want to be given a free change to FTTP as part of a DV upgrade because  , ( frankly your  expectations are unrealistic ) , simply cancel the OR FTTP visit , the DV migration will still be required at some point in the near future , but you can (for a quite some time ) remain on your copper pair .

[imjolly]

@Daedalus2000 

If the new fibre cable will be connected just underneath the guttering then new cable could ran down wall and into room same as existing cable and then terminated on inside with internal CSP.  The new ONT can then be connected in similar place to existing master socket  you can then run ethernet cable to hub. If you need longer ethernet cable than standard then that is up to you it won't be supplied by open reach

I have a similar instal where cable comes from pole to bracket at gutter level then into my loft conversion and internal CSP and ONT are connected. I then connect my router to the ONT

ONT + internal CSP

The 'white cigar looking box' is my CSP with ONT connected above it

[Daedalus2000]

As I wrote previously, I was not aware from the initial BT information - which spoke about a 'junction box' (hence JB) - that actually this was a splice box. 

F/O = Fibre Optic.

OD = Outside Diameter

MBR = Minimum Bend Radius (most important when routing fibre-optic cable!)

[Daedalus2000]

Seems to a sort of solution that could work for me. My current drop-cable attaches to the outside wall about 2-3 feet away from the room in which the router is located. It seems daft to have to run the cable all the way down to the ground level, only to then have to go all the way back up inside by some impractical means. There are a number of possible options which might work but they would necessitate some prior work by myself that is not something that can be done simply on the day once the engineer has decided what is or is not feasible. But I need information which seems not to be easily available. For example, would Cat 5 suffice for the Ethernet cable or is Cat 6 now required etc?

[licquorice]

It will go back up outside, not inside.

Ethernet needs to be at least Cat5e (not Cat5) but Cat6 preferably.

[iniltous]

As stated , internal CSP although technically available are not commonly used , the chances are the engineer won’t have one on board so you would be offered what they do have , and there are perfectly reasonable arguments why external CSP are necessary and preferred , you won’t necessarily get to chose between internal and external CSP

If you can’t reconcile yourself with a new cable attached at height (same as existing copper wire  ) running down the wall to a CSP , and another cable running up the wall to first floor , entering the property and terminating at a ONT ( which seems by far the most likely installation offer ) then just cancel the change to FTTP

[Daedalus2000]

Despite possible appearances to the contrary, I do appreciate all the advice and information given so far. I've learnt far more about the possible pitfalls and solutions than I've been able to glean from BT themselves.

Just to be clear - if  it is a feasible solution for the new overhead fibre-optic cable to run to (roughly) the same location under then gutter, then down the wall of the house to a (near) ground-level CSP, and then the 'indoor' cable to go back up the outside of the house alongside the other cable to the gutter area, then along a couple of feet and in through the wall to the room behind (where I have space and power for the ONT) then I am quite happy with that approach. I can then buy a long Cat6 patch-lead  and run that in some new trunkng through a hole in the interbal partition wall to where the router is located. What I do not want is for the engineer to arrive on the day, take one luck, say 'not possible guv' and then have to re-think on-the-fly.

Ironically a package arrived today from BT with a new Ethernet fly-lead - far too short for my needs. The instructions say to clear Port 4 on my hub, but that is used for my NAS (=Network Attached Storage), so now it looks as if I shall have to buy another network switch to support all my wired Ethernet kit 😞

Meanwhile - can someone advise please if the ONT- to-Router patch-cord needs to be a straight-through or crossover variant, or are the LAN ports auto-sensing anyway?