My address shows FTTPoD 1000, my neighbours show FTTP WBC

[AdamGilbride]

Hi everyone,

I am a BT customer on FTTC 'Superfast' 40Mbps down. I would be very interested in people’s thoughts on my FTTP situation. Let me start by laying out the scenario.

My house is served by a telegraph pole on the neighbouring street which has CBTs on it and which has had lots of work at its base over the last year. Let’s call that pole A. The copper spans about 30m over two back gardens to a carrier pole - pole B, which has no CBTs on it - and and then to my house (another 10m or so). To note, pole A also serves another carrier pole - pole C, which has no CBTs on it - on the same street as pole A, about a 40m span.

The neighbouring street went live for FTTP WBC on Friday 28th June, 10 days ago. My daily checking of the BT Wholesale Checker showed properties served by both pole A directly, and also from pole C, going from FTTP On Demand 330 / 30 on Thursday 27th June to FTTP WBC 1000 / 220 on Friday 28th June. Those properties are also able to place an order on BT’s website.

At the same time, my house and the other properties served by pole B went from FTTPoD 330 / 30 on Thursday 27th June to FTTPoD 1000 / 220 on Friday 28th June. I have read on here and other forums that the shift to FTTPoD 1000 / 220 is usually a positive sign and that FTTP WBC can follow a few days later. However, my trepidation lies in the fact that a) it is close to two weeks since that shift happened, and b) that lots of other properties served by both the master pole (pole A) and other carrier pole (pole C) can already order FTTP WBC.

The only difference I can establish is that the span from pole A to pole B (my pole) is over two back gardens - is that something that would be viewed as just two hard?!

Any advice about how to proceed would be gratefully received. Is it worth a raising a query with Openreach?

Thank you in advance!

[iniltous]

It could be that ‘pole B’ is planned to have its own CBT , especially if access to back gardens is required as only one visit needed to get the CBT connected compared to needing access each time an order is received if it remains as a feeder pole from pole A  …it could be that access is ‘tricky’ to these gardens to get the CBT installed , hence they delay , OR have been known to use a drone to ‘fly’ a wire over gardens when access is denied or simply no one home to ask ….however, it could be if that method of service you have , wasn’t the ‘correct’ one , and your property should be served from a different place , and that ‘correct’  location is not in the PON area , belonging to an area that hasn’t been upgraded ,you may simply have been not allocated to the recently provided PON .

The good news is the policy is to replicate the copper service so you should be in scope ….I suspect pole B is waiting for its own CBT to be installed, rather than using the CBT on pole A and bouncing of pole B , especially if the potential demand from pole B is more than just our property, it makes sense to give it a CBT 

It does seem that for FTTPod , changing from 330 to 1Gb on the checkers coincides with FTTP availability.

[AdamGilbride]

Thank you iniltous for a very helpful, and very interesting reply.

Interestingly, I’m wondering if your second suggestion - that I’m actually supposed to be supplied from somewhere else - might be right. There are only four houses served from Pole B, but there are several other houses - ten in total - on my street all showing FTTPoD 1000 which - I think - might be served from underground (no other telegraph poles in sight).

[AdamGilbride]

Hi everyone.

Just an update on this… it doesn’t sound promising!

In summary, at the end of June, my BT Wholesale Checker changed from FTTPoD 330 to FTTPoD 1000, so I thought I was a few days away from being able to order. However, today, the Openreach Checker changed from September 2024 to December 2026, so it feels further away than ever!

A recap of my situation…

• Like a lot of people, I have been waiting for FTTP for a long time. While the Openreach Checker has been gradually moving out, it always remained relatively current; it moved from December 2023 to March 2024 to June 2024 to September 2024.
• At the end of June, the telegraph pole that serves my house (via a carrier pole) went live for FTTP. The properties connected to that pole can order FTTP. My house and the others connected to the carrier pole cannot. However, in conjunction with the main pole going live, my BT Wholesale Checker record changed from FTTPoD 330 to FTTPoD 1000, so I thought our houses would follow a few days later.
• My address has stayed at FTTPoD 1000 ever since, so last week I raised a “my neighbours can get FTTP but I can’t” query through Openreach.
• Today I got a response, telling me that fibre wasn’t planned for my area (despite numerous update emails over the last year telling me it was coming). The Openreach Checker has also changed from September 2024 to December 2026!

So from feeling very hopeful a few weeks ago, it now feels further away than ever!

Has anyone else had a similar experience. Is there any other route I can try to get clarity on the situation?

Thank you in advance.