Will BT/Openreach install FTTP free of charge?

[imjolly]

The £9.99 charge is the delivery charge for the BT hub not for the actual installation of the fibre cable 

[camy]

So the only blocker will be if my property isn't included in their area plan and theres still a chance I could be denied FTTP even with cbt across the road? 

[jac_95]

@camy 

As previously said, each property is allocated to a CBT. So the CBT across the road may or may not be allocated to you. You need to fill in that full fibre availability form to Openreach 

[iniltous]

In some situations, when native FTTP is provided into an area , excess construction fees are required for installation to properties that are can be considered ‘out of the ordinary’ a typical example ,a CBT provided at the curtilage of a property , (but in a public area)  a pole alongside the main road for example and there is a property at the end of a private driveway ( of some considerable length )  relatively close by.

If there is an existing copper service to that property and this is delivered along the driveway by telegraph poles ,or a serviceable duct , that were provided previously for that copper service , then the FTTP service would follow the copper route , and be covered by a normal installation costs , but if there was no existing copper service at all , or the copper service was via a buried armoured copper cable alongside the private driveway , then there is no existing usable route for the FTTP to follow , and it’s quite likely the householder would be required to pay excess construction for the work required to get the FTTP service to the property

….often in cases like this , if the householder agrees to do the some or most work on their own land ( so they excavate a trench for duct ,  for example ) then the costs can be reduced, but if it’s a case of wanting Openreach to do all the work , then a cost estimate would be provided , and if the householder is in agreement  and pays ,  the work can proceed , but if the costs are not accepted, there is no obligation on OR to provide FTTP ‘at any cost’ , the FTTP service remains at the curtilage of the property.

As far as your situation, are you sure the property getting FTTP is part of a commercial rollout, and not either  FTTPod ( where the applicant pays the full installation costs of the network ) a consequence can be very close by neighbours benefit from one person’s willingness to pay , or a CFP ( community funded project ) where DCMS vouchers are used in part to fund the construction, only those that supply the vouchers and are ‘members’ of the CFP are likely to benefit from these schemes 

[camy]

I've no idea I'm afraid what arrangement they have. It seems an awfully long distance along a private track for OR to install for free. So possible they've paid OR or have brought in their own contractor. It's definitely just houses not commerical. 

I would like to think my situation is not out of the ordinary as my house is literally 2m from the road and a fly fishing casts length to either telephone pole. 

[iniltous]

If you neighbour has paid for something like FTTPod or even an Ethernet leased line , then that won’t necessarily benefit you in any way , even if the ‘fibre’ cable that services your neighbour runs relatively close to your property…if this is the case , you would be no better or worse off than if your neighbour hadn’t arranged this work , if FTTP does become available to your location it will be via the usual commercial rollout

The strange thing is your assertion that other neighbours were ‘included’ and advised of this work , this suggests a CFP

[jac_95]

@camy and just to clarify what @iniltous means by CFP there's more info on Openreach Fibre Community Partnership is here: https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/fibre-community-partnership

[camy]

@jac_95 

I've submitted a query so hopefully they can provide assurance that my property will be allocated a node at the CBT.  Would be great to know if FTTP will be an option once this telephone pole has the full fibre CBT installed.

[camy]

If you neighbour has paid for something like FTTPod or even an Ethernet leased line , then that won’t necessarily benefit you in any way , even if the ‘fibre’ cable that services your neighbour runs relatively close to your property…if this is the case , you would be no better or worse off than if your neighbour hadn’t arranged this work , if FTTP does become available to your location it will be via the usual commercial rollout

So their 'private' line they've installed wouldnt be my nearest logical route anyways.  I'm about 4m from one public telephone pole and 7m from the pole the contactors are installing what looks like a CBT.  Both these are in the public domain along with the route along to the village which has the local exchange.

I guess what i'm curious about is whether OR are installing their communication pipe for free/part of the public rollout work or if they have commissioned their own contractor to provide FTTP via the new CBT cluster at the telephone pole.

Either way, they have been notified in some manner by OR that fibre was coming to the area.  Another neighbour was also notified by letter but again, I have limited knowledge at this stage the nature or content of said communication.

[iniltous]

If there is a CBT being placed on the same pole  that currently provides your copper connection , then at some point your address with show as having FTTP available to order and the method of provision is also noted , with overhead service , it’s something like ‘Residential SDU , overhead, no anticipated issues’  ,

The appearance of an CBT on a the same pole that provides the copper pair service is obvious encouraging for anyone wanting FTTP , but it worth noting that occasionally it can be months or even years after the CBT is installed that FTTP is available to order .

If your neighbour is getting a costly optical cable install effectively for ‘free’ then that’s good for them but not usual , native FTTP is provided to ‘publicly sited’ Openreach structures like poles and joint boxes, the vast majority of connections from these locations will be a standard install.

TBH , the most significant part from your perspective is , that there is a CBT being placed on a pole that can service your address , especially if it’s the same pole that your copper service is delivered from.

When FTTP becomes available to order , and you place an order , a new optical cable from the CBT to your property is installed and the copper dropwire removed, internally the existing master socket becomes redundant and the new optical cable is connected to an ONT.

If you don’t order FTTP ( once it’s available ) you would remain on your existing service ,

When a CBT is installed it’s size ( 4,8 or 12 port ) is determined by survey and the number of properties it can service, typically it’s the same as the copper network, so if your pole ( copper network ) had 5 properties connected ( or could potentially be connected ) then an 8 port CBT is provided, there is no reason why your address would be overlooked.

Individuals can register with Openreach to be advised when FTTP is available.