excess construction charge

[exeles]

Hello i signed up to bt fibre broadband in April 2023 we were due to be connected on the 15th of may, thats when the fun started.

we were told by the visiting  bt engineer that there was no fibre optic cable outside our house it was terminated eight houses away and new ducting would need to be installed. so i sat back and waited.

Several weeks went by, a new engineers visit was arranged then cancelled. Then on the 19th of may i received an email which informed me i would have to pay an Excess Connection charge of 

£8,875.476

i was somewhat surprised as i was told the entire housing estate i live on has all been supplied with fibre broadband, and as far as i know, no one as been asked to pay an ECC.

Also if i look at a fibre coverage map, it shows full fibre is available at my address

the estate was built in the fifties and sixties. 

surely this cannot be right?

[iniltous]

What does your ‘survey’  entry say on this checker ?.

Use the address option if your BT phone number is DV , the required info is underneath the prediction of speed etc  , it should look something like this , the example is for a fully ducted house , built later than the 1990’s.

Our records show the following FTTP network service information for these premises:-Single Dwelling Unit Residential UG Feed with no anticipated issues.

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

Housing built in the 60’s through to the late 80’s , the copper cables supplying the existing service usually is armoured DIG ( direct in ground ) cables , the absence of an underground duct means a method of getting the new optical cable from the footway jointbox to the house needs to be provided, and depending on how far and complex this is , ( potentially 100m or more ) could explain high excess construction charges.

If your survey note has something like ‘partial DIG’ then that’s likely to be the reason for the charge 

[exeles]

Thanks for the reply

no data available for this number is what the checker says

Here's a breakdown of the costs (excluding VAT):
Total cost to CP = 7396.23 Job Description:110 meter duct Required

plus vat

[imjolly]

@exeles 

Did you use your address in checker and post results including the notes

[Crimliar]

In this case it might be worth contacting the council civil works department to find out what contract/commitment OpenReach made and if they've by any chance fallen short of that commitment.

[exeles]

thanks will post results

[exeles]

Featured Products Downstream Line Rate(Mbps) Upstream Line Rate (Mbps) Downstream HandbackThreshold(Mbps) WBC FTTC Availability Date WBC SOGEA Availability DateHigh Low High Low      VDSL Range A (Clean) 

VDSL Range B (Impacted) 

35	27.4	6.6	4.5	25	Available	Available
34.9	25	6.6	4.3	20	Available	Available

Featured Products Downstream Line Rate(Mbps) Upstream Line Rate (Mbps) Downstream Range (Mbps) Availability Date FTTP Install ProcessWBC FTTP

Up to 1000

Up to 220

--

Available

KCI2 Assure

ADSL Products Downstream Line Rate (Mbps) Upstream Line Rate (Mbps) Downstream Range(Mbps) Availability DateWBC ADSL 2+WBC ADSL2+ Annex MADSL MaxWBC Fixed RateFixed Rate

Up to 5.5	--	3 to 8	Available
Up to 5.5	Up to 1	3 to 8	Available
Up to 4	--	3 to 7	Available
2	--	--	Available
2	--	--	Available

SOADSL Products Downstream Line Rate (Mbps) Upstream Line Rate (Mbps) Downstream Range(Mbps) WBC SOADSL Availability DateWBC SOADSL 2+SOADSL MaxSOADSL Fixed Rate

Up to 5.5	--	3 to 8	--
Up to 4	--	3 to 8	--
Up to 2	--	3 to 7	--

Other Offerings Availability DateVDSL MulticastADSL Multicast

Available

Available

Exchange Product Restrictions StatusFTTP Priority ExchangeWLR WithdrawalSOADSL Restriction

N

N

Y

Our records show the following FTTP network service information for these premises:-Single Dwelling Unit Residential UG partial Direct In Ground.

FTTP is available and a new ONT may be ordered.

The exchange is not in a current fibre priority programme

WLR is currently available at the exchange

SOADSL is restricted at the exchange

For all ADSL and WBC Fibre to the Cabinet (VDSL or G.fast) services, the stable line rate will be determined during the first 10 days of service usage.

For all SOADSL services,the stable line rate will be determined during the first 10 days of service usage.

Actual speeds experienced by end users and quoted by CPs will be lower due to a number of factors within and external to BT's network, Communication Providers' networks and within customer premises.

In order to be eligible for handback, downstream speed should be less than Downstream Handback Threshold values.

If you decide to place an order for a WBC fibre product, an appointment may be required for an engineer to visit the end user's premises to supply the service

Mildenhall exchange:Only single order products are available and ADSL and ADSL2+ products are not shown as available.However for premises that can only be served by SOADSL, BT will continue to accept ADSL and ADSL2+ orders until SOADSL is available.

Thank you for your interest

[iniltous]

As can be seen ( and predicted )
Our records show the following FTTP network service information for these premises:-Single Dwelling Unit Residential UG partial Direct In Ground.
It may seem unfair, but the costs to provide you with FTTP are deemed to be excessive, and you would be expected to contribute towards the actual cost of provision

There is no point whatsoever you contacting the council etc, this has nothing do with them , with the exception that if you  proceed ( and I guess you won’t be  ) OR would notice the council that works were to be undertaken 

Looking at this another way , if OR ‘paid’ for this duct to be installed, out of the roughly £35 a month you would pay an ISP for service , obviously this could vary depending on what speed you took , OR would likely receive around £10 /month , roughly the wholesale price of FTTP , out of what you pay , if it’s a minimum 24 month contract, so for the £8000 outlay they get back a guaranteed £240 , in the meantime the ‘competition’ like Cityfibre (for example) use the duct effectively for ‘free’ under PIA , after your minimum term you switch , OR are left nursing a massive loss on providing your service.

[pippincp]

Give the FTTP team a ring tomorrow they should be able to explain it to you. 0800 587 4787

If you get redirected to normal CS hang up and try again.

[Crimliar]

Regards it not being worthwhile contacting the council, it genuinely depends on the agreements that OpenReach have in place.  It may not get you anywhere, but sometimes those agreements will stipulate that all properties in a defined area need to be offered the service - IT COMES DOWN TO THE AGREEMENTS IN PLACE.  You might not get anywhere, but there is a possibility you might - unless you live on an "unadpoted" road in which case your chances are almost zero!