BT

[ESAM1]

BT re-contracted me on Digital Voice changeover but didn't change connection to Fibre which is at the pole just outside. Neighbours have moved to other suppliers and now have the high speed. BT now tells me (after  they contacted Openreach) that IF things go right I can order (order only) in just over a years time. BT Guide suggests I see if other suppliers will pay my exit fee and move. Is it time to change after 25 years ?

[VeteranISPUser]

Hi @ESAM1   There are many providers of Full Fibre, are you sure that the Fibre which is on the pole is on the Openreach network and not an AltNet? 

[ESAM1]

Hi VeteranISPUser,

Yes Openreach installed. My copper line is connected to the pole. My next door neighbour had Jurassic Fibre, I think a local broadband supplier, connect their home with the fibre link by replacing their connection cable. I presume Openreach allow the company to install but do not plan to install themselves until they service the whole area at the same time. What gets me is according to the BT Guide the BT Technical dept had not been informed the fibre had been installed, but Openreach must have been in contact with the local supplier. The Guide also told me he was familiar with more people in different areas having the same experience.   

[imjolly]

enter your address as your phone number will not work on DV and then post results  this will show what is available to you   include the notes

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

[ESAM1]

Thank you - I found this very interesting. 

 FTTP is available on demand and I am not in a current fibre priority programme. 

[jac_95]

@ESAM1 

Jurassic Fibre uses an alternative network providers infrastructure and not Openreach's infrastructure.

BT uses Openreach's network infrastructure.

What your broadband availability checker results are saying is that Openreach does not have their full fibre infrastructure available to your property and therefore that's why BT doesn't offer you full fibre today.

The bit about FTTP on demand is where you can pay to get full fibre infrastructure built out and installed to you but it's a service with a high fee and offered usually by business broadband providers.

BT as a consumer customer does not offer a service that uses FTTP on Demand.

You can see what Openreach have planned for your area with these links:

https://www.openreach.com/broadband-network/fibre-availability

https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/where-when-building-ultrafast-full-fibre-broadband

[iniltous]

Digital Voice (DV) is not a re-contracting event and doesn’t need FTTP to work , so basically if you were advised you were being moved to DV , it had no effect on your contractual situation and all you do is move your phone from the wall socket to the router socket on the appropriate day .

If an Alternative Network is available in your area , that has nothing to do with DV , BT or Openreach , if some of your neighbours have become users of that network , they made a conscious decision to join , often these Alt Nets knock on people doors and try to convince the occupants to join the new network, but it’s not with OR agreement, and they were not moved as part of a Digital Voice migration.

Openreach and the Alternative Network are competitors, the Alt Net is allowed to use Openreach assets like telegraph poles , obviously if anyone is within a minimum term contract and join this Alt Net , there will be early termination charges to pay to the old company, if the Alt Net offers to pay the ETC to get that new customer onto their network, that’s up to them .

If a BT customer joined this network , while they were  within a minimum term with BT , then BT , quite correctly will raise ETC , because the customer quit the BT service before the end of the contract, what the Alt Net does about that is nothing to do with BT .

[ESAM1]

So the BT employee who told me I had to change to DV should not have made me take out a new 2 year contract even though I had to change my Hub.

After FTTP is installed outside my property Alt companies are advised of the availability and offer to customers. The BT Guide who checked with Technical said BT had no knowledge of the availabilty. BT  subsequently enquired  to Openreach who advisd late 2025 before I can order FTTP. 

Why should Openreach inform alt companies but not BT of FTTP installation

Why should BT insist on me taking out a new contract for the change to DV extending my contract for an additional year.

Why is it BT cannot give me FTTP now

[jac_95]

@ESAM1 

The fibre infrastructure you have installed outside your house is nothing to do with Openreach. It was installed by an alt net.

Openreach and therefore BT can't use it as there's no agreement between Openreach and/or BT to use the Alt Nets Full Fibre infrastructure.

That's why BT and Openreach say there's no full fibre available for your property as there isn't the infrastructure installed that they can use.

Openreach would have to build out their own full fibre infrastructure to your property before BT or any provider who uses Openreach's infrastructure can say full fibre is available to you 

[iniltous · Accepted solution]

How did you ‘join’ BT Digital Voice , there is a world of difference between being contacted by BT ( usually by letter or email ) saying  that you will be moving onto DV in the near future ( that is a nationwide migration program) , that doesn’t start a new contract, or you contacting BT about something ( or BT calling you to discuss a new deal ) and as part of the new deal moving onto DV , because it’s a convenient way to get you onto DV ….so in your case what was the main thing , a new broadband deal that happened to included DV , or simply being told that DV was on its way to you …..just moving to DV doesn’t mean a new contract, most migration to DV , there is no ‘conversation’ , it’s just a letter saying you will move onto DV in a few weeks , then near that date , you are told to connect a phone to the router , if you don’t have a SH2 router they send one out for free as part of the migration.

As stated , Alternative Networks like Jurassic Fibre are competitors to Openreach , so of course OR don’t publicise them , that would be pretty stupid .

If an Alternative Network,  ( independent of Openreach ) is available and you want to use it  ,  hopefully you do realise that BT don’t use any Alternative Network ,  so if you want to join this Alternative Network, ( after you recently renegotiated a new deal with BT , that was for 24 months )  ,  if you leave before the end of those 24 months , early termination charges apply.

I strongly suspect in your case you did more than a simple migration to DV , you negotiated a new deal that DV was a part of , and for some reason expected to be connected to Jurassic Fibre .