Initial setup woes

[sambda]

Oh dear, switching to BT seems to already be going wrong from what I can see!

I am switching from Talktalk to BT Essentials 36Mbps - the tariff for Universal Credits claimants at £16pm.

BT have emailed me a date for the changeover of Monday 8th December.  However, Talktalk have emailed me (without talking to them - BT must have done that) of an end date with them of 2nd December.  Why the difference?  I was ensured no downtime.  Furthermore, the BT guy when I ordered said Talktalk would not change me an early leaving fee as "it was in the last month".  Talktalk have emailed me a leaving fee of £5.70, as I am "cancelling" my service before its natural end-of-contract day, which is the 10th Dec.

Openreach have sent me an email saying "Welcome to Full Fibre" when I am not having that - I am having BT Essentials. They are booking in an engineer to come to change me to this on 8th.   Since when has 36Mbps been "full fibre".  It'll be the old copper from the green box, surely?

Can somebody explain all this?  Oh, the whole order doesn't show on MyBT and it can't find the order number.

.

[licquorice]

Any given package can be delivered by any medium. No reason why Essentials 36M can't be delivered by full fibre.

[sambda]

I am being charged £9.99 for this when it is not necessary.  What I have now supports that speed.

[licquorice]

Indeed, but as the copper network is being phased out, any opportunity to move customers to fibre is taken.

[sambda]

Hi,

I am changing from Talktalk FTTC to BT Essentials which, I am told, "requires" putting in FTTP and an appointment has been booked for this.

Upstairs, I have an Ethernet-only (very old) PC (lots of disks - used only as a media/storage server) with no Wi-Fi capability, currently connected by a short Ethernet cable to my Talktalk router (which is connected to a telephone extension in the same room).

I can't get any sense out of the BT people on the phone, but how is this going to work with the new modem and router which I presume have to be downstairs near to where the new fibre is coming in?  How are they going to wire my Ethernet-only PC into the mix?  Will the engineer run Ethernet from the new router to upstairs for me?

Staying on a copper incoming will make things stay as they are.  Can I request this?  Having FTTP is no benefit when my BT Essentials (Universal Credit version) is going to be running at 36Mbps.

[Crimliar]

The best solution without running wires is to either add a Mesh Disc or other device as a WiFi bridge.  The Mesh Discs (BT Complete WiFi Disc) have an ethernet socket on the rear that allows a device such as your server (or even a network switch) to be plugged in, and will also improve WiFi to devices in their surrounding area.  A third-party extender set up as a bridge, just takes the WiFi signal close to where you need it and provides that wired connection.

If you think adding that extra WiFi broadcast location would be useful I'd go for the Mesh disc, but a simple (WiFi 5/802.11ac) would probably be cheaper and faster *if set up as a WiFi bridge* - if set up as a WiFi extender it could slow down your entire WiFi network much more than a Mesh Disc would!

[iniltous]

You ask how are ‘they’ going to wire your Ethernet only PC into the mix’ , they aren’t, that’s your responsibility.
If you are getting FTTP , generally the ONT can be fitted where you want it within reason , but if cable from the ‘outside’ enters on the ground floor the ONT won’t be located ‘upstairs’ , budget on no more than 10 metres of cabling to the ONT once the outside cable enters the property…if you are served overhead from a pole it’s possible the ONT can be upstairs (so potentially near this PC) but clearly is dependent on your situation, obviously if this PC was in a rear room and the cable entered at the front it’s not likely you could have that .
Can you request staying on copper, short of cancelling your BT Essentials order , No , but then you didn’t  have to move into BT Essential, if remaining as you are for the longest possible time was the most important thing  , remaining with Talk Talk as you are , possibly on an out of contract basis if necessary ( with the associated higher price ) would  have been the thing to do …once you elect to move provider or re-contract  with your existing provider, part of the ‘deal’ can be taking FTTP if it’s available.

[sambda]

Staying with Talktalk prices wasn't an option as I am on disability UC. Talktalk wanted £20-something quid p.m. (£26 or £28, I think) as opposed to the £18 for Essentials (which also doesn't have the price hike in March/April).  But now I see there are going to be other expenses that they don't warn you of when you sign up - e.g. the enforced adoption of FTTP when it isn't really needed for the speed.

All this will eat up some of the benefit of switching.  I hope they aren't going to say some new telephones are also needed!

[sambda]

Useful ideas - thanks!  I'll look into that - I am trying to do it as cheap as possible.  I think I might add a WiFi card to the old PC, but I'll need to find one (PCIE) which still has available WinXP drivers.   Failing that, PLAs back to the router?

[Peter_W]

Good morning, @sambda.

@licquorice is spot on here with the details around Full Fibre - as this is the new technology that will be used for broadband connections moving forward, when it's available this is what will be used for any new connections. 

As for the cancellation, OFCOM's new One Touch Switch means your old provider will get notification that your service is switching, and action a cancellation request. 

If there's a lag between when they've set this to and your new service going live, I would recommend contacting them directly, and seeing if you can extend the date for when this is completed.

Peter