Questions about new line installation

A friend of mine has moved into a flat where there's currently no landline installed, so one is going to be installed soon.

Looking at the back of the house there's currently only one cable from the pole to one of the lower flats.

Will OpenReach install another cable from the pole to my friend's flat or might they do some fancy thing where they supply her flat from the existing cable to save themselves work? I'm concerned that would give my friend an inadequate broadband service.

Also

I've installed a couple of solid core Cat5 cables going to a double socket in the centre of the flat, one socket is for the phone, one is an RJ45 for the router. Is it standard practice for OpenReach to install a double master socket with filtered faceplate to which I can connect these cables, or doyou have to ask them specifically on the day to do that?

 

They will run a new cable.
They will install a filtered faceplate master socket.

 

"Dick" wrote in message

They will run a new cable.
They will install a filtered faceplate master socket.
Not any more they don't, it'll be a normal NTE, unless the CP has paid
for one to be fitted.

 

If you want a filtered faceplace with two sockets, instead of having
to plug in an external dangly box, you can buy the kit on Amazon and
fit it yourself. Search for "interstitial VDSL faceplace". You'll only
need a screwdriver and it'll take you about 5 minutes.

Rod.

 

Agreed but look on fleabay.

You need one with the Openreach marking and version 3 - don't pay more
than about £8.

 

Hmm, looks like I'll have to buy my own double filtered faceplate then.

Maybe if we ply the fitter with M&S chocolate biscuits they'll fit one!

 

Worth every penny. The Mk3 has some line-powered electronics in it
that not only filters the B/B but also rebalances the line usually
resulting in a quieter line with improved audio, let alone any
improvements to B/B speeds.

 

It's quite rare to see a filtered faceplate fitted as standard on an
ADSL installation, you are generally expected to use the ISP supplied
micro-filters. It was standard practice to have a faceplate fitted for
VDSL but as you imply, standards have slipped badly.

The OP has not mentioned which technology has been ordered for the
line.

 

"Graham." wrote in message

It's quite rare to see a filtered faceplate fitted as standard on an
ADSL installation, you are generally expected to use the ISP supplied
micro-filters. It was standard practice to have a faceplate fitted for
VDSL but as you imply, standards have slipped badly.

The OP has not mentioned which technology has been ordered for the
line.

Even if it is VDSL the standard (now) is just a basic NTE.

It's been like this for several months now.

If the Openreach engineer does the install and then initiate the VDSL
service, they are supposed to do the fit, leave site (after fitting
the NTE) and then return to the PCP (which is where he may have been
working just minutes before) and then run the jumpers to get the VDSL
working. It's what the CPs want, but it's not what a lot of the end
users expect.

Yes the old chocolate biscuit trick may work, but if there is a
quality inspection afterwards the engineer can be accused of not
working to the equivalence standards expected, which could be anything
from a slap wrist upwards.

Stupid...yes but the engineer has to stick to what the CP is paying
for and in most cases now that isn't and engineering install of the
VDSL service.

 

[snip]

Experience from Tuesday 25 August (yesterday)

Customer moves house within same town (Norwich) - tries to take BT phone
number with him. Can't take Virgin fibre - not available at new location.

Three weeks ago BT cancel his move order with no explanation.

So we order phone line and FTTC from Zen on 4 August. Speed estimate is
76 Mbits/sec. Phone line is livened up on previous occupier's number on
7 August.

FTTC is scheduled for Tuesday AM. Existing extension wiring indicates
that FTTC was used by previous occupier, but is clearly not done correctly.

Phil from MJ Quinn on behalf of Openreach arrives mid morning, knowing
that FTTC is already on line so he fits new NTE and VDSL filter, also
supples VDSL modem - all exactly as expected. He hopes this will be a
10 minute job.

But: his tests show only 46.5 Mbits/sec download, also "potential HR
joint detected on GEA service". So he goes to cab, finds aluminium
cable which crumbles in his hand. Re-patches with copper, re-tests at
cab - speed still slow. Requests lift-and-shift and returns to customer
to wait for this to complete. On completion speed now 80Mbits/sec - but
now we have "rectified loop" fault. More testing at customer site and
at cabinet - can't find cause of this fault. FTTC and phone all work OK
so he closes the job with fault unresolved.

Took him 2 hours, for a job which probably paid him £12.

Properly dedicated, declined all tea and biscuits.

He knew the cab and area so if you see him you know he is very
conscientious.

 

The OP has not mentioned which technology has been ordered for the

It's just plain old broadband that I think of as ADSL, not fibre or anything fancy. Estimated speed is 8Mbps I think.

 

Yes.

FTTC and VDSL equate to the same thing.

Personally I avoid the marketing team "Fibre Broadband", because ADSL
also uses fibre optic for the backhaul in the same way.

The only difference is ADSL has a metallic connection to the exchange
and FTTC has a shorter length of copper to the roadside cabinet,
hopefully short enough to benefit from the higher speeds that the VDSL
modulation allows.

 

When my line developed a fault last year, the OR engineer upgraded the
original NTE5+external microfilter master socket to the combined v3 VDSL
one, despite my only having ADSL.

My only objection is that the depth of the back box, plus the
interstitial plate, plus the original faceplate, makes the whole shebang
stick out from the wall like a sore thumb. Foe reasons best known to
himself, the original installer had mounted the socket about 1m off the
floor for good measure. I think "carbuncle" would be too good a word
for it.

Going to move it elsewhere when I have a round tuit.

 

I'm not too happy about BT's gratuitous use of the word "infinity"
either, but then it's only advertising, so maybe concepts like truth
and accuracy don't really apply.

Rod.

 

What I hated was their targeted advertising of 'Infinity' when it wasn't
even available to me.

No 'maybe' about it!

 

Have to agree about the bulkiness of it. I've left my standard split
faceplate master socket and installed the VDSL filtered master socket in
the cupboard under the stairs where our router lives and have wired the
house extensions to that one.

Tim