Connections Dropping

[#1]

Openreach are replacing old cables with new Fibre cables to all the telegraph poles, but have not replaced to house.

Since they finished , my broadband keeps disconnecting at all hours of the day . I have reported this and an engineer is coming out.

I would like to know if the cables  to the house are being replaced , or do I have to order ultra fast broadband to get a digital line.

Thank you.

[#2 · Accepted solution]

@silversurfer10 

I suspect that Openreach are installing fibre to your local poles. This is a totally separate service to the old copper cable and it is there to feed the fibre directly directly to your property. To get access to this new service and a new connection from the pole to your property you will need to upgrade to FTTP. This is currently not available from Plusnet but is allegedly coming soon.

It is highly unlikely that the copper cable to your property will be changed unless is the direct cause of a fault.

[#3]

@silversurfer10 

You can check the following to see if OR have any FTTP plans for you.

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

https://www.openreach.com/

The first will only show WBC FTTP it it's available (or perhaps nearing availability). It needs to show up here before any order can be placed.

If it is FTTP coming OR will hang equipment at the pole serving your house.

Brian

[#4]

What happens after 2025, when the digital phones replaces analogue phones, who has to provide the cables to the houses then?

[#5]

@silversurfer10 

It is just the PSTN that is being withdrawn. Copper cables to a premise will not be replaced - unless FTTP is available and an overhead line is replaced with a fibre optic one.

A digital phone service will be provided over the copper.

Brian

[#6]

Is it right that if the cable to the telegraph pole is faulty, it will be replaced with a fibre cable?

[#7]

I doubt that @silversurfer10. It may be true but the pole would need to have fibre on it already to justify it, but if you're using a copper based service then why would they do it when copper is cheaper than fibre.

[#8]

Are you aware that by 2025 the old analogue telephone system is being turned off,  ie ,copper cable is being replaced throughout the uk by fibre cable. It will be called the digital phone service and calls will be made via broadband.Openreach will no longer use copper cable, just fibre cable. 

[#9]

I am indeed @silversurfer10 but what the intention is versus the reality are two very different things. Me; I'm not holding my breath, I don't look good in purple and blue.

[#10]

I suppose the main reason is to make US pay more money. I can remember when computers where available to everybody, and the internet speed was 8 kbs, you had time to have breakfast and cut the grass before you could download anything , compared to what is now available 1GBS

[#11]

@silversurfer10 

In the early days of the OR FTTP enhanced rollout overhead copper lines were replaced with a hybrid copper / fibre cable (only so much space on a pole). I believe they now only use a fibre cable so the copper cable will be removed as part of the process.

With FTTC there are two basic products (40/10 & 80/20) although BT Retail offers slightly different speeds. I believe BT Retail charges the same for these two speeds whether the service is provided over copper (FTTC) or fibre (FTTP). They provision FTTP as default if it's available.

Brian

[#12]

@silversurfer10 

Your photo certainly looks like FTTP equipment but would require a Customer Connectorized Terminal (CBT) or Distribution Point (DP - as I call them) further up the pole. These do the individual property connections. The following is an 8 port underground one.

Brian

[#13]

It does have 2 DP`s.

Your photo is for new builds I presume?

[#14]

@silversurfer10 

In post #12 I should have said Connectorized Block Terminal (CBT). If you have DP's further up the pole then FTTP is coming to your property. If you count the number of ports / nodes they should exceed the number of lines from the pole.

You need to keep an eye on the following. When it shows WBC FTTP in the left hand column and Available over to the right then the circuit is live. https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

I picture I posted is from my house (over 20 years old) chamber. It's the system used in all underground supplied lines where the ducts are usable. The 8 ports served 7 properties. When a service is requested OR run a cable through the duct to your house and plug it in to the CBT (hence connectorized). For my house they drilled through the wall but later installs from this chamber went in via the existing copper line entry point.

Brian

[#15]

How many houses cane be connected to each DP? And OR Engineer determined that either the old BT Mastersocket box or Plusnet filter was faulty, and replaced with an all in one new box.