Finally took the FTTC plunge

[#1]

Quote from: _Adam_Walker_

From what you've said it sounds like the job was carried out well apart from what you've mentioned about extensions. I can check but I don't think all engineers carry these as a matter of course and may only do so if the ISP has requested one to be installed when the order for fibre was placed.

The engineer that installed my fibre connection just had a reel of cable, cut off length required and cripped the ends on for my extension

[#2]

Quote from: mikko

Does anyone know if the Kelly's engineer was correct when he said that FTTC cabinets would disappear soon as FTTP is coming (I clarified with him that the FTTC customers will be upgraded to FTTP at no extra cost). Maybe only BT customers?

From what I am aware, it's incorrect.
Beyond the cost and return of installing the cabinets,  you'd also have the problem with the cabinets with active customers.
Also BT are working on 'FTTP on demand'  (FTTP in an FTTC enabled ara) which is likely to cost between £500 and £1000 to install and utilises the FTTC infrastructure.

[#3]

Quote

From what you've said it sounds like the job was carried out well apart from what you've mentioned about extensions. I can check but I don't think all engineers carry these as a matter of course and may only do so if the ISP has requested one to be installed when the order for fibre was placed.

I did tick the box requesting an extension so the engineer should have been prepared for it.

[#4]

There's a word for a lot of what the engineer told you and it rhymes with the name of the things you put the oars in to in a rowing boat!

Quote from: mikko

the modem and router are always side by side connected by the short ethernet cable (red ends).

If his definition of short is up to 100 meters of Cat 5e cable then he was correct - I don't think it's anyone else's definition!

[#5]

It seems to me that when an extension is requested  the ideal thing to do would be for BTOR to carry out a short survey of the premises beforehand and advise the customer of the feasibility as well as noting relevant dimensions and other data.
This seems to me to me to be the professional approach instead of having a bloke rolling up unprepared on installation day and trying to bamboozle the customer with guesswork.

[#6]

Quote

The speeds don't seem to be near your estimate at all though so I'd advise keeping an eye on that over the next few days and would urge you to raise a fault with us if you don't see that improve during that time. Quote The installation was 13th Dec and speeds are still low. I just measured 20.13 down /15.01 up directly connected to the technicolor router on ground floor. (11.20 down/ 14.16 up wirelessly on 1st floor). See attached. Am I still within the training period? If not, I'll raise a ticket if necessary.

[#7]

Hi Miko,
I've checked over your connection and it's showing a sync rate of over 70MB/s. I'd suggest going through the checks at http://faults.plus.net and see if your speed increases, if not then we'll investigate as to why this is the case.
Chris

[#8]

I am going through the broadband troubleshooter and have reached the following:
Please remove any extension cabling, and connect your computer to your router with an Ethernet cable. This will eliminate any internal wiring issues. Did this fix the problem?
I need help answering this question
Removing extension cabling fixed my fault I don't have any extension cabling/I have done this, but it didn't fix the problem
I cannot disconnect/remove the extension cabling as it was permanently wired by BT (then GPO) years ago before the internet era. In fact the upstairs extension was already in when the house was purchased in 1964. I have removed the broadband filters from my additions to these extensions as the FTTC installation doesn't need them.
If there's a problem with extension wiring does that mean it's down to BT as they installed it (could'nt install your own in those days anyway)?

[#9]

I'm pretty sure the answer is yes - it is BT's wiring, and they're responsible for all of it and the extensions.
When they fit fibre, I'm also pretty sure they'll install an NTE5 master, and leave you to assume responsibility for all the extensions afterwards.

[#10]

Have you been through this check? http://community.plus.net/library/broadband/fibre-help-how-to-set-up-a-pppoe-dialler-in-vistawindows...
Also is your modem connected to the master socket(the one BT engineer installed)? If it's an issue with the master socket then we'll arrange an engineer to attend for that.

[#11]

Thanks Chris. The modem is connected to the master socket (as installed by the engineer).
I'll be able to get round to the test in a day or two.
Is the training period 10 days or 2 days (as I read somewhere for FTTC)? Installation was 13-Dec-2012.

[#12]

Sorry, I missed the fact that the install had already happened, and that you had a new-fangled master socket. That changes things a little, and it means that you are now the de-facto owner of all the internal wiring, even if BT did install it originally.
It will be worth making sure that they did things the right way then...

Quote from: mikko

I need help answering this question I cannot disconnect/remove the extension cabling as it was permanently wired by BT (then GPO) years ago before the internet era.

I'll double-check...
From what you've written before, the engineer fitted a master socket (ie one with a horizontal split across the middle), but didn't fit a data extension.
That should leave you with a master socket that has these components:

At the back, the backplate, with the internal test socket, wired only to the external cable, and no extensions. Without any faceplates attached, it would look like this. The red highlight shows the test socket - and this now demarks the end of BT's ownership of the line.
In the middle, a VDSL faceplate that has the socket for the modem, but no wires attached. It ought to look like the one in this thread, except the wires in the red circle (which are the data extension) won't exist.
At the front, is a half-height front faceplate. One of these can be seen dangling at the front of the image in the same thread. The voice extension wiring should be connected to the back of this faceplate, nowhere else.

If you unscrew the front half-height faceplate, this should disconnect the extension wiring - so what they mean by "remove extension cabling" is to unscrew and unplug the front faceplate. Once the faceplate is removed, all the extension sockets should be dead (no dialtone with a phone), so that's a good way to check.
If the extensions aren't wired like this, and any of them stay live when you remove the front, half-height, faceplate, then the engineer has wired things incorrectly - and you need to get this fixed.

Quote from: mikko

Is the training period 10 days or 2 days (as I read somewhere for FTTC)? Installation was 13-Dec-2012.

The line monitoring starts from day 1, but usually only triggers adjustments after 2 days, if needed, and (so far) largely seems to make the right adjustments first time. In some cases (rare, but it seems to be getting a little more common), it can make further adjustments over the next few days. If it does keep making adjustments, it is the first indication that there might be something wrong with the line (or, of course, the internal extension wiring).
So the answer is that 2 days is almost always sufficient, but it *might* take a little longer.

[#13]

Quote from: mikko

Does anyone know if the Kelly's engineer was correct when he said that FTTC cabinets would disappear soon as FTTP is coming (I clarified with him that the FTTC customers will be upgraded to FTTP at no extra cost). Maybe only BT customers?

No idea if that's correct but it would be illegal if only BT customers were given something that other ISPs using BT infrastructure did not also get (BT retail have exactly the same standing with BT Outreach/BT Wholesale as other ISPs, they're not allowed any preferential treatment).  Given the cost of an FTTC cabinet I'd be surprised if they disappeared anytime soon.

[#14]

@mikko
As already mentioned by others, the Kelly engineer is talking "the word that rhymes" as jelv has mentioned. It also sounds like he didn't want to be bothered to do your install properly either. So if you still want your router up stairs you can run your own Cat5e Ethernet cable from the Modem up to the upstairs room where you want your router. Leave the modem where it is.
WWWombat has explained how to check your installation, but he wasn't quite right on the ownership matter. BTOR are responsible upto and including the modem, ie including the vDSL plate. Your responsibility is wiring attached to the removable lower front plate. As this is only used for phone extensions, the fact that it is 1964 standard wiring shouldn't be an issue (wire colours Orange, Blue, Green & Brown) - but such wiring cannot be used for any form of DSL.
When assessing you connection you should always carry out speed checks using an ethernet connection not wireless. However you can still run the BT "Diagnostic" speedtest at http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/ or http://www.speedtester.bt.com/ and the IP profile x1.033 will tell you your sync speed, but your throughput could be limited by your wireless connection.
HTH.

[#15]

Off-topic for @mikko's issue...

Quote from: Anotherone

but he wasn't quite right on the ownership matter. BTOR are responsible upto and including the modem, ie including the vDSL plate. Your responsibility is wiring attached to the removable lower front plate.

True - for FTTC, the endpoint is the PPPoE port on the modem.
Ironically, that leaves us with the conundrum that BTOR are then technically responsible for any data extension wiring, but not the voice extension wiring.