Account
FTTP Order and Installation
Once your line is showing as "Ultrafast Accepting Orders" (see: link) you can make an order with your choice of ISP (Internet Service provider). The process is:
- Make an order with an ISP for a suitable package (speeds are the main variation). They will set the order process in motion and arrange with Openreach a date for the installation. This date will be in about 20-30 days after the order and will be a morning or afternoon slot. Normally the ISP will send in the post a new Wi-fi/Ethernet router for use with the FTTP service. The FTTP service can be ordered with or without telephone line renal.
- An Openreach technician will arrive in the morning or afternoon as arranged. They will replace the telephone line to your property with a fibre line. There needs to be someone present as they will also need to enter the house to install the fibre cable and ONT unit.
- In some cases a second visit is needed to do the internal installation.
- You now have a reliable, fast and reasonably future proof pure-fibre FTTP broadband Internet service :)
FTTP Infrastructure Update
Once Openreach have installed the fibre into the ducts and telephone poles in your area you will see (at least on the poles) small boxes called CBT's (Connecterised Block Terminals) like the one shown to the right (although not put up on the telegraph pole yet): 
Sometimes these are un-seen as they are installed underground. There is no Greenbox cabinet with FTTP, the fibre normally goes all the way back to the exchange. The Openreach checker should be consulted to see if they and their contractors have completed the installation. See: BoadbandInternetStatus.
Once this shows that you can order an FTTP services you will need to contact an ISP (Internet Service Provider) of you choice to arrange for an installation. It normally takes about 20 to 30 days to get an appointment for an engineers visit (why so long ?).
FTTP Packages and ISP's
The raw FTTP system can support speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps upstream and downstream. However the typical maximum speeds available via ISP's and Openeach are 1Gbps downstream and 220Mbps upstream. A lot of ISP packages will only (!) support up to 330Mbps downstream and 20Mbps upstream. However packages with these higher speeds cost quite a lot at the moment. ISP's provide pure-fibre FTTP packages with the FTTC conventional speeds of 40Mbps/10mbps and 80Mbps/20Mbps at similar prices to hybrid-fibre FTTC products. There are less ISP's providing FTTP services at the moment though so the choice is a bit limited and there are not the very low spec/price packages available that you can get from FTTC systems.
The base prices below are for the lowest cost connection offered from some ISP's we know about. This will typically be a 40/10Mbps with limited data allowance. It is there for guidance only. These prices include the telephone line rental cost. It will likely be best to go for an unlimited data contract. The choice of speed/cost is yours. For a business or creative household the upload speed is often important and so a 80/20Mbps service is a good option. These are at: 2017-11-23. There are orher vendors mentioned on the Openreach "When can I get fibre?" website at: when you can order a FTTP package at: https://www.homeandbusiness.openreach.co.uk/fibre-broadband/ultrafast-broadband/ultrafast-fibre-buy-it-now
| ISP | Base Price | URL |
|---|---|---|
| Zen Internet for the home | £43.99 includes line rental £55 setup | https://www.zen.co.uk/yourhome/superfast-fibre-broadband-packages/fibre-to-the-premises/ |
| Zen Internet for the small businesses | £33.25 includes line rental £45.83 setup (+ VAT) | https://www.zen.co.uk/smallerbusiness/superfast-fibre-and-broadband-packages/fibre-to-the-premises/ |
| BT | £42.49 ? | http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/infinity-broadband/ |
| Andrews & Arnold Ltd | £52.20 ? | https://aa.net.uk/broadband-FP.html |
| Plusnet | https://www.plus.net/ | |
| Claranet SOHO (Business only) | http://www.claranetsoho.co.uk/ | |
| Entanet (Business only ?) | https://www.enta.net/ | |
| Openreach Checker lists some ISP's |
Some of these do not have product/price information on their websites, you have to phone them. Please let us know of other ISP's/packages/prices that may be of interest to others. The telephone line rental, for a traditional telephone (POTS) service is often included but may or may not include any call packages so check the cost of calls for your usage. You can keep your existing telephone line operator if wanted but this will likely add to the overall costs.
It is also possible to use an IP phone provider if wanted. In this case the phone line operates over the broadband Internet fibre. Although the Openreach ONT has POT's ports to connect to your existing telephone lines I don't think these can be used with an IP phone systems as yet. So you will need a suitable IP phone or system to make use of an IP telephone service.
Note that as FTTP is a genuine pure fibre technology all the way to your premises you will get the speeds your ordered irrespective of your distance from the exchange. However, the fibre is split and thus shared close to the premises end. The split ratio will define how many homes/offices are sharing a single optical fibre at that point.
FTTP Install
Once a suitable FTTP package is ordered from an ISP of your choice, an Openreach engineer will come out, within 4 weeks and install a fibre line f
rom the nearest fibre access point (normally a telegraph poles connection CBT) to the property. They will arrange an AM or PM appointment date for you and someone will need to be present at the premises for this. Sometimes they will install a box on the outside of the property close to where the current copper telephone line enters the building by nowadays they may run the fibre cable through the building to close to the current BT/Openreach master telephone socket. At this location they will install a ONT (Optical Network Terminator like a modem) and a router next to a power supply. Alternatively there may be a second engineers visit to perform the inside installation. Inside the property there will be a powered ONT FTTP connection modem that has an Ethernet port and two telephone line ports (POTS). A conventional DSL/WiFi/Ethernet router is connected using an Ethernet cable to this ONT. You will need to choose a suitable location for these with a power socket with easy access to where the FTTP cable is likely to enter the house so it is easy for the engineer install the fibre optic cable from the external box to where the ONT FTTP modem is situated.
The FTTP ONT (Optical Network terminator, like a modem) unit is normally supplied as part of the install costs. These may come with a battery (the small box in the picture which does not show the Wifi/Ethernet router). The battery is used if the telephone line is supplied over the FTTP optical cable to match regulations that state that the local telephone has to work even when power is down locally. You may be able to use your existing WiFi/Ethernet router or purchase a new/better one at the time of installation, this may come as part of the FTTP order. Note most older routers will not support speeds much above 80 Mbps on their Ethernet ports and will likely be < 40 Mbps on the Wifi.
Generally there is a small (£45 - £90 ?) line connection charge which is sometimes reduced by the ISP. However, if your property is a distance away from the nearest fibre access point (> 150m ?), or if there are difficulties in running the fibre cable to your property (is underground but not in a duct or unsuitable overhead poles etc.) then there can be an excess construction charge.
One thing we have been trying to find out from SGCC and Openreach is to how many and where the fibre access points will be situated and hence how many premises will be able to connect without a construction charge being levied. Also we are trying to find out what level typical construction charges will be and any ways to mitigate this cost.
Although the FTTP fibre can support old style copper wired telephone systems (POTS two lines) as well as pure IP telephone systems, Openreach normally leave the old copper lines for telephone services at the moment. These copper lines will come inside the new fibre optic cable. You still need to pay a line rental change as well as the Internet/Broadband package cost although some ISP's now integrate these into one cost.
One thing to note is that if you have a fixed term ADSL broadband contract with BT or an ISP and if its anniversary is within the next 3 months, you may wish to consider changing providers when it come up for renewal to one that will provide a FTTP package. Otherwise you may be stuck with paying for an old style ADSL (copper wire) broadband connection for an extra year. Worth looking at the small print on this.
There is a Openreach video on the path the FTTP takes from the exchange to your home here.
There is and Openreach description here
See the links at the bottom of this page for more information.
Excess Construction Charges
Openreach will install the CBT fibre splitter access points at a number of locations within each area to get the most properies covered for a reasonable cost. If a property is within 150m of these CBT based fibre access points there are unlikely to be any additional ECC costs over the normal install cost unless there are particular difficulties. We don't know yet how many properties will be within 150m of a fibre access point and how many will have to pay ECC's. We suspect that individual properities a distance from others may have to but no one will know until the infrastructure has been installed and a customer makes an order for a connection as Openreach are not communicative at all. We have found some information on ECC's and Openreach's ISP price list for these at:
Openreach has stated that it is possible for a customer to install their own underground ducting for Openreach to install a fibre. This may reduce costs sigificantly for those, like farms, set a way from the road with fields between. Information on the ducting requirements are at:
Hopefully the vast majority of homes and businesses will not have to pay ECC costs.
Access Speeds
Remember if you go for the higher end download speeds, you are only likely to see the speeds mentioned with a Ethernet cable connection unless you have a very good WiFi router with a very good signal level from where you are using a computer/devices. WiFi is notoriously slow when the signal level is low at a distance over > 5m or more depending on your premises construction type.
Also remember that the website you are accessing is likely to be a limited factor on the speed you will get especially if you choose one of the very high speed packages.
See the following to speed information. FTTP_Speed.