Hi everybody
FTTP has now arrived in our area at last, and I have ordered it as the FTTC service has seriously deteriorated over recent years. When I first signed up the download speed was a reliable 75 Mbs, but now (on a good day) the speed varies between 49-55 Mbs. I put this down to more interference on the line (I think a lot more end-users have signed up for FTTC since it first became available), and the fact there are aluminium sections between the house and the cabinet. BT swears there are no problem. So FTTP would be a godsend as I need it for working from home.
However I have reservations regarding the feasibility of actually installing FTTP to my house.
Firstly I should explain that the property is notionally a 4 bedroom detached house, but it is built on the side of a hill and so is of a peculiar design. From the front it looks like a 3 storey house, but from the rear it looks like a single storey bungalow. I won’t describe it any further – let’s just say it’s complicated!
The house is connected via BT ducting installed about 25 years ago (a long time after the house was first built) as part of an upgrade which covered the whole neighborhood. The duct to my house follows a very odd path which I discovered about 10 years ago. From the point of entry to the house, it travels about 2 meters due north, then turns due west and travels a further 1.5 metres. It then deviates again and travels about 15 metres due north to join the duct in the pavement. This zig zag route is necessary because of the design of the house coupled to some immovable objects in the garden. There seems to be lot of 90 degree bends.
The point where the cable exits the duct and enters the house may also present a difficulty. The cable runs 1.2 metres from the duct up the outside of the exterior wall and then enters the house where it is is directly connected into the rear of the NTE. The damp course of the house is 1 metres up the wall at this point due to the odd design of the property.
I forsee two problems: Firstly, the existing BT ducts may not be suitable for fibre (too many bends?); and secondly, the distance from the end of the duct to the highest allowable entry point into the house is in excess of the 770 mm permittted in the BT specifications for installation of a CSP.
I have tried to explain this to BT when I made the order, but they don’t seem to have any mechanisms for a dialogue with consumers who potentially may have a non standard installation. I was told there will be a 2 stage installation with the first stage on 16 September with a survey when apparently I do not have to be present. Well good luck with that as all the problem areas are behind a locked set of security gates.
I’m resigned to the second stage visit scheduled for 25th September (installation day) being a washout because the first stage visit will probably not identify the relevant issues. I just hope I’m proved wrong as I do need FTTP.