Is Openreach fibre checker wrong?

Heard rumours about people in our village being able to get fibre broadband.  I thought it was unlikely that we’d be able to since we’re right on the edge of the village and last time I checked the online checker the status was “Exploring options” – i.e. not a hope in hell in the foreseeable future.  So, I checked again and the status is still the same.

Here’s the odd bit though:  if I put in the postcode of a house down the road (only the last letter different to our postcode) then the status is “Accepting orders”.  Fair enough, I thought, we must be on a different cabinet. However, the online checker shows our address as being on the same cabinet as theirs!

What gives?  Are there sub-cabinets or something that mean people on the same cabinet can’t get the same service?

I don’t suppose you’re close to the exchange?

Our house is so close that we have no cabinet, which means we get good “ordinary” but can’t have fibre

Nope, the exchange is about 5 miles away and “ordinary” internet is piss poor!  The online checker gives a cabinet number, which is the same cabinet number as those that can order fibre.

hmmm, think I’d do a chat on their website then

They may have fibre to house while you are fibre to cabinet. ie copper to house. My postcode shows Fibre to house but that is to houses 5 doors down . Mine comes 5 miles across the common in an iron pipe. Extending the superfast broadband to my house and beyond would be “too complicated”.   Bastards!

FIbre to the house is very rare isn’t it? My old place had it (but not a fibre cabinet ironically).

As for the OP, yes it can be wrong, I wouldn’t try to rationalise it, typically it will sort itself out when the exchange is ready, also you’ll be approached by a load of ISPs offering fibre as soon on as it’s ready.

FIbre to the house is very rare isn’t it?

Probably. I mean to the nearest pole/ manhole junction box

It could be that you’re just that bit further from the cabinet that they won’t/can’t offer it to you?

For a few months it was accepting orders from our neighbours 150-200m down the road but not us. One day it changed so are paying fibre prices for 2mb. Which is about 3x faster than we had beforehand.

Have you tried other providers, such as TalkTalk or Sky, if your local loop is unbundled? Their checker may give a different answer.

Check what BT are offereing. If it’s saying they can provide fibre, while everyone else is saying not, then they will be offering FTTP. Although going with this does tie you to BT as no-one else is prepared to pay to switch you away from BT.

I signed up to a standard broadband deal with sky because they told me fibre was unavailable down my street.  I was “threatening” to cancel and move to another provider who could give me fibre, but they said I can’t have it anyway.  Got a cheaper deal and a new box etc’,  but if I’d checked the openreach thing beforehand (it just never crossed my mind)  I may well have gone elsewhere as it says fibre is available.

Is it worth complaining to Sky on the grounds they were talking sh!t, or is it just a waste of life waiting on the phone!!?

Openreach isn’t gospel – you can be ‘accepting orders’ on your cabinet and still not get any services offered by the ISPs. Are BT offering FBB to your postcode and phone number?

to quote BT

“Please note that the address checker is less accurate than the telephone number checker because the result is not based on an individual telephone line at the premises.”

http://www.dslchecker.bt.com

Not all houses in a postcode will connect to the same cabinet (or even exchange in extreme circumstances) so always use a phone number if you want accurate info.

Hmm, that shows we could have FTTP on demand.

Guessing that costs an arm and a leg though?

Not any more than their standard fibre broadband deal – the issue with it is that you won’t be able to switch to another mainstream provider when your contract ends, because the likes of Sky etc won’t pay to get you switched over at the exchange. You are stuck with BT, or you’d have to move to another smaller provider like Zen. This means there’s a possibility you’ll get price-gouged at contract-end. I’ve had no problems with the reliability of the service, although BT’s TV was a nightmare, and if you do have a problem, BT has just about the worst customer service around.

Just tried my number and it says WBC FTTC, WBC FTTP and ADSL/VDSL are available. what does that mean to a numpty like me? Can I get Fibre Broadband from other suppliers?

FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) is the one that you can swap around between ISPs on. You should be able to apply to a variety of suppliers to start your service.

Thanks martin

Hmm, that shows we could have FTTP on demand.

Guessing that costs an arm and a leg though?

Not sure I can agree with @martinhutch on this one – I’m almost sure ‘FTTP on demand’ is a fibre connection from an existing fibre exchange – AKA upgrading the ‘last mile’ from the exchange to the premises, it offers speeds of up to 1000Mbps (Fibre via Open Reach tops out at 74Mbps).

Price list is here:

https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/pricing/loadProductPriceDetails.do?data=0WyIM7tTGGgucFf0dXUIWK4XSAplAmgrRZNg5Pk%2B5%2F%2BkRgB7BL4KNYn%2FlKx2YB4Qe6YShZ82RgLOGLsH2e9%2Bmw%3D%3D

If you want 160 down and 30 up it’s a £92 connection fee and a £253 annual line rental which isn’t otherworldly, but it’s the install cost.  Which can be hundreds if your exchange is at the end of your road up to £6k if it’s 1500m away.

I doubt that includes the ISP fees, just the line.

When we install FTTP via a 3rd party it’s about £500 a month for 50Mbps with a 3 yearr min term.

Can I feel smug that even though I’m in the sticks and 1 mile outside the nearest village I’m just about to get Truespeed fibre of 200mbps up and 200mbps for £47 and no install charges. Will be faster than my brother in central London.

Not sure I can agree with  @martinhutch on this one – I’m almost sure ‘FTTP on demand’ is a fibre connection from an existing fibre exchange – AKA upgrading the ‘last mile’ from the exchange to the premises, it offers speeds of up to 1000Mbps (Fibre via Open Reach tops out at 74Mbps).

You are indeed correct – wasn’t aware that ‘on demand’ meant any more than BT or another ISP shelling out for installation.

You are indeed correct – wasn’t aware that ‘on demand’ meant any more than BT or another ISP shelling out for installation.

Cool, like a broken watch, I’m right about twice a day.