Preparing for Fibre Connection

[#1]

I have been reading the thread on Master Sockets and feel it may be worth me doing some preparation for when Fibre arrives. We alreadyhave the cabinet installed down the road, plus the fibre cable has been run to the pole just 4 metres from our house. So close but so far! I expect those 4 metres will take another 6 months to bridge, but when they finally come, my existing master socket is tucked in the far corner of the attic, which I guess was the nearest place to where the wire form the pole comes in. This part of the attic is not boarded, plus no head room near to where roof meets floor so a real pain to reach.
I really would like the master socket to be in my office, which would be around 21 metres away. But it would have to be run from the existing master socket accross the attic to the rear of the house then along the back of the house (still in the attic) then out and 2 metres down the outside wall and along another 2 metres and into my office by drilling through the outside wall. I cannot see BT doing this when they come, so could I prewire this, then ask for the new socket to be my designated master socket. If so, bearing in mind a small portion of the cable would be running up an outside wall, what cable should I use. At the moment the telephone point in my office is supplied via an extension lead that plugs into an existing socket, so I am keen on doing away with this anyway, so will be usefull even before fibre arrives as I will be able to plug the phone and router into the new socket.

[#2]

Your comment about the fibre making it to the pole 4m away from the house suggests that you're getting true fibre - FTTP. Is this right?
If so, then the fibre won't need to go anywhere near your existing (copper) master socket. The fibre just gets wired to a jointing-box on the outside of your house (or inside an external comms panel, if your house was built with one), and then spliced into a fibre that runs into the house, and directly into the fibre modem.
This thread over at TBB has pictures, where the house has an external comms panel.

[#3]

It does sound like FTTP.
But if it is FTTC, then your plan sounds perfect i.e. pre-install an extension socket exactly where you want the new master socket to be. For cable, use external-rated cat5 (it is cheaper and easier to get hold of than external-rated telephone cable). I bought mine from a seller called golfgifts4you on ebay; you'll need a longer length than I did so may be able to buy cheaper elsewhere.

[#4]

The contractor installing the fibre up the pole confirmed we were getting a connection to the house.
I was thinking the telephone would come over the same connection, so the phone stays on the same connection and the broadband on the fibre/cat5.
I have no experience of this so what would I put on each end of the cable, i.e. in the attic where the fibre will come in and in my office where I will plug the router in.
I presume in the office it will just be a wall socket with a RJ45 connector.

[#5]

If it really is FTTP, and it does sound like it, then the new fibre connection is additional to your existing telephone line. After FTTP installation you will have a new, fibre, line in to your house which will carry your broadband. Your existing telephone line will remain in use for telephone only. You may be able to get the new fibre connection routed to wherever you want it (and there is no point in messing about with phone extension sockets - for broadband anyway).
If you want to add a new extension socket (because you are actually getting FTTC, or because you don't like the current phone extension) then you need to run a new cable, and it may as well be cat5. This can be permanently connected to the master socket at one end, and the new extension socket at the other; you don't need or want any kind of plug on it but ideally you will need a punchdown tool to make the connections (cheap).
In your case I wouldn't actually do anything until I knew what service would be available and when it would be available from. FTTP is currently still a trial in, I think, the Milton Keynes area only. The wider rollout of FTTP has been delayed; I'd also want to know, when it is properly launched, what the installation options actually are i.e. how flexible are BT in routing the new fibre connection. So I wouldn't want to be first even when FTTP is properly launched.

[#6]

Hi
Just to clarify, back in February 2010 Dave Tomlinson stated:
"The FTTP trial is being limited to 2 exchanges initially Bradwell Abbey in Milton Keynes and Highams Park in north London."
I one of the fortunate few to be on the FTTP trial in Milton Keynes and have been since November.
Cheers
Howard

[#7]

Quote from: Chris

I was thinking the telephone would come over the same connection, so the phone stays on the same connection and the broadband on the fibre/cat5.

Eventually, the voice connection will be over fibre, but BT's trials of this are even further behind that the FTTP data service.
For now, data will come over the (new) fibre, and voice will come over the (existing) copper.

Quote from: Chris

I have no experience of this so what would I put on each end of the cable, i.e. in the attic where the fibre will come in and in my office where I will plug the router in. I presume in the office it will just be a wall socket with a RJ45 connector.

Your voice connection won't change at all, so will come into the same socket in the attic, and you will no longer have a modem or router plugged in to the copper connections that you have, in either the attic or the office.
When fibre is installed, the fibre will be led from the pole, to the side of your house somewhere. There will be some form of external splice box installed. You will get a hole drilled in the side of the house, and the fibre will lead through there, directly into the fibre modem. It will be fibre all the way into the modem - no wall socket, and no RJ45  - or RJ11, or phone socket, or filter, or splitter. The fibre *might* look like it is coming out of a socket, but might just poke through bare plasterwork - its really only aesthetics
In addition to the modem, you will also have a router. The two boxes together will do the job that you existing single-box ADSL modem/router does today, and will be connected together using RJ45 ethernet cable.
Photo of an external splice box: External Fibre Work
Photo of internal fibre modem: Internal Fibre Modem
Another Plusnet Customer's FTTP Install, with Photos: Thread
Diagram of the network architecture BT will employ for FTTP. Small inset diagrams in the bottom right & bottom left show the external splice points when fibre arrives at the house: Click on bottom image on this page

[#8]

Quote from: WWWombat

Quote from: Chris I was thinking the telephone would come over the same connection, so the phone stays on the same connection and the broadband on the fibre/cat5. Eventually, the voice connection will be over fibre, but BT's trials of this are even further behind that the FTTP data service.

Very much doubt that it will be fibre to the house for telephony as it will mean that all existing telephony equipment will not work. Unless a box of tricks is used where the fibre enter the house then this will require power and what will happen if there is an extended power cut?

[#9]

Quote from: itsme

Very much doubt that it will be fibre to the house for telephony as it will mean that all existing telephony equipment will not work. Unless a box of tricks is used where the fibre enter the house then this will require power and what will happen if there is an extended power cut?

Those are essentially all the reasons behind what the trials is about: A box of tricks, existing equipment, power, power failure, and the ability to transfer voice over a cordonned-off bit of the IP network (a separate VLAN). The last part is what 21CN is doing within BT's network (for the voice part), so BT are already aware of some of the problems & solutions.
I agree that in the short term, BT are unlikely to suddenly remove copper from existing sites... but they certainly are in a position to *only* install fibre in new greenfield builds. I think that is the position in Ebbsfleet - no copper. They're still under the obligation to provide voice services, so there needs to be a solution for those properties at least.
Take a look here and here
In the long term though, as fibre becomes a bigger part of the picture, you have to figure that BT will only want to service one access network (at least in certain aeas), and will want to remove dependencies on the copper. A long distant view, but eventually...

[#10]

Sorry but I don't want several units screwed to the wall costing me money for electricity just to provide me a telephone system. These should be in a street cabinet so the cost fall to the telephony supplier with just ups per cabinet and not several hundred ups.

[#11]

Except, in a fibre world, there aren't any cabinets. And if it were pure fibre, there'd be considerably fewer exchange buildings too.
It is noticable that the biggest headache in planning for FTTC is the power aspect.
Edit: Errr... and, of course, power can't be transferred down fibre. No point in providing *any* power in a manhole or cabinet, as it can't get to the house.

[#12]

Quote from: WWWombat

Except, in a fibre world, there aren't any cabinets. And if it were pure fibre, there'd be considerably fewer exchange buildings too.

Why do you believe there will be no cabinets for fibre.

[#13]

Cos BT don't think they need any...
Compare the two diagrams on this page. They came from a BT PDF, but I can't find the link to that at the moment.
Everything is connected in manifolds & splitters that sit under the manhold covers at street level. Photos here.

[#14]

I just looked on Epyons spreadsheet for the fibre rollout  and this is my entry:-
SAU_ID Name Postcode SAU_NODE_ID Exchange Only Flag Percent Lines Uplift Phase Deployed FTTC or FTTP
LWASH ASHFORD, MIDDLESEX TW152QS   {LWASH}{p7} 0 100 2.36 5b Yes FTTP
I have to admit I did not notice them install the cabinet even though it is larger than the old one just next to it. But noticed them pulling cables through the underground conduits a few weeks ago then about 2 weeks ago  I saw  a man the other side of my bathroom window (1st floor) in his cherry picker, I realised they were installing the fibre to the pole and speaking to the conractor he confirmed it was FTTC.
The telegraph pole is 4 metres from the front corner of my house, so I guess they will use the same route into the house for the fibre, so my problem will be to get them to run it into the front of the house then accross to the back of the house and along to where the rear extension is that houses my "office" as it will then need to go out and about 4 metres of wiring externally to go into the exterior office wall.
I wonder if they have a maximum length of cable they will lay, as I could predrill the holes so it should not be too difficult to achieve if they are willing.

[#15]

Quote from: Chris

I realised they were installing the fibre to the pole and speaking to the conractor he confirmed it was FTTC.

Did you mean FTTC?