FTTP Installation

[#1]

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@merlin1 wrote:

... a connection box ca 0.5m from the ground.  Apparently it has to be mounted at this level as the fibre jointing machine cannot be carried up a ladder.  

 Ah, that makes sense but sounds ugly.

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WiFi not too good through solid walls.

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I have WiFi access points in our attic (Ubiquiti PoE) for each end of our house - our walls are thick and mostly stone, but WiFi goes through ceilings just fine.

[#2]

@Prologica 

It is perhaps unfortunate you've left it late in the day before considering options. Another thing not mentioned yet is OR will drill a couple of anchor points for their ladder - health and safety!!!

Although it's up to the engineer on the day I don't see how you'll end up with a satisfactory solution without running more cable.

One thing to consider is to install the ONT at a potentially suitable point. The get somebody in to run an external cable (another few holes in the wall!!!) up to the loft, bring it inside, cross the house and then back outside down to your office. This option would also allow the use of an ethernet switch in the loft to provide an ethernet cable to each of the WiFi access points.

~Brian

Lots of painting to do in the summer.

[#3]

Yes, to be honest I thought I had it sorted but should have bounced it off you guys sooner! 
my idea currently is to run the cable down from the anchor point, tight under the bedroom window sill and tight down the edge of the front porch canopy to the external box which can be on or just above the render skirt. From there the cable can run along the render skirt along the lower brickwork right around the side of the house, around a doorframe and hopefully through a new hole in the wooden porch support then up to an entry point at skirt board level in the upstairs bedroom/office. Then along the skirting board a short distance to the new ONT in the corner of the room (stud wall there). Is that likely to be reasonable for them? The cable is only a few cm above ground level at points (it’s a slightly sloping site). 
Do they give a choice of white or black cable?

thanks

[#4]

The engineer who did mine told me that a few weeks before he had dragged fibre through someone's loft to reach the required location.  So just ask what they can do.

[#5]

BTW you can get fibre extension cables too see https://www.htdata.co.uk/products/product-highlights/faint-fibre-outlet

[#6]

@Prologica 

I don't know whether it's still possible, but something which I don't think has been mentioned is to have the CSP (which you're referring to as the "external box") fitted internally, which would then mean it could go in an upstairs room if that would make things easier for you.

Mine was fitted internally with no objections from the installer after passing the 'external' fibre cable (old 2-stage Blown Fibre Tube type) through a conduit I'd pre-installed through the loft, down a chased out wall, then under floorboards.

Edit:  typo

[#7]

@Prologica 

At least you have options to consider when speaking to the engineer.

One thing not mentioned yet. If the router is moved downstairs then it might end up on a different power circuit. This might or might not affect the PowerLine plugs. The signal would need to go through the fuse box to change circuits. Your current units might not even work - apparently some do and some don't when changing power circuits. This is something you'd only find out after install.

Finally, consider changing the Hub2 WiFi SSID & p/w (if it's a new router) to that currently used - saves changing all your devices.

Brian

[#8]

Thanks. My Powerplugs already cross circuits and work reasonably well. There are momentary outages evident at the TV (flashes up “connection lost” then “restored”) but I’ve not gone to the bottom of the cause for that. Maybe I’ll try siting the WAP on the same circuit and in the bedroom above the TV, then see if the Wi-Fi signal is strong enough for the Smart TV. Perhaps even the extra bandwidth will ‘span’ any temporary outages, I don’t know.

[#9]

OR engineer on site now. A decent chap 🙏 He has agreed to run the cable around the brick skirt and around downframe and up to the bedroom/office. Apart from blowing a chunk of render out (too much force on drill I expect) he is doing a neat job, maybe as I'm out there observing. He's run 20-30 metres of cable from the CSP so may get charged for premium install which I think is extra £40 + VAT. I'll update later.

[#10]

One thing I don't know is, if a WAP is still required anyway in the house, will a configured ADSL router via Power line plugs still work as with copper or will that lose too much speed, or not work at all?

[#11]

@Prologica 

It will still work. As to speed, I suggest that you suck it and see if it’s adequate.

[#12]

If you use an old ADSL router as a WiFi Access point you must reconfigure it to turn off DHCP so that it does not start to issue competing ip addresses to equipment on your network.

[#13]

Thanks both, I will follow @Baldrick1 s guidance again re configuration. At the moment engineer is on the phone, I think there's a connection issue....

[#14]

Hi All,

An update on the install. As reported earlier OR engineer took cable externally as I suggested to the bedroom office.

first “grrr” was that he drilled from the interior not the exterior into the room, without measuring of course. First attempt he drilled into the rear porch canopy void. After measuring (at my suggestion) he drilled again. Result of over pressure on the drill was a 10cm diameter of tryrolean render (so hard to match in) was blown off. He then did a neatish job of running the cable around the exterior using 20-25 metres of the cable he’d allowed for. Then removed the old copper and brought fibre across from the pole. Then brown in down where the old copper had run, a soft turn under the window sill then down to near ground level at which point he realised he had not lined up sufficiently to the rhs of the CPS box so another soft curve to enter it. After splicing…no connection. Conversation with base…he went off to address a connection issue at a more distant pole. Returned…no connection.  Couldn’t find his ‘light tool’ with which I deduced he can test connectivity up the pole. Cue me standing by my mobile as he went up a distant pole (or maybe the street cabinet I don’t know) and as he switched connections I had to feedback readings from a device he’d left into which the optical connector had been connected…no change…no change…higher reading, then “LO”. Bingo says engineer and after a while returned to the house. Set up router. No wireless internet. He plugged in a laptop by Ethernet…full internet. He calls Openreach while I call Plusnet Engineer helpline. In the process i log into the router. The username is “setup@“, not my account details and it won’t let me edit them even in Admin mode. finally through to Plusnet, they say engineer has to close job then service will be up by midnight. Never been like that with fibre before he says. But closes job and is just getting into the van. Meanwhile Plusnet transfer me to tech team who say No, engineer has to change credentials at the router. Just manage to get engineer back and via Ethernet he is able to enter my credentials (via Ethernet he has access to disconnect button, can edit credentials and save them, not on Wi-Fi). Immediately I could access internet on my iPad.

testing around the house on different devices,I get c 70 mbps, a little lower 50ish on a 2.4ghz phone when more shielded from router. Will see how it goes and set up my old HH6 as WAP if needed.

thanks to everyone for your help!

[#15]

Unfortunately….the broadband connection is still dropping out at the TV. Buffering watching catchup then couldn’t watch at all. Testing Wi-Fi at the same time showed 70mbps. Our catch up TV is via an older entry level Youview box which has no Wi-Fi capability so we use it via power line adaptors. I’m thinking the issue could either be the YouView box, the power line adaptors being on two different power circuits, electrical interference?

When I have the energy post the stress of the install, I’ll try to remember/see if the TV itself has wifi capability and still has TV player apps (I really can’t remember!) to by pass the YouView box and adaptors.