Openreach Preps New On the Day Upgrade for UK FTTP Lines UPDATE
Openreach looks set to introduce a new ‘On the Day Upgrade‘ (OTDU) product for Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband lines in September 2023. The trial product should enable engineers to complete more complex jobs inside the home on the same day, but the launch has been significantly delayed after ISPs raised concerns.
At the time of writing, we still know very little about the OTDU solution. But Openreach informs us that the current idea is to offer a service where their engineers can complete more complex jobs inside the home, for example where more cabling is required and a standard FTTP installation doesn’t fit the bill – all on the same day.
However, the product was originally due to be introduced in July 2022, but the Office of the Telecoms Adjudicator (OTA) said internet providers had “expressed their concern that industry had underestimated the scale and impact of this development and potentially on end customers.”
Openreach responded by changing (softening) the scope of OTDU and delaying its full introduction until September 2023. Suffice to say that OTDU is still very much a work in progress.
Side Note
The OTA also advised of an entirely separate FTTP issue, where Openreach had previously informed the industry that “where an ONT [the optical modem they install in your home] was seen as powered down during a remote activation order, Openreach planned to reject the order, starting from September 2022.”
Naturally, there could be lots of reasons why an ONT might be powered down (often rectifiable), and ISPs were unanimous that rejecting an order was not an option. An updated proposal on this is expected next month.
UPDATE 11:45am
Just to confirm, the final two paragraphs above are a separate issue from the OTDU one.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook and Linkedin.
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when i got my FTTP installed by Openreach, i had two appointments. First was to install and bring fibre to outside my house, then 2 weeks later another person came and borught the fibre into the house finised of the ONT… terrible way to install fttp, pretty sure other isps install quicker on same day like Community fibre or hyperoptic.
I guess it depends on how the service would need to be installed. Mine was all completed, from CBT, to CSP, to ONT on the same day within 2 hours – same for all the neighbours also. Most jobs will be relatively simple.
well the openreach lady that came to install the fibre into the ONT was confused on why the First guy did not do everything in one day, must of been a lazy worker lol
Our first appointment was a no-show, the reason (eventually) given was “engineer did not have stock of a long-enough fibre cable”. I presume it was a subbie – Kelly Communications or the like, as that seems the preferred process for 1st and 2nd visit. How true the lack of stock was, considering the appointment was a sunny Friday afternoon, I will never know.
For balance – having been on the engineer side of the transaction (IT not telecoms), I often find there’s something you couldn’t have planned for that means you have to go back to an install, occasionally you can get away with posting the missing part to the customer (usually something like a DP to VGA adaptor for their 20-yr old monitor that ‘still works fine’)
Some jobs are done in two steps, with the difficult external work completed first, then the provider is notified the installation job (the inside bit) can go ahead.
If they do the whole thing, more than likely you won’t get sync and end up in an argument with your provider/Openreach as to why it doesn’t work.
Just because the first step was done early, your instal/go live appointment date with your provider usually stays the same as there are back end profile swaps/activation orders booked.
The two step process can be better if there are issues getting the fibre to the house.
Mine was booked as a 1-step install. It should have been pre-roped but the team doing that failed. On the day the MJ Quinn guy spent about 30mins to get the rope in failed and left.
In my case it took another three visits from four Openreach engineers taking a total of 10hours to complete the install. Their records were wrong, the duct goes totally the other way to their records. It was finally roped after about 7hrs, then the team had to run in a 160m fibre to reach my allocated CBT port via a totally different route to the one indicated.
As a 1 step install my ISP had to pay compensation for the delayed install and if it had been a FTTC migration I would have had no service for the weeks it took to complete my install. Had it been a 2 step the final install date would not have been committed until the outside work was sorted, so no compensation and no risk of downtime.
I’ve noticed some altnets use 3 people, 1 at the POP, 1 to do the line to house and 1 to do the ONT.
Maybe Openreach is just being cheap/understaffed.
The more I hear about FTTP, both Alt networks and Openreach, I am glad I have decided to stay with FTTC.
In my case OR did it in 1 step, the guy just went to a nearby underground junction box(?) and fed the cable to my house through the duct.
My parents on the other hand needed a 2 stage for VM, the first to have the outdoor ‘brown box’ installed from the (poorly placed) tap in the street to their house, fortunately we got them to inspect the house ahead of this and get it installed as they needed.
Mine was installed in 2 stages which had to become one full install later
The did the cable from the manhole to house and left it sticking out of the ground. Some time in that 2 weeks a fox or badger came to the garden and chewed it and because it was in the hedge we never noticed, so on install day, 1 lad turned up, seen it, phoned for back up …… the cavalry arrived and within 1 hour they did the lot between 3 of them
It’s a moan I ordered full fibre and a telephone line on the bt essential contactin may,as I’m unemployed due to a serious accident and getting my leg amputated a number of year’s ago.
Basically I’ve not had any help whatsoever from BT even Openreach I’ve had Completion times but they come and go like the wind what’s going to happen next
Probably be deed by the time it’s finished. John
My FTTP is from overhead cables. The cherry picker arrived at the same time as the engineer. The whole installation took an hour!
My install was done in one go on one day by one engineer. Fibre jointer did the lot
I waa told laat year i could apply for FTTP and said yes straight away the hardware came and was informed at least 5times my fiber would be instLled the next day so far nothing i call my service provider who tells me just wait as i will be compensated for everyday…am not convinced
I recently got full fibre with sky openreach installed in 1 day and I live in a tenement flat in Edinburgh and I would have assumed that would have been harder install but was not
My first line install went very well, it only took an hour because I helped the guy with pulling that blue rope, and feed the inside round cable through the trunking. He did the splicing & screw the grew box outside, connection in the pavement and activating ONT. As long as there’s motivation and desire to complete the jobs I think its easily doable.
During the second line guy from kelly communications couldn’t do it and threw the whole thing in the long grass, until nearly a month later when another more experienced guy came and completed everything.