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Openreach Trial Ruggedised ONT for Non-Traditional UK FTTP Installs UPDATE

Friday, Aug 2nd, 2024 (8:03 am) - Score 10,800
Openreach-Ruggedised-ONT

Network operator Openreach (BT) has begun to pilot a new “Ruggedised” Optical Network Terminal (ONT), which is the optical modem that in a domestic installation of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based gigabit broadband ISP lines would normally be screwed to your inside wall. But this ONT is intended for “Uninhabitable Locations“.

The ONT / ONU or optical modem device is usually installed inside your home or office (wall hung), near to where the fibre optic cable physically enters your property, and its primary job is simply to take the optical signal and convert it into an electrical one that can be connected to your broadband router via a Local Area Network (Ethernet) port. The standard ONT is usually a very small single port device, although Openreach do have a multi-port option too.

NOTE: Openreach’s full fibre network currently covers 15 million premises and aims to reach 25 million by December 2026 (80%+ of the UK) – at a cost of up to £15bn. After that, there’s also an ambition to reach up to 30 million by 2030.

However, Openreach are about to begin piloting a new Ruggedised ONT modem, which will begin on 1st September 2024 and last for a full year. But this new device is primarily intended to help bring FTTP to “Uninhabitable Locations“, which really just means sites that aren’t a home or office/business and may be more exposed to the elements.

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The FTTP Uninhabitable Locations order journey has been developed to allow Communications Providers [ISPs] to provide FTTP connectivity to non-traditional end points such as CCTV cameras, bus shelter signs, electric vehicle (EV) charging points, lift lines, utility monitoring, etc,” said Openreach’s briefing.

Sites like those mentioned above might ordinarily be catered for by wireless solutions (e.g. 4G/5G small cells), but in some cases there may be a desire to use FTTP if the infrastructure is nearby – this requires an ONT that can cope with the worst of British weather. At the time of writing, we don’t yet have any pictures of what Nokia or ADTRAN might be offering for this (a request has been placed). But Openreach have probably just put a case around their existing ONT options.

The Pilot itself aims to confirm the viability of the new Uninhabitable Locations journey with Ruggedised ONT as well as confirm estimated costs to inform launch commercials. Speaking of costs, the connection charge to get one of these installed starts at £565 +vat and rises to £1,030, depending upon the type of install and service speed selected (details).

The high cost reflects the fact that this isn’t intended for the domestic market, and such installs may have unique considerations. But we can think of scenarios where complex home or office installs may also desire a sort of Ruggedised ONT, such as for certain exterior installations, which Openreach told ISPreview they are open to considering for the future.

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However, Openreach generally wouldn’t fix the ONT to the outside wall of a building without there also being a suitable protective enclosure (cabinet, pole or other). The Ruggedised ONT needs to be installed within an enclosure so that it is not directly exposed to climate conditions. The enclosure must thus have sufficient space to house the ONT, a Customer Splice Point and the related power and fibre cables feeding those two components.

UPDATE 10:27am

We’ve added a picture of the new ONT to the article and a bit of additional context above.

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Mark-Jackson
By Mark Jackson
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, BlueSky, Threads.net and .
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16 Responses

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  1. Avatar photo TheManStan says:

    Building sites where the portacabins will be moved around as the build progresses comes to mind.

    1. Avatar photo Big Dave says:

      Caravan Parks with owner residents maybe?

  2. Avatar photo alsenior says:

    Interesting choice for the ONT as the ADVA does not support GPON natively Either its a Openreach special or they are using a GPON SFP

    1. Avatar photo Jonny says:

      ADVA are now owned by Adtran so I presume there is some crossover of technology – the other explanation is that ADVA unit is the one used for rugged EAD so it’s possible Openreach have supplied the wrong information.

  3. Avatar photo Darren says:

    So if you order a service at home and they install one of these you know you should probably have a tidy up lol

    Can’t beleive they don’t already have something like this to be honest. I guess the times when one is needed are quite rare.

  4. Avatar photo Chris P says:

    Uninhabitable locations? Bradford and Luton?

    1. Avatar photo Clearmind60 says:

      No, you must mean the msm…lol

    2. Avatar photo Bubbles says:

      As a Bradford resident, this made me laugh

  5. Avatar photo Roger_Gooner says:

    An ONT fitted to the outside is nothing new as VM has installed many (some made by Boostral) for its RFoG and enclosed in an omni box. The ONT is backpowered from the inside via a coaxial cable.

  6. Avatar photo - says:

    Mark I think your pricing may be wrong, I understand it’s connection fee (including standard ONT) plus upgrade to ruggedised as needed. E.g 1,030 + 565.

    Can you confirm

  7. Avatar photo Jon says:

    Does the increased cost also account for OR accepting orders against unconventional/unknown addresses?

    It’s sometimes hard enough ordering against a Victorian building with a CBT next door, let alone ‘The bus stop on the B4184, Eastbound side, nearest the nobbly tree’

    Maybe it also accounts for getting a more specific install time, rather than hanging around for an engineer to show up whenever they fancy between 8-1 or 1-6? I’m not moaning at the individual engineers most of whom are sound, it’s the booking system to blame.

  8. Avatar photo Hancock says:

    So this is two years away then? BT/Openreach like to extend trials normally that’s all.

  9. Avatar photo Nick Roberts says:

    Don’t forget boys to install it somewhere where it is likely to catch the direct sunlight for the best part of the day, and better still, in direct line-of-sight of westerly rain bearing winds,and in-secure enough to encourage idle hands to have a fiddle. . . . . guarenteeing lots of engineer post-install rectification visits.

    Everyday is washing day round here with the number of unsecured roadside cabinet doors !

  10. Avatar photo Nick roberts says:

    Ruggedised plastic ? Hmmmm ?

    They’ve been taking lessons from a well-known German domestic electrical supplier B***H, whose Chinese manufacturer thinks that plastic parts in the thermal-over-boil protection mechanism in the bottom of a kettle that draws 3Kw is a good idea.Only a good idea if you wish for a Grenfell every week. Neo-liberal Cretins.

    Onward and Upward ?

    1. Avatar photo The withcher says:

      An ONT draws about 15w max. It’s not even a picture of a GPON ONT.

  11. Avatar photo curious says:

    Any indication on how this is powered? Assume it is the customers responsibility to ensure that it has a power connection?

Comments are closed

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