{"id":48404,"date":"2026-10-14T14:29:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T13:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=48404"},"modified":"2026-10-15T13:37:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:37:23","slug":"openreach-to-test-customer-self-install-onts-on-uk-fttp-broadband-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/10\/openreach-to-test-customer-self-install-onts-on-uk-fttp-broadband-lines.html","title":{"rendered":"Openreach to test customer self-install ONTs on UK FTTP broadband lines UPDATE"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a potentially quite significant development. ISPreview has learnt that network operator Openreach<\/a> (BT<\/a>) are tentatively proposing to conduct a new Proof of Concept (PoC) trial, which in certain situations would allow end-customers to install their own Optical Network Terminal (ONT) on FTTP<\/a> broadband lines and to also connect the PSU (power supply).<\/p>\n

The ONT (or optical modem) device is usually installed inside your home or office, near to where the fibre optic broadband 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 then be connected to your broadband router via an Ethernet (LAN\/WAN) port. The standard ONT is usually a very small single port device for one FTTP<\/a> line.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> Openreach<\/a>\u2019s full fibre network currently covers c.24 million UK premises and is expected to reach 25 million by December 2026 (c.81% of the UK) \u2013 at a cost of up to \u00a315bn. After that, there\u2019s also an ambition to reach up to 30 million by 2030, but the build plan for the 2026-2030 period has yet to be announced.<\/div>\n

At present it is the engineer\u2019s job to install a new ONT, which makes sense given the work and safety aspects involved (drilling, digging, handling an optical cable with laser light etc.). But sources have informed ISPreview that Openreach<\/a> have begun exploring interest in a new Proof of Concept<\/strong> (PoC), which would enable customers to install the ONT when it only involves a Box Swap<\/strong> service (i.e. replacing an existing \/ older ONT with a new model).<\/p>\n

The information suggests that Openreach are proposing to conduct a 3-month long PoC of this approach, which would start at some point before the end of 2026 (calendar) and probably only involve up to around 200 orders (subject to demand). Selected customers offered this option would be those upgrading from an older Nokia ONT on 1Gbps (or slower) lines and moving to a faster multi-gig tier (1.2Gbps or faster), which often requires a new ONT on older full fibre lines.<\/p>\n

The trial area would encompass most of the UK, except Northern Ireland, but is obviously restricted to only a small number of orders (i.e. you shouldn’t expect to be offered this by your ISP – it’ll be an invite only basis). The primary goal is naturally to see how customers handle such a DIY deployment and whether they’re able to connect the service correctly. Welfare\/telecare customers and those without good mobile service will naturally be excluded.<\/p>\n

The expectation is that customers who do take part won’t have any connection\/regrade charges to pay, although upgrades like this will attract a longer lead-time (c.2 weeks) in order to enable the new ONT to be posted to the property (house\/business). In theory, if<\/em> they can make this work, then it could save time and money on engineers, as well as some costs for end-users.<\/p>\n

The flip side is that not everybody will have to basic DIY skills needed to install an ONT properly on the wall (we think a plug-n-play approach to future casing or slot-on wall brackets might help here – just our idea). But we half expect that some of those taking part might just leave the ONT to sit on the floor instead and connect it up from there (higher risk of dirt disrupting the optical signal etc.). Either way it’s an interesting idea and we hope it does progress to a proper trial.<\/p>\n

UPDATE 15th Oct 2026 @ 1:32pm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Openreach has informed us that they won\u2019t be asking trial users to do any drilling \u2013 there will be absolutely no tools required. The operator also remarked that many of their FTTP<\/a> provisions today don\u2019t need an engineer visit (i.e. they already have approaching 12 million ONTs out there), but ISPs do have the choice of requesting an engineer appointment.<\/p>\n

On the trial itself, Openreach confirmed the following details:<\/p>\n