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Do BT offer 'free' internet?

Tony Gamble

ULTIMATE Member
The resident who looks after the 'mechanics' of our block of 60 flats told me that:-

BT are putting in full fibre to the doorway of each of the 60 flats at no cost and each resident will get free high speed internet.

I find the free internet supply hard to believe.

Has my friend misunderstood the deal?

Tony

SW6
 
Nothing is free. Openreach may have made an arrangement with your management company/committee to install FTTP in your flats to replace the copper lines.

Residents will then have the option to choose a broadband ISP who use the Openreach network. Openreach will recover the install from them using standard charges. MDUs have their issues but it also means the cost of each premise is often lower for the network builder.
 
Free installation work to bring the fibre to the boundary of your property maybe. But definitely not free broadband service. They don't give it away for free.
 
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Most plausible outcome is likely free installation of the wires, and property owner pays the monthly and then provides it free to the tenants.
 
Also, Openreach is a very arms length company within the BT group - there is no way that BT would be permitted to use its retail division to assist Openreach (or the other way around, because people will choose the free BT internet over any other ISP available on the Openreach network)

Openreach does do a lot of free installs, particularly to new build estates where they can wire up as the build commences, so that seems far more likely. Ultimately they want to stop using copper and they need to get the fibre in, so they want to be as minimum cost and fuss to building managers/landlords/owners as possible
 
Thanks folk.

I was pretty sure my chum had got his wires twisted.

Not the first time but I felt a second opinion from ISPReview would be worth having.

T
 
Maybe don't correct them on this point until the fibre is installed, in case it leads to people changing their minds.

Most likely outcome is the proposal wording said something like "we will install full fibre at no cost to you" and someone has got their wires crossed about what this means.
 
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I very much doubt that you will get 'free' Internet connection. Providing Fibre to the flat doorways is a move to providing 'Digital Voice' to replace the wired telephone connection. Digital Voice uses the Internet (Protocols) to carry the telephone connections. Now that is the 'free' bit - well you still have to pay the telephone service charges.
 
Interesting Diver.

My 'expert' friend, who told me about the 'free' broadband, was unaware of digital voice and was 'surprised' that I still had a landline number for about a pound a month via a&a.

A bit to learn I feel............

T
 
I have seen some cases in MDU's where some level of internet access is "free", although "included" might be a better way of putting it since the ISP is being paid by the building owner/management company and thus presumably really it's coming out of the ground rent/maintenance charge.

It depends on the deal between the ISP and the building owner/management, but it usually includes something like the basic tier being included with discounted upgrades to higher tiers.
 
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I have seen some cases in MDU's where some level of internet access is "free", although "included" might be a better way of putting it since the ISP is being paid by the building owner/management company and thus presumably really it's coming out of the ground rent/maintenance charge.

It depends on the deal between the ISP and the building owner/management, but it usually includes something like the basic tier being included with discounted upgrades to higher tiers.
Altnets or BT?

Islington Council for example have worked with Hyperoptic, Community Fibre and G.network more recently to bring their networks into council owned homes for a few years now. Other London borough councils have similar programmes.
 
I very much doubt that you will get 'free' Internet connection. Providing Fibre to the flat doorways is a move to providing 'Digital Voice' to replace the wired telephone connection. Digital Voice uses the Internet (Protocols) to carry the telephone connections. Now that is the 'free' bit - well you still have to pay the telephone service charges.
(BT/EE) Digital Voice is not dependent on fibre to the premises. It can be and is supplied over FTTC. BT's PSTN closure target is not linked to Openreach FTTP coverage/takeup.

Nothing "free" about it. BT expects to be paid to provide the telephone service.
 
Altnets or BT?

Islington Council for example have worked with Hyperoptic, Community Fibre and G.network more recently to bring their networks into council owned homes for a few years now. Other London borough councils have similar programmes.
Mostly Altnets, but I can't see why it couldn't be done with BT if you can find the right bit of BT to deal with.
 
Mostly Altnets, but I can't see why it couldn't be done with BT if you can find the right bit of BT to deal with.
They key difference is that most Altnets are constructing their own networks, vertically integrated with their ISP retail business; making it far simpler and possibly better business for them to do this to incentivise take-up and hence improves their ROI.

As Openreach are (officially at least) arms length from the retail ISP operations of BT Group, then it would be interesting to see how they'd manage this in a commercial deployment scenario given that they are providing a level playing field to all their retail ISP customers served over their network.
 
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