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Openreach FTTP rollout skipped my address - Need help in understanding their reasoning.

ajama13

Casual Member
Hi,

Apologies in advance for this lengthy post. Need your help in understanding Openreach's response to a query regarding fibre availability for my address. The entire road apart from a couple of properties now have access to FTTP via existing & newly installed poles. My next door neighbour is able to place an FTTP order but I cannot. I have provided a visual demonstration of the layout and the placement of poles.

MAP.webp


Believing that there is a mistake with Openreach and its database, considering the Fibre distribution point is literally across the road, I have queried this via the fibre availability customer form.

I have paraphrased what they have said, referring to the diagram above:

"I've looked into this and the neighbouring building you have mentioned (The buildings highlighted green in the diagram) is served overhead from a different distribution point than the row of houses your property is part of (these are served underground via a different piece of equipment)- unfortunately there is not sufficient capacity on the overhead equipment for us to move you over to it."

This doesn't make sense as I am on the same row at my neighbours. I am less than 10 meters away and the pole seems to have capacity for another FTTP Distribution point. I've seen poles with 2 FTTP Distribution points secured with a 'V' shaped backplate. It seems that they have made a conscious decision to skip my address and the reason provided stinks.

Can someone please help on what I can do next, as I am sick and tired of Virgin Media and its aging HFC infrastructure. I am out of contract in 9 months and would like to leave to an FTTP provider. There are no other FTTP providers in my area.
 
There could be many reasons as to why they have decided not to install another FTTP distribution point in the pole. There might not enough fibre to server more distribution points. The pole could be defective so it can't be climbed and needs to be replaced or a cherry picker used. The pole may have reached the max number of cables they can safely run, so it's not a matter of having another FTTP distribution point. Also when Openreach upgrades infrastructure they tend to keep the existing distribution method, someone has already done the math of figuring out the best way to serve the houses so why change it? While being the first house that can't get FTTP and having neighbours that can and the pole across the road might make you think you should be able to get it that's not really the case. I know it's frustating but there are many houses like yours left out in the current builds.

I suspect at some point Openreach will revisit the street and finish your house along with the others served via underground. In my case Openreach left my single pole without FTTP just because it was defective and needed a cherry picker. But as soon as Community Fibre ugraded our street including my pole they came back rushing to upgrade it too. Competition is just a beatiful thing...
 
Email chef executive of openreach direct and raise your concern,they have an executive complaints division ,that's what I did and now have fttp
 
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Yeah I would email the CEO, you might if lucky get it resolved, worse that can happen is they just still say no.
 
Email them back @ajama13 (not clive) and ask if there's any time frame for this to be resolved. This is a capacity issue rather than a blockage.

Pursuing Clive every-time something isn't to your liking isn't the way to go .
 
a different distribution point than the row of houses your property is part of (these are served underground via a different piece of equipment)- unfortunately there is not sufficient capacity on the overhead equipment for us to move you over to it."
This makes perfect sense.

Openreach's network distributes to the green buildings via poles, and to the red buildings underground. That's how the network was designed.

They have not gotten around to doing FTTP for the red part yet. That's their decision, based on resource availability, cost, repairs needed etc.

What they are saying is, they are not going to steal a connection for one of the green buildings, to serve your red building. That is also perfectly sensible. They even gave it some consideration as an option. However, if they did, then when all the green buildings want to take FTTP, one would not be able to. They said this explicitly ("not sufficient capacity")

I don't see any point in involving the CEO office here as you've been given an exceptionally clear and accurate description of the situation, and the CEO will back them up. Unfortunately, this means you need to wait until Openreach deploy FTTP to the red buildings. You will at least have the benefit of it being underground, which will be more reliable in the event of storms.

At every stage of FTTP rollout, it always has to end somewhere. It's very annoying for the person just beyond that boundary, but I'm afraid that's just how it is.

If they stole a connection from the green buildings to serve you, what would the next red building along think if *they* couldn't get FTTP?
 
If it helps.. when they surveyed our village for FTTP they wanted to move my underground fed property to overhead from the nearest pole.. almost exactly like the OPs diagram!

It isn't impossible for OR to suggest changing an underground fed copper property to being overhead when rolling out FTTP.

However.. they had incentive to do so for us, our copper was direct bury, no duct. So getting FTTP to us would have required digging up the driveway.
[Longer story: We ended up being underground fed anyway due to various reasons.. I'm glad! The pole over the road still can't order FTTP but underground properties have been able to order for 18 months now!]
 
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What does FTTP availability look like as that road continues? Have you been "skipped" or is it just a case of the rollout not getting to the ducted premises yet?
 
It doesn't really matter for the sake of this discussion.
  • If it's ducted, and the ducts are in reasonable shape, they'll likely use them
  • If it's DIG, then they'll likely put up new poles
Either way, FTTP build isn't underway for this area yet - otherwise the response from Openreach would have said so.
 
It must be underground whilst either side isn't for a reason - on a corner with a road junction, maybe vision related or other restrictions in placing a pole or even some "locals" don't want it. If it is DIG they are very likely to skip it and save it for when the low hanging fruit has gone - as they did me.
 
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Perhaps knowing what the detail of the current underground distribution is to the red properties might help. If it is direct bury then when OpenReach come back to revisit this gap in their distribution what are going to be the most economical options?

Underground ducts for the red houses? Obviously possible but a relatively high cost option for OpenReach compared to their usual preferred methods.

Is there any option for a pole either on the pavement on that corner or in the traffic island? If you get your neighbours on board for a pole and you could prove this to OpenReach they might be prompted to revisit you sooner.
 
It's the Openreach network planners' jobs to make those design decisions. I don't think they will appreciate outsiders volunteering their own suggestions, and I don't think it will get you served any more quickly.
 
What does FTTP availability look like as that road continues? Have you been "skipped" or is it just a case of the rollout not getting to the ducted premises yet?

As the road continues the availability is excellent (checked using think broadband broadband available and postcode spot checks on Openreach website)

My property is of a newer build (built in the 2000's) compared to others on the road built in the 70's,80's,90's etc. This from discussions I have had with surveyors (regarding another matter) stated that there should underground ducting for my property of my age.
 
It doesn't really matter for the sake of this discussion.
  • If it's ducted, and the ducts are in reasonable shape, they'll likely use them
  • If it's DIG, then they'll likely put up new poles
Either way, FTTP build isn't underway for this area yet - otherwise the response from Openreach would have said so.

I have seen significant Openreach activity from Mid 2023 till March 24 before then FTTP was not available in my area at all. The road which my property resides on had FTTP available since March 2024 and I have witnessed the poles being erected.

I think its the case the properties in red are right near a roundabout, and are restricted as to how to deploy FTTP. I just want to hear that from Openreach and would be happy to wait.
 
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It must be underground whilst either side isn't for a reason - on a corner with a road junction, maybe vision related or other restrictions in placing a pole or even some "locals" don't want it. If it is DIG they are very likely to skip it and save it for when the low hanging fruit has gone - as they did me.

100% agree on this and its fair but that is not what I got from the response from Openreach.
 
Perhaps knowing what the detail of the current underground distribution is to the red properties might help. If it is direct bury then when OpenReach come back to revisit this gap in their distribution what are going to be the most economical options?

Underground ducts for the red houses? Obviously possible but a relatively high cost option for OpenReach compared to their usual preferred methods.

Is there any option for a pole either on the pavement on that corner or in the traffic island? If you get your neighbours on board for a pole and you could prove this to OpenReach they might be prompted to revisit you sooner.

Would the developer of the propety provide that information?

Regarding the addition of a new pole, being sensible I would say considering the road is quite busy and its near a roundabout, an additional pole would not be wise. My issue is that I have seen poles with multiple fibre distribution pods.
 
Would the developer of the propety provide that information?

Regarding the addition of a new pole, being sensible I would say considering the road is quite busy and its near a roundabout, an additional pole would not be wise. My issue is that I have seen poles with multiple fibre distribution pods.
They aren't saying that the CBT on the pole is full they are saying you're served from a different distribution point and that that DP isn't enabled for FTTP. They start serving your properties they have to stop at some point as they can't reach them all from the pole across the way even if they add more CBT ports to it.

Where do they draw the line? They serve you and 3 other neighbours leaving the pocket of 4 uncovered or perhaps you and the 5 next to you leaving a gap of 2? They have to have an edge somewhere and shouldn't really keep making exceptions: it'll cause them problems later down the line.

You have access to 1100/110 with an XGSPON upgrade from VM coming in the next years: you aren't stuck on 4 Mbit and unable to have a Zoom meeting so could be a lot worse.
 
I think its the case the properties in red are right near a roundabout, and are restricted as to how to deploy FTTP. I just want to hear that from Openreach and would be happy to wait.
What exactly do you want to hear from Openreach?

They've told you what matters (i.e. they can't serve you from existing infrastructure). So apart from that, they'll do your property when they do it.

By Dec 2026 there is an 85% chance that you'll have it. It's hard to say whether the nearby FTTP makes your chances of having it higher than 85% (because it's already nearby) or less than 85% (because there were engineering difficulties that meant you were missed out in the first pass)
 
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