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Openreach has no build plans - switching ISP?

Retty

Member
Openreach for my address seems to have dropped build plans to be completed by 2026. The availability checker states that there are now no build plans.

I've been very happy with Zen as my ISP for fourteen years but Toob has just installed a cable network in my road and, for about the same price as Zen, I can have a service that is twenty three times faster with a static IP.

What I'm struggling to understand is why and how Openreach can arbitrarily change plans given that it has been tasked with full fibre rollout. I understand that it is a profit making business but if so many ISPs rely upon Openreach telephone lines and fibre, isn't there industry pressure on Openreach to prevent loss of customers to companies like Toob?

Whilst Toob was laying cable I made a cup of coffee for Openreach engineers who were fixing a fault outside my house. One of them explained to me that it was probably *because* Toob was laying fibre cable that Openreach had decided not to. He also explained that Openreach will tolerate only a very low cost per install - much lower than Toob - and that if digging to lay duct is required I could basically give up on Openreach. He explained that my telephone cable isn't ducted and was just stuck in the ground and covered with soil/rubble and so digging with a cost above £300 (which I think he said is the Openreach cut-off) would be required.

It looks as if it's sensible for me to leave Zen even if I'll lose my landline and have to pay for an IP line from another provider.

But is it worth waiting - even a year - to see if the Openreach build plans change again?
 
Openreach for my address seems to have dropped build plans to be completed by 2026. The availability checker states that there are now no build plans.

I've been very happy with Zen as my ISP for fourteen years but Toob has just installed a cable network in my road and, for about the same price as Zen, I can have a service that is twenty three times faster with a static IP.

What I'm struggling to understand is why and how Openreach can arbitrarily change plans given that it has been tasked with full fibre rollout. I understand that it is a profit making business but if so many ISPs rely upon Openreach telephone lines and fibre, isn't there industry pressure on Openreach to prevent loss of customers to companies like Toob?

Whilst Toob was laying cable I made a cup of coffee for Openreach engineers who were fixing a fault outside my house. One of them explained to me that it was probably *because* Toob was laying fibre cable that Openreach had decided not to. He also explained that Openreach will tolerate only a very low cost per install - much lower than Toob - and that if digging to lay duct is required I could basically give up on Openreach. He explained that my telephone cable isn't ducted and was just stuck in the ground and covered with soil/rubble and so digging with a cost above £300 (which I think he said is the Openreach cut-off) would be required.

It looks as if it's sensible for me to leave Zen even if I'll lose my landline and have to pay for an IP line from another provider.

But is it worth waiting - even a year - to see if the Openreach build plans change again?
Where I used to live in North Staffordshire we were on BT's roadmap for FTTP for 2025/26. An Altnet rolled out and they suddenly changed plans, like your area they completely cancelled them.
 
They havent been tasked with a full fibre rollout as far as I am aware, its a commercial decision for them.

A guess from me given what you reported is OR FTTP will not be available within 12 months, so if you want the speed, move to Toob, then you have the option of moving back later if OR change their mind again.

There is nothing special about OR, yes they have been around a long time, but otherwise they just one of now multiple providers.

You might be able to keep Zen, Zen sell over CityFibre, and Toob and CityFibre have a deal to share each other's infrastructure, however according to the AAISP website, it is not yet possible to order CityFibre over Toob FTTP, but regardless try asking Zen to see if they offer the option of providing service over the Toob cables.
 
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