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Pole sharing question

Littlepace

Casual Member
Hi

This is a half follow up to my previous post about roadworks/fttp down my area.

Airband brought FTTP to my area last year. They were unable to connect my property because "They cannot use the same poles that SP/BT do". Fair enough. Had to cancel the order.

Today whilst I was out for a walk I had a look at the pole at the end of my lane with all the fibre cabling on. It had a Airband black (microphone looking thing) on it. But the pole was BT engraved. And the same pole that delivers our standard FTTC cable as far as I can tell. Why would they be able to use that pole but not the one down our lane that BT also use?

And on a slightly different note, if Airband is a seperate entity to Openreach, what happens when Openreach want to upgrade my area to FTTP. Airband are presumably using the poles they would've used. Do they stick cable on top of the same pole? Do they share the cable? Do they put up new poles entirely?

Thanks for any help.
 
Hi

This is a half follow up to my previous post about roadworks/fttp down my area.

Airband brought FTTP to my area last year. They were unable to connect my property because "They cannot use the same poles that SP/BT do". Fair enough. Had to cancel the order.

Today whilst I was out for a walk I had a look at the pole at the end of my lane with all the fibre cabling on. It had a Airband black (microphone looking thing) on it. But the pole was BT engraved. And the same pole that delivers our standard FTTC cable as far as I can tell. Why would they be able to use that pole but not the one down our lane that BT also use?

And on a slightly different note, if Airband is a seperate entity to Openreach, what happens when Openreach want to upgrade my area to FTTP. Airband are presumably using the poles they would've used. Do they stick cable on top of the same pole? Do they share the cable? Do they put up new poles entirely?

Thanks for any help.

There could be a defect on a specific OpenReach pole, there will usually be a noticeable "D" label on the pole. This means the pole is not safe to climb but might still be safe to use with a cherry picker. OpenReach will usually get these poles replaced but timings will depend on other priorities. This might or might not explain why a third party like Airband doesn't appear to be able to use one pole down your street.

ISPs will not share cables. Airband are paying OpenReach for access to the poles and ducts to be able to run their infrastructure to OR standards, so Airband avoid the cost of digging up the streets to install their own infrastructure.

When OpenReach come to install their FTTP they will run their own cables alongside what has already been done by Airband.
 
Hi

This is a half follow up to my previous post about roadworks/fttp down my area.

Airband brought FTTP to my area last year. They were unable to connect my property because "They cannot use the same poles that SP/BT do". Fair enough. Had to cancel the order.

Today whilst I was out for a walk I had a look at the pole at the end of my lane with all the fibre cabling on. It had a Airband black (microphone looking thing) on it. But the pole was BT engraved. And the same pole that delivers our standard FTTC cable as far as I can tell. Why would they be able to use that pole but not the one down our lane that BT also use?

And on a slightly different note, if Airband is a seperate entity to Openreach, what happens when Openreach want to upgrade my area to FTTP. Airband are presumably using the poles they would've used. Do they stick cable on top of the same pole? Do they share the cable? Do they put up new poles entirely?

Thanks for any help.
Interesting. Airband have installed using OR (BT) poles here with no problem... Like @plunet has mentioned, it could be a defective pole but it's more likely that OR have not granted them permission to use those poles. This is similar to WP (Western Power) who don't tend to allow Airband to use their poles.
 
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There's a bit of a difference between OpenReach and power distribution poles.

OpenReach are broadly required to facilitate access to their infrastructure to other licences telcos as part of PIA. Whilst there will be gotchas due to defects (blocked ducts, dodgy poles) generally most OpenReach infrastructure should be accessible after any remedial actions.

Power distribution poles are a different kettle of fish. There is no mandate to force the power distribution companies to share their poles. But much of it comes down to common sense and safety policies, if the poles can safely accommodate Telco infrastructure whilst maintaining enough space and separation from the power cables (and depending if they are insulated or not will influence things), and this is typically done on a pole by pole basis. They also need to assess that the telecoms equipment and cables will not compromise ongoing access to the electrical assets. All the telecoms staff who need access to power poles can pass the relevant power company training and a commercial agreement is formed then telcos can share power poles. It's possible but there's a lot more steps needed.
 
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