Just upgraded to BT full fibre

[TheLyppardMan]

I finally had the engineers round today to finish the changeover to BT's full-fibre service (I've only had a temporary internet connection for the past three weeks as the service from my previous provider (Plusnet, which is a subsidiary of BT) was terminated prematurely, so I've had to rely on the "mini hub" that BT provided to keep me going (a pretty-impressive device really, considering how small it is, but the main drawback was because my NAS is wired to my RT-AX88U and so I had to keep disconnecting the mini hub every time I wanted to access files on the NAS, including video and music video files which I like to stream to my TV via an Amazon Fire TV stick).

Anyway, as far as today's installation went, there were/are some good and not so good points. The good points are that I am getting excellent speeds at the router and the finished job is nice and neat. The not so good - they turned up more than an hour earlier than scheduled, so it was lucky I happened to be in, but the worst part is that they only attached the ONT to the wall with one wobbly screw, so I've stuck four little pieces of blu tack on the back and it's now quite firmly fixed to the wall.

 

[TheLyppardMan]

And if you want a laugh, have a look at the size of the postal bag they have provided for me to return the mini hub now that it is no longer needed.

 

[PeterR]

Welcome to the 21st century!

 

[TheLyppardMan]

One other thing I need to do is put some basic protection around the fibre-optic cable outside as it currently passes through a corner of a flower bed and being black, is almost invisible. I might use a short length of white plastic trunking as I already have some of that and it would remind my wife, who is the senior gardener in my household, to avoid that part of the garden.

 

[elorimer]

150/30? I thought fiber was usually symmetric.

 

[PeterR]

Most plans are asymmetric here.

 

[TheLyppardMan]

I'm uploading a screenshot of BT's Full Fibre speed guarantees and a screenshot from my router's GUI showing how my speeds have increased dramatically since the Plusnet FTTC was terminated on 24th November and then restored by BT on 14th December.

I've also made some improvements to the installation. I needed to make some repairs to the internal wall to make it look a bit better after much changing of internet equipment over the years, so I decided to remove the ONT from the wall, switch it off and cover it up to protect it from dust and paint splashes. Then I set about removing the single wobbly screw mentioned above and replacing it with two proper fixings, using rawlplugs, before fixing the ONT back on the wall (I left the blu tack on the back for extra support), so it's a much better job now I think. Finally, I found a short length of plastic trunking in my loft space, so I've run the most vulnerable part of the fibre optic cable through that, right down to where the underground trunking terminates below the flower bed and being white, it's presence is much more noticeable for when the garden needs any attention. Happy now.

 

[TheLyppardMan]

And if you want a laugh, have a look at the size of the postal bag they have provided for me to return the mini hub now that it is no longer needed.

I phoned BT again this morning, as I wasn't sure that the address on the huge mailing bag was correct and I was once again told that I didn't need to return the mini hub, despite a note inside the parcel saying that it did need to be returned once my full-fibre broadband had been installed and that I could keep it as a backup, so I've decided to wait until they actually ask for it to be returned and if they do so, I'll ask them to confirm the recipient's address at that time.

 

[plush19]

920/920 symmetrical internet here, using RT-ac86u with WRT-Merlin 386.3_2

 

[Donga120]

Me too. I was on 300/30 (I think) but I’m now on 900/110. Would like 900/900 but BT don't offer it.

 

[adrenalize]

I'm uploading a screenshot of BT's Full Fibre speed guarantees and a screenshot from my router's GUI showing how my speeds have increased dramatically since the Plusnet FTTC was terminated on 24th November and then restored by BT on 14th December.

I've also made some improvements to the installation. I needed to make some repairs to the internal wall to make it look a bit better after much changing of internet equipment over the years, so I decided to remove the ONT from the wall, switch it off and cover it up to protect it from dust and paint splashes. Then I set about removing the single wobbly screw mentioned above and replacing it with two proper fixings, using rawlplugs, before fixing the ONT back on the wall (I left the blu tack on the back for extra support), so it's a much better job now I think. Finally, I found a short length of plastic trunking in my loft space, so I've run the most vulnerable part of the fibre optic cable through that, right down to where the underground trunking terminates below the flower bed and being white, it's presence is much more noticeable for when the garden needs any attention. Happy now.

Which engineers did the installation - MJ Quinn, Kelly's or Openreach? It is a shame they left the outside quite untidy - AFAIK the DexGreen CSP (the new optical junction box on the left) is actuallly designed to fit at the top of the capping 25a - the old grey duct/cover in place of the old top cover (cover 101a) - they could have then run the incoming fibre in the capping. I know they often then have a habit of running the internal lead in along the wall a bit as often the old phone socket is directly behind where the old cable enters the property so impractical to come through there. I see a lot of pictures posted of some quite poor installs which is a real shame, fingers crossed when I get to the time for FTTP upgrade.

 

[TheLyppardMan]

It was Kelly's.

 

[TheLyppardMan]

I decided that I wanted to add a UPS for the new ONT and I found the following on Amazon, which seemed to fit the bill and which had dropped in price recently:-

• Mini UPS to ensure power continuity for connected equipment during power outages. An affordable and compact UPS providing power to Internet routers, IP cameras, Home assistants and Smart controllers
• 4 output connector types to adapt to your equipment requirements(3.5x1.5mm / 4.75x1.7mm / 5.5x2.1mm / 5.5x2.5mm)
• Lithium-ion batteries enabling runtime from 40 minutes to more than 5h
• Power rating 36W - Possible output voltages: 9/12/15/19 V DC
• Super compact, silent and stylish design - Dimensions: 95.5(L) x 30(H) x 136(P) mm

It arrived this morning and I installed it straight away (more or less). Initially, I wasn't too happy with how it looked after I had replaced the BT power unit with the UPS (see the first photo of the ONT). Also, the plug from the UPS was a little bit wobbly when plugged into the bottom of the ONT and being black, looked ugly as well, so after considering my options for an hour or so, I came up with a plan to cut the low-voltage wire from the BT ONT plug and connect it to the low-voltage lead from the UPS. Rather amazingly, I had everything I needed from leftovers of previous DIY projects, including a correct-size cable clip and rubber grommet for the cover plate and I even managed to make fresh use of the original back box for the BT master socket to hide the connections between the two low-voltage cables. The second photo of the ONT shows the much-improved situation.

The trickiest part was to work out how to connect the BT cable to the low-voltage lead coming from the UPS, as I couldn’t just cut it as that would have caused a short circuit and probably blown it up, or at the very least, stopped it working. The secret is hidden in the back box below the ONT, where the incoming black cable mysteriously changes into a white cable!