It's been 4 months and Open Reach STILL havent been to install broadband

[Npompey123]

I called in November for a new order to install broadband at our new house.

Ever since it's been an absolute bleepshow.

Engineers have given us no shows, or have showed up but couldn't finish the job due to 'not having the right equipment' or 'not having the qualifications to finish the job' or they just don't know what is wrong. I have had engineers show up and disappear with no communication about the outcome or what the next step is. And so far, every single time I'M the one having to call Sky to chase an update on what is happening. Because all I get on the my help requests message page are automated 'you will be given an update next week' EVERY WEEK. I'm fed up 

We have struggled to settle in our new home mentally and we are physically exhausted from having to go into the office every day because we don't have wifi setup at home. As a result we often end up staying at friends or family's homes when we should be spending quality time at our new home together and now this is really starting to affect our personal life. We went without broadband during the entirety of Christmas and New Year and now it's Spring.

To top it off after much chasing, Sky/Openreach are now telling me an engineer wont be able to visit until 13th April!!! Another month without internet!! And I'm not hopeful about the visit either because I worry the engineer sent on the day won't be able to finish the job like all the other visits we've had.

This is causing us high levels of stress at home and it seems like no one cares. I've called countless times and don't seem to be getting anywhere. This has taken so long. Make it make sense. Does it usually take this long to get new customers on board? Has anyone else had this experience? Could someone look into this asap please? At my wits end.

@jamesn123 
@Lisa-P1987 
@Addie15 
@Daniel0210 

[TimmyBGood]

@Npompey123 

I'd suggest that kind of delay (or longer) is unusual but definitely not unknown 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/mar/13/openreach-kept-us-waiting-nine-months-to-install-broad... 

Do you happen to know where the obstacle actually is? My guess is it's in FTTP provision.

[Npompey123]

@TimmyBGood 

It's so frustrating. We can't continue this way, what if we had children how are they supposed to study etc 

I don't know the exact details - another annoying thing to note, wish they would specify exactly what the issue is - but it is something that's providing difficult during an FTTP provision yes 

[TimmyBGood]

@Npompey123 

If you put your address into the BT Wholesale Availability Checker that should reveal some Openreach notes.

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL/AddressHome 

It's the information below the speed table which is most useful.

[Npompey123]

@TimmyBGood 

I'm in

What does this mean and how can it help me 

[Chrisee]

@Npompey123 the key line on the form is wbc FTTP which is a full fibre service to your home. In theory it should be a simple install as the checker shows a single stage overhead install which means running a connection from a pole which has the fibre distribution box to your house at a height not to cause a nuisance to traffic or pedistrians. They then run the fibre cable down thecwall to a point to fit a external connection box from which a cable is run to where you want the ONT unit and router fitted.

Therefore there is some issue which means that what in most cases is a job which takes an hour or two needs specialised kit such as a cherry picker vehicle.or similar. Issues can also be gettting permission to close a road to run the cable - trivial in a residential area with non-through roads but a bit more challenging if its a main through road. This page explains the process https://www.openreach.com/help-and-support/full-fibre-broadband-installation-checklist 

You will be due compensation as explained here Customer Auto-Compensation | Sky Help | Sky.com My own install took several months - it was a delay in getting underground cables run - and the compensation has given me some 6 months free service.

[TimmyBGood]

@Npompey123 

As @Chrisee says, 'single dwelling unit residential OH feed with no anticipated issues ' should be pretty straightforward, unless there's something else not reported there (such as an overloaded pole) or a local issue with equipment availability: could just be bad luck getting a cherry picker.

Our FTTP also took somewhere over three months to actually land, because it required a metre of pavement dig which happened to go past a lamp post.

[Npompey123]

@TimmyBGood 
@Chrisee 

thanks both for your insight - so the issue is still not specified in the video i sent? We dont know what the setback is?

engineers have come and gone, im at the stage where they've run it into the house but the light is red so they may have done all of the above already? They need to figure out why why that light is red - sorry i should have specified this 

the compensation is well and all but id rather pay for the service to have broadband!

can i asked what you both did while waiting for it to be up and running? Did you put any temporary measures in place?

[TimmyBGood]

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@Npompey123 wrote:

can i asked what you both did while waiting for it to be up and running? Did you put any temporary measures in place?

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Both @Chrisee and myself were getting an upgrade to existing broadband, so the previous service stayed in place (ours was 14Mbs ADSL).  As you've discovered, the system really falls down with delay in FTTP provision to a new address because ISPs typically won't pay twice for Openreach activation (which would almost certainly wipe out any profit on the account) and so there's no option to have FTTC in the interim.

[Npompey123]

@jamesn123 
@Lisa-P1987 
@Addie15 
@Daniel0210 

any joy on a reply or some insight? I still don't actually know what the hold up is or where the issue lies and I haven't been kept in the loop. Engineers seem to have come and gone without any explanation and now I'm worried the same will happen again at the next visit, which is another month. And we will have gone 5 months without any broadband.

[TimmyBGood]

@Npompey123 

Unfortunately Sky staff will only have the information which Openreach have provided.

@jamesn123 and @Daniel0210 are not Sky staff.