ONT location without wall power socket

[hgwv]

Hi, a relative would like to order full fibre broadband and they know where they would like the ONT situated. The problem is, there is currently no wall power socket there.

They can get an electrician to fit one, but they are unwilling to do so until the they know the fibre engineer will agree to the ONT location.

Is there any way to confirm the suitability of the ONT location so that they can proceed with a wall power socket prior to ordering full fibre?

[TimmyBGood]

@hgwv 

That typically depends on how reasonable the location is: installers basically just want an easy life.

It helps to know where the external fibre is going to land on the building because that locates the external CSP enclosure.

From there the ONT has to be within reach of a standard fibre pigtail, entering through a new aperture and potentially running round an internal wall (but not through any internal walls)

[hgwv]

@TimmyBGood I understand that, and I believe the location is reasonable. But specifically, how can they get this confirmed so that they can proceed with a wall power socket installation?

[TimmyBGood]

@hgwv 

I suspect there's no way to do so: Openreach doesn't carry out any pre-installation assessment visit unless complex external work is required.

Putting the address into the BT Wholesale Availability Checker should indicate which provisioning type is applicable.

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

It's the table and the two text lines below it which are most useful.

Remove any personal information (such as the address itself) if you post an image.

[hgwv]

@TimmyBGood thanks, here is a screenshot of the availability checker results.

[TimmyBGood]

@hgwv 

The key information is 'UG partial Direct in Ground' 

That means the existing copper cable is directly buried and so digging (and probably a new duct) will be required to lay an optical bearer.

This often leads to delays beyond the initially promised activation date, or a long lead time.

[hgwv]

@TimmyBGood , ok, so what if they placed an order, waited for an engineer to confirm the viability of the ONT location, cancel the order at that point (due to lack of wall power socket), get an electrician to install wall power socket, and re-order the broadband?

Would there be any potential cancellation charges in this scenario?

[TimmyBGood]

@hgwv 

Given the nature of the installation there might well be digging teams involved well before a fibre installer arrives on the scene, and in those circumstances Openreach might well be upset about a cancellation.

[hgwv]

@TimmyBGood , so we are at an essentially unresolvable catch22 situation, which is disappointing.

[TimmyBGood]

@hgwv 

Unfortunately there's no good solution: realistically the budget which Openreach allocates to each property and the timescale of the national optical deployment just doesn't facilitate in-person consultation on internal arrangements prior to installation.

[TimmyBGood]

@hgwv 

The same is going to be the case when an order is placed with any Openreach ISP.  My suggestion would be to book the installation, negotiate ONT placement on the day of the internal work and then if necessary use a trailing extension cable (which would need to be sourced in advance) for initial activation, with an electrician booked retrospectively if required.

Note that some additional care would be required for electrical installation in the vicinity of the optical cable.

[TomThumb5ive]

@hgwv  Could the power supply for the ont be supplied via a mains extension lead ?

even as a temporary solution until a permanent power supply point is installed.

Tom...

[hgwv]

@TimmyBGood & @TomThumb5ive that's certainlly do-able, would the engineer be agreeable to connect the ONT to a trailing power socket? i.e. it's not madatory to be connected to a wall mounted socket?

[TimmyBGood · Accepted solution]

@hgwv 

A trailing socket would be acceptable under those circumstances (or indeed more generally) : it doesn't affect ONT performance.

[hgwv]

@TimmyBGood Ah, I will put this solution to them, thank you (both) for the help.