Mikey_1980 Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 I think it must be the luck of the draw as to who you get turn up to install it, ours comes across the road down the electricity pole and then through the ducting I laid from the electricty pole to the centre of the hallway through the slab. I leftba draw string and he just pulled a the cable all the way through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 7 hours ago, Nickfromwales said: Why don't you get them to connect it any old way with a bit of slack, eg say the connection is going in the attic bedroom. Let the massive thunderbulbs connect it and bugger off. Then yank it back out and fish it in through the duct / wherever. Simples. They are a bunch of awkward useless idiots, more so on the admin / logistical side than the guys on the ground, and were responsible for 99% of the problems we had when installing new business telephone systems. That included leaving solicitors and doctors surgeries without incoming calls / no connection ( when converting from analogue to ISDN etc ) at all for 24hours or more etc and really not caring about it. They're a bloody nightmare. Let them come, do their usual crap, and leave. Then you redo it your way. . Yeah, if I can figure out a way to do that, then I'm tempted. I use the mobile phone in the house and it doesn't seem any different to outside and I can use the cordless in the house from the bungalow next door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 5 hours ago, Mikey_1980 said: I think it must be the luck of the draw as to who you get turn up to install it, ours comes across the road down the electricity pole and then through the ducting I laid from the electricty pole to the centre of the hallway through the slab. I leftba draw string and he just pulled a the cable all the way through. How long ago did you get it installed? It's the Openreach surveyor who won't allow connecting up the existing underground duct, I laid, to new duct to the pole on the other side of the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey_1980 Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Our line was instaĺled 6-8 weeks ago, the guy turned up asked me where ai wanted it, showed him the duct and off he went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 The foot soldiers are usually just drones tbh, and dependant on which one you get you can just direct them accordingly. Usually tea and biscuits to start can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldwidewebs Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 On 13 June 2016 at 20:34, worldwidewebs said: Is this the right link to start the process off (Openreach), or do you initiate it through BT first? https://www.formwize.com/run/survey3.cfm?idx=505d04010e0f00 Can anyone confirm if this is the right form? I've taken a look through it seems to be targeted at developers (companies) rather than self-build - this may or may not be a problem! It's also asking about things like lift-lines - any idea what these are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey_1980 Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 I filled that form in but never heard anything and Open reach were a complete pain. Have you had a phone line on the site. Our house has a completely new address, postcode and road name anx I thought it was going to be a nightmare, talk talk couldn't help, but a call to BT and speaking to someones boss, they fudged the system and the line was installed within 7 days, I paid for 12 months line rental upfront so the install was free. Getting broadband activated took 4 weeks, not really sure why buy everything is working fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stones Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 I think that's the one. I'd suggest filling it in as best you can and let them get back to you. All you're really wanting is your site registered and the contact details for the local engineer they will send you in acknowledgment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grosey Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 1 hour ago, worldwidewebs said: Can anyone confirm if this is the right form? I've taken a look through it seems to be targeted at developers (companies) rather than self-build - this may or may not be a problem! It's also asking about things like lift-lines - any idea what these are? A lift line is a phone connection for an elevator, very common when developers are building flats etc they ask because it's something that will need to be connected early on in the construction phase - long before any flats are built and ready for living in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldwidewebs Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 On 06/08/2016 at 09:33, Nickfromwales said: Fwiw I think you'd regret trying to go wireless. Have you tried to get a mobile signal in the new house yet and compared it to standing outside? I have gone to 4G and any day now the landline is being disconnected. There are issues with streaming video, but I can live with that (my contract drops to 3G once I have used up my allowance, except between midnight and 8AM), but it saves me £300/year and I can now just take the laptop anywhere and do some work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Agree with that aspect, Nick. Just my experiences of passive builds leave little or no signal transmission through the build fabric. Literally 3/4 signal and full data outside the front door and I could JUST about make a call inside. To get data signal to check emails etc I had to stand on a crate with my phone at arms length out of the velux window. It was almost like a mobile phone jammer was in use inside. For a property with regular build fabric then not anywhere near as problematic, but even in my stone house I've had to get a wifi piggy-backed 3G booster as it was useless otherwise. They ( EE ) wanted £90, ( I told them they can cancel if it's not free, and a free one turned up a day later ). £90 so I can use my phone at home ?!? ? ✌️Cheeky Bar-stewards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 (edited) My cheap MotoG has built in WiFi Hotspot software, I can stick it 20 metres from the house and it works well. I am lucking in that I have a decent 4G transmitter less than a mile away. I was over an Joe90s build and it had no signal, maybe my next visit over there I can play with it a bit more (if I ever get invited back, apart to apologise). If going doing the 4G route, it may take a bit of mucking about and an old satellite dish to see what is going on. I also use an free O2 service that that allows me to connect in cafes and other places. May be worth seeing if there is a map of the coverage. Edited August 19, 2016 by SteamyTea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Re this mobile phone Vs fixed line. I pay about £500 pa for landline, calls and unlimited broadband. So can you REALLY show me a 3G or 4G mobile phone package that gives unlimited internet and inclusive calls for £200 p.a (to achieve a £300 p.a. saving)? and one that allows the phone to connect to my computer as well for it's internet? As to signal inside vs outside, a cheap Chinese mobile phone repeater from ebay will solve that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 In my area there is a company using WiMax which a lot of the locals use because we're out in the sticks and broadband is slow. If it's difficult to get an Openreach line it's an option which isn't too expensive. I don't know if similar options exist in other areas. http://www.vfast.co.uk/packages/ http://www.vfast.co.uk/voip-phone-service/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 1 hour ago, ProDave said: So can you REALLY show me a 3G or 4G mobile phone package that gives unlimited internet and inclusive calls for £200 p.a No, but as I was paying for a mobile (£10/month), a fixed line with BB for £35/month, but now paying just £20/month with GiffGaff for unlimited downloads, calls and texts, I make that a a £300/year saving. Got to be kept in perspective, I had a dreadful broadband connection and no immediate plans to upgrade the local exchange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Our problem of course is poor mobile coverage. SWMBO has a 4G phone put it only ever gets 2G here so from a data point of view worthless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Have you tried putting the phone at the focal point of a satellite dish and seeing if you can get a better signal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Now we've moved in, I really need to sort the BT situation. Currently I have a drop wire to the site hut/container and have the master socket & BT Hub there. Using a pair of power-line plugs to squirt ethernet into the house and into a wifi access point. Connection is flakey and bandwidth is massively reduced across the hops. Groundworker laid BT duct from outside the basement plant room site perimeter, roughly opposite the BT pole where the current drop wire originates. I have a quote from him (£900) to take this across the road (it's a dead end and we're the last but one house, so no real through traffic) to the foot of the pole. Like others here, I've been told by local OR engineers that they'll happily pull cable through a duct as its way easier than rigging a new drop wire. Second bit of intel I got from a OR engineer was that there are two types of field worker, OR employees and contractors. The latter do more straightforward jobs and have more basic supplies. For duct work a OR engineer is needed with underground training & the gel filled cable. So, after going round in circles on the OR site, which looks geared to greenfield sites and developers, I've just bitten the bullet and ordered a brand new connection, figure when they come here next week and I show them the ducting and explain why a drop wire is a non starter, we'll see what's what. I did look at their price sheet to see the price per / m for road crossing etc. The £3800 new connection allowance is also there. If and when the new connection is active, I'll just cease the old one and get them to remove the DW so I can remove the container. Once more into the Openreach Breach my friends... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 5 hours ago, Bitpipe said: I have a quote from him (£900) to take this across the road (it's a dead end and we're the last but one house, so no real through traffic) to the foot of the pole. Like others here, I've been told by local OR engineers that they'll happily pull cable through a duct as its way easier than rigging a new drop wire. The wire is quite reasonably priced so I would put your own wire in the duct while you are at it. Leave enough coiled up at the bottom of the pole to reach the top and a few meters spare. Leave the draw rope in the duct as well just in case some prat pinches it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryE Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 As far as I read the Openreach instructions, the first step was to contact BT for a new connection. The guy came an did it in a couple of hours -- overhead from a pole across the street to the gable of our new build. The external scaffolding was still up because my builder's guys were just finishing the skin, so it we pretty easy for him. The gable clips across the adjacent plot, but there no issues of approvals since that's our current house. Just over 5.1 mBaud maybe 50-100 kBaud slower than our house but the new house is an extra 30m from the cabinet, so I am not complaining. All part of the standard connection fee. Not sure if overhead is standard, but all BT connections on our street are overhead anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stones Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 I think they generally prefer going underground these days - handing a drum of cable and ducting for the builder to run into their site, saves OR having to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldwidewebs Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 7 hours ago, Bitpipe said: The £3800 new connection allowance is also there. Where does this get mentioned? My quote is just under £7k and there has been no mention of an allowance at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 I do like the lateral thinking of applying for a new connection to get the allowance, then abandoning the old connection. I wonder if the new house will need a different name or address to make that work? Worldwibewbs, every new connections is given an allowance of something over £3000 and you will only get charged if your connection costs more than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 33 minutes ago, worldwidewebs said: Where does this get mentioned? My quote is just under £7k and there has been no mention of an allowance at all https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/pricing/loadProductPriceDetails.do?data=pAWshrQ7XRSLb9S%2BW8IAk0G8vUtdrlJTUevDC2QqJZ8lMnGHsqdC0vzO163bJmh34D91D7M0q8u%2FIlSgtIFAKw%3D%3D Product - Wholesale Access First Line. - The first £3400.00 of charges will not be raised against the first narrowband voice service provided at a site. 30/08/2007 3,400.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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