Upgrading from 'Fibre Plus' to 'Fibre Max 900' but want a new line installing

[Stee_784]

Upgrading from 'Fibre Plus' to 'Fibre Max 900' but want a new line installing in a different room.

I currently have 'Fibre Plus' and would like to upgrade to 'Fibre Max 900', after checking via the online tool that this package is available to our property.

I understand that if I upgrade I will lose my landline due to the change that needs to be made by the BT engineer, this is fine.

However, I would like to position the router more centrally to provide a stronger signal around our house, currently, the router sits at the far corner of our house so the signal in the backside and garden is sporadic. I also want to plug my main PC in using an ethernet cable instead of relying on the sporadic Wifi connection and I don't want to run an ethernet cable around the house or purchase multiple "boosters" to place around the house either.

The best solution to tick all the above boxes is to have a new port installed in the room I use as my office which is an upstairs bedroom.

According to EE's online support documentation the 'HOW IS FIBRE TO THE PREMISES INSTALLED' guide and the supporting video that has been embedded on this page EE states you agree with the engineers where the connection will be installed.

https://ee.co.uk/help/help-new/broadband-and-landline/home-broadband/full-fibre-installation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkuuKgC50cE

However, after being told conflicting things by the sales team at EE, one saying a new line can be fitted and another says they will only use the existing line I'm reluctant to upgrade until I can have this confirmed.

So my main question is.

If I upgrade from 'Fibre Plus' to 'Fibre Max 900' can I have a new external box, cable & internal Openreach box (ONT)/Router placed where I want it placed inside the property (which will be a 1st-floor bedroom at the back of our house) regardless of there been a line already installed?

If no then why not and why does the online help section say otherwise?

If yes then that's great & as the EE support says you agree with the engineer where the line & box will be placed I'm assuming there is no additional charge for the fitting of the new line?

[pip11]

If you are not currently on an FTTP product then discuss with the install engineer where you would like the fibre to be positioned in the property.

Openreach engineers are normally flexible on this, contractors sometimes not so much (they get paid per job unlike OR ones), but if you make sure the area is easily accessable it shouldn't be a problem.

There is no install charge.

[XRaySpeX]

You have to have a new connection/line/cable installed to your home. At the mo' you have FTTC BB delivered over your landline. Full Fibre Max 900 is FTTP which can't use a landline but instead needs the new external box, cable & internal Openreach modem (ONT), as you say. Your old landline connection is then redundant.

I'm pretty sure that you can, within reason, choose where the Fibre enters your premises, but it needs to be at ground floor level on an outside wall, for inspection, maintenance & safety purposes (as shown in that video).

There is a £25 set-up fee for Full Fibre Max 900.

What does BT Wholesale Broadband Availability Checker estimate for your phone number? Post just the whole table and the line above it, blanking out your phone number. If it doesn't recognise your phone number or you don't have one, use the Address Checker, not the Postcode Checker.

[Stee_784]

@XRaySpeX

Thanks, for your reply.

It doesn't say the external box must be installed at ground level it only depicts this in the video. The cable is then either ran from top-down via a telephone pole or from underground.

The article doesn't mention this either and the room I want it installed in there is a double socket available in the room's corner where the two external walls meet.

I've also ran the broadband availability checker you mentioned and TBH I don't really understand what all that information means.

I just some clarity from EE on my question that has so far received inconsistent responses from them.

[Stee_784]

@pip11 

Thanks for your reply.

If you are not currently on an FTTP product, then discuss with the install engineer where you would like the fibre to be positioned in the property

I wanted to confirm this with EE before they physically come out to my house.

I don't want the engineer to turn up and then they can't, I'd rather confirm beforehand. 

[XRaySpeX]

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@Stee_784 wrote:

It doesn't say the external box must be installed at ground level it only depicts this in the video.

No, but it shows it that way, I believe for the reasons I mentioned. It also states that when it comes top-down via a telephone pole a ladder needs to be secured for safely. I wouldn't have thought they'd want to to do that every time they visit to investigate some issue. I should think that they should be flexible in 2-D but not in 3.

Please post the BTw Availability Checker table as I can interpret it for you & might have some ideas for alternatives.

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[Mustrum]

If you post the results of the BTW DSL checker as requested, there are many on here who can help you understand what it says.

It is great that you have watched the video, but a little more homework will help you understand if what you are hoping for is possible. Have you looked outside to see how the fibre might be connected to your premises?  Is there Fibre pods fitted to nearby poles, or are you fed via underground duct? How does your existing phone line enter the building?

[XRaySpeX]

1 suggestion I've seen is:

• The Customer Splice Point (CSP) = Outside box must be near ground level.
• The inside ONT can be anywhere led to by ducts & drawstring which you lay on.

[pip11]

@XRaySpeX  "I'm pretty sure that you can, within reason, choose where the Fibre enters your premises, but it needs to be at ground floor level on an outside wall, for inspection, maintenance & safety purposes (as shown in that video)."

The CSP (outside box) needs to be at ground level but not the entry point. This question has been asked many times over on the BT forum and all Openreach engineers (anecdotally) have accommodated the customer unless there was a compelling technical reason for not doing so.

[Stee_784]

OK, so in summary as I understand things based on your responses.

They can use the existing box or install a new box, however, either way, this needs to be at ground level for safety/inspection purposes. Obviously, the current box feeding my current 'Fibre Plus' connection is at ground level with the cable going into my living room and I want this to run into my spare bedroom if I upgrade to 'Fibre Max 900'.

Whichever way from the above they go the cable that goes through the external wall into my house and into the router can be run into whichever room I want so it's not about the placement of the fibre connection from the street to the outside of my house more about what room I want the router to sit in.

If my thinking here is correct then I think my query has been answered.