Broadband and New Builds

#1

Morning! :wave:t2:

I was wondering if anyone can advise on the process of getting Broadband in a new build house? My husband and I are purchasing a property from the developer Countryside, however, they have advised that for the first 12 months we can only have broadband from BT!

When I questioned this they said that it is because BT own the fibre cable network that was installed but surely this cant be right. I would have thought that it is completely up to the home owner as to who they choose for their broadband services?

I don’t mind BT but they charge ridiculous amounts for their broadband and I am on a great deal with Sky that I was hoping to just move across with us :grimacing:

#2

Hi Mark,

I’m guessing you have the same problem with our new build flat.

Basically BT have installed Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). Which is great
 however you have to go with BT in order to make the most of it. Sky etc. will only be able to give you basic broadband down the phone line, not fibre speeds. Sky have said with us that they’ll get access to the fibre speed eventually.

The advantage of FTTP is that you get the speed you pay for with no slow down. So you can get away with paying for a cheaper package, knowing there won’t be any slow down. We’ve got 30mb broadband and can be streaming and playing on consoles at the same time.

I think as BT install the fibre into the flat free of charge, they then negotiate an exclusivity period on the network.

This shows the difference between ADSL/FTTC broadband that most homes have, against FTTP that most new builds now have.

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#3

The developer chooses what communications provider they have on site (whilst the site is private property). Some go with Openreach, others go with other companies eg. Persimmon have their own network company, where they build their own network for their developments. Whilst the site remains private under the ownership of the developer, all other CPs are ‘locked out’. Once the site is transferred to public/council ownership, any network is then free to build in the area.

Although I am not sure why you would just be restricted to BT? If Openreach have installed network on your site, then you’re free to go with any CP that uses Openreach’s network, providing they offer an FTTP package (assuming you’re in an FTTP area).

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#4

BT doesn’t install or maintain the network, Openreach does. The reason you can’t go with Sky for your service is because you’re on a FTTP network and Sky doesn’t offer FTTP services, but that’ll soon change (if it hasn’t already).

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#5

What does the conveyancing contract say?

#6

I had this same problem 3 years ago when I bought my house. It’s simply down to the fact that with FTTP the only company possible able to offer you the service via that method is BT.

You’re still open to go with any provider if you decide to go down the phone line – I had Sky initially until the FTTP option was actually available to purchase through BT.

#7

I bet when they did all the pavements etc they didn’t leave ducting for other providers such as Virgin.

#8

This isn’t true, @jaisullivan has posted a link which shows other providers that are able to offer FTTP (‘Ultrafast’ in OpenReach parlance). Admittedly, it’s not a long list at the moment, but maybe @mdnn85 would be able to use one of them if they offer a better deal than BT.

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#9

This might be true, as they might not regionally offer it. I had the same list when I looked for mine, but was told that it was either (a) too expensive for me or (b) not an area they offered.

Have you got FTTP?

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#10

Maybe? Soon?

I’m in a 19th-century tenement, but apparently OpenReach has recently installed FTTP for the tenements on my section of the street. At least that’s the story the men who’ve wanted access to our shared back green over the last couple months have said. Hopefully not related to the recent spate of thefts. (:eyes: just kidding, no thefts recently)

I can see the cables, but I’m not sure how we’ll know when it’s actually active without periodically using the postcode checker on the page linked above. When it is I plan to explore offers from those suppliers, so might come up against some of the issues you mention.

#11

Our property was built 20 years ago and the only telephone/broadband provider we can use is Virgin. There is no BT line anywhere near our property (I had an engineer out to confirm) and a request to have the line put in would be a minimum of a 6 month wait then involve significant roadworks. With no BT line available we can’t use majority of phone & broadband services on offer.

#12

Yeah don’t confuse ‘BT’ and Openreach. FTTP is an Openreach product not a BT Retail product.

There’s only a handful of providers that support it at the moment but it’s not just BT. In fact we just had an FTTP Circuit installed in our Data Centre today for a customer using our own Wholesale agreements.

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#13

Isn’t it worth putting the request in now so that in six months you have the option? My recollection from connecting a rural location once, is that OpenReach have to connect anyone who wants a line for a fixed cost (<£200 I think). It’s somehow subsidised from other charges we all pay, can’t remember the details.

#14

If it were my property I might, but we rent. We’ve lived here 5 years, but in theory our landlord could get rid of us with just two months notice and then we wouldn’t benefit from the line we paid for.

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#15

Our provider installed FTTP as standard. I think any amount of foresight could see that despite additional costs and infrastructure, FTTP is a lot more sustainable then any other method of connection. A future proofing of sorts.