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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Booking a fibre installation visit.

I'm trying to order fibre and have to book a visit for installation but I do not move into my new property until the 1st July. The issue is I cannot scroll past June to book that date. It's only giving me up to, and including, a week earlier. Can I order over the phone or will I have to wait another week until the 1st is an option? 

61 REPLIES 61
Stig
Scholar

Thanks for the reply.

At no point during the application process for me signing up for Now broadband did it mention that 'there must be an openreach mastersocket in the property to enable  Now broadband'.

Until yesterday I had never even heard of a openreach mastersocket!!!

IF !!! I had been told about the necessity of such a mastersocket then I would not have chosen Now broadband because I don't have an openreach mastersocket.

Been with Virgin media for over 15 years and they just have a white cable to the router and my telephone cable goes to the small white socket box labeled Telewest.

Unless you are in the cable/ broadband industry then i would say there's a lot people like me who are not up to speed on broadband installation so we therefore have no option but to rely on the company we sign up to to deliver what they are being paid to do and that's to install a working broadband service and not just to post a router through the letter box.

chilli2
Elite

Some of the basics are/should be common knowledge, such as Virgin media are a different network to openreach and use different "wires " something that most peeople get a basic understanding of when investigating what ISP/telecom firm to switch to.

 

Now will process an order Openreach socket or not, if there is no openreach mastersocket then the provision of one should be actioned by openreach . there does not have to be an openreach socket in the property.

 

 Issues can occur when a propety was conected to another provider such as Vrgin ( formerly telewest/ntletc) and a previous owner - or even the cable tv installer removed or altered the openreach infrastructure and/or removed the mastersocket to replace it with their own.

 

The process can be smotted out if you tell / inform your new provider (ie now) that you have no BT/Openreach line or socket in the property and/ or you are switching from virgin media.

 As VM and Now use different infrastructure it is possible to have both services at the same time ( although you will be paying for duplicates)

 

I'm sure you halve also researched the difference between how Now deliver their services compared to how VM deliver their services and the differences between ADSL/VDSL/ FTTC and so on .

 In brief, Now will more than likely not be as fast as VM but the cost of Now will be/should be  less than VM

 

Another fly in the oinment is the relatively new thing that is openreach copper stop sell areas, if you are in one of these then Now should have rejected your order - but not all ISPs have updated their databases .

 The good news is if you are in one of these areas then you can get FTTP which is much faster amd more reliable than FTTC - but more expensive .

 If FTTC/VDSL or even ADSL is good enough for you and you can get it then go for it.

Stig
Scholar

Thanks for the reply.

I have to disagree with your argument that the average person would seek out the various methods of broadband installation because it stands to reason that a Broadband provider should do what they are contracted to do and that is install it.

They don't install it for free !!! It is all costed into your monthly fee.

Not once did it occur to me to enquire about the installation methods from Now broadband or any other provider for that matter ,it was difficult enough trying to get the right deal for me personally as there are so many packages from numerous broadband providers.One comparason site would offer one deal another a different deal yet with this same company.Plus some deals run out pretty quickly and then your up against a time limit with the the problems of the crossover from old to new provider .I think the average Joe has enough to worry about,let's leave installation process to the providers shall we?

 

chilli2
Elite

Broadband/phone is just another one of those things where a little knowledge of what it is and how you get it is a huge advantage.

In the same way that if you are buying a car you should know, or at least have an understandnig of the differences between Petrol, Dieslel, Hybryd and Electric .

 

One thing is that when you sign upto something you should always be aware of what you are signing up to, and have a basic idea on how it works/how it will be installed and so on.

 Thins do take a little effort to get your head round but that llittle bit of effort will go a long way and help you when things go wrong/are not as expected.

 This is all something that average joe should be aware of as part of daily life

 

A few things about Now that may be of use:

 The Router they provide is known to be not upto much - for most its OK, however thres a signifficant amount of people wo report on here that the wifi is for want of a better word rubbish

 

Rubbish wifi does not mean that the serevice itself is bad you can improve things by setting up your own equipment

 

Now are a doemstic/home ISP this means that th service level agreement with openrach isnt as high a priority as a a business ISP, likewise Now are a budget ISP so the service from openreach to investigate faults/repairs may only be at a basic level offered to all ISPs. Some ISPs pay more for a higher service level agreement and in turn charge more to the end user ( ie you and me)

 If you are using the service for work purposes then you will get no VAT receipts and likewise if there is an issue it will take the standard amount of time to fix.

 

The landline is the physical bit of wire that the service is delivered on and goes to the home, it can deliver voice services and internet services, it can be made of copper, or fibre optic ( now do not offer fibre optic services) if its  a fibre optic cable its called fibre to the premises and only delivers internet services , voice services can still be made available but delivered using the internet Voip (Voice Over Internet Protocol)

 either which way this line has a cost, and is often called line rental and generates confusion with statements like "i dont use the lanline why an i paying for line rental?"

 

Stig
Scholar

Thanks for your reply.

I signed up to have broadband and phone from Now TV to be installed and working in my house.I am paying a fee For Now TV to do what they are contracted to do.

Is my Now TV broadband working...no!

Is my Now phone working.................no!

Why is it not working is yet to be resolved but the best guess seems to be the telephone socket not being openreach mastersocket.....but it's guesswork.

Been living here for 23 years so must have had BT at one point but memory not as sharp as it used to be and as far as I am aware no one's touched the phone socket or altered it in anyway,as I have said it worked fine with Virgin.

chilli2
Elite

You may still have an openreach socket in the property, but the emphasis is on may .

Does the property have an overhead line going to it from a pole in the street?

do other property's in the neighborhood have a line going into them from an overhead pole?

 

If so then you may be able to trace where this wire goes into  your house and from there see if theres a socket.

 Of course NTL/Telewest ( as it was then) may have removed the BT equipment and replaced it with their

own - technically they shouldn't have done this but its not unknown.

 

While at it, take a look at nearby phone poles, in particular if there's a little yellow square with the words "Caution overhead fibre"  if so then this means that fibre is in your area, and has either active or has just been added ( and will be active soon)

 This means you may be able to get FTTP which is much faster and more reliable than what Now currently supply - its also more expensive

 

At some point Openreach plan to discontinue copper services and switch off the traditional phone system. up to now/ then internet services have been delivered over voice lines , after that the whole thing is turned on its head and voice services will be provided over internet lines which is a whole new level of forthcoming headache

 

If your area has fibre then it may be in line for copper switch off/stop sell and if you are in one of these areas its Fibre to the premises only (FTTP) - now will not be able to supply.

 

If you know what exchange you are on you can find out the stop sell date, if not then this should tell you

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

 that above link will tell you what exchange you are on/will be connected to and what cabinet you will be connected to, to help open reach have painted numbers on most street cabinets that should correspond with the info in the above link - even though its branded as BT the info is openreach.

 

This is a list of copper stop sell areas and dates

https://www.openreach.com/content/dam/openreach/openreach-dam-files/images/fibre-broadband/retiring-...

 If your exchange is on the list you will not be able to sign upto Now after the stop sell date - however of you are already on Now ( or any other FTC/ADSL supplier) then you can continue after this  - but you will only be able to move to another FTTP provider after that date if you decide to leave Now

Stig
Scholar

Thanks for your reply.

My house used to have a BT line but not anymore and I can not recall when and how it was removed,as I've said I have lived here 23 years and it was all BT before broadband kicked in.There is a Telegraph pole opposite my house with lines going to other houses.There was an engineer working up  the telegraph pole a couple of weeks ago so it's still in commission.That said a notice has been attached to a nearby lamp post saying that a new pole is to be erected in my street.

Jayach
Elite 3

@Stig wrote:

That said a notice has been attached to a nearby lamp post saying that a new pole is to be erected in my street.


That almost certainly means you are about to have FTTP available. I would definitely hang fire as Now will not be able to use it. Check here to see if you are about to get it. 

Fibre First: Your future with broadband | Openreach

Jayach
Elite 3

@Stig wrote:

 

IF !!! I had been told about the necessity of such a mastersocket then I would not have chosen Now broadband because I don't have an openreach mastersocket.

Every other supplier, except Virgin, uses the Openreach copper lines if FTTP is not available.

So whoever you chose the requirements would be the same.

Stig
Scholar

I was contacted by a man from Virgin media a few days after I cancelled my broadband with them.I explained that Now we're half as cheap as Virgin media and was therefore leaving Virgin.He said cheap offers are only made to new customers with Virgin media because the majority of people are afraid of moving to a new provider because of the hassle involved.

I see what he means now.

If you don't know what you are doing then the offer of  free help from an expert/ engineer will certainly be enticing.

That's what Now did.

An engineer will arrive at your property on Thursday 26th from 8am till 1.An adult over 18 must be present.You can help by moving furniture and curtains etc.

I took photos of this message on my phone!!!!!

I got another message the day after saying that an engineer would now come Friday 27 ,1 till 6pm no one came again !!

If an engineer had arrived on Thursday then any installation problems would be there's to solve.Whatever type of cable or socket needed the broadband engineer would have been told to sort the problem or take the router and leave.

If on the other hand i was told it's a self install and if you can not for some reason get connected then we can only help over the phone and no engineer will be sent then I along with many others I suspect would simply look elsewhere...... because like the man said it's the hassle.