What do I need to think about - moving from vdsl to fibre

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E3xtc

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#262108 6-Jan-2020 08:45

Hello,

Currently we have vdsl and have been advised we can move to fibre. Having nfi about what issues I am likely to run into or what questions I will be asked or what I can "expect" from Chorus, I thought I would post my situation here.

This is (very roughly) our floor plan - except where the stairs go up to the bedrooms, these are not shown, so everything shown here is on a single level

Can I expect Chorus to get the ONT into the same place where the phone line gets to inside the house? Currently the phone line comes into the house on the outside of the garage - pictured at the red mark at the top of the image - and the router/modem is situated in an office where the internal phone line is routed through via the normal wiring in the house.

I was wondering if I should try and get the ONT installed under the stairs (depicted by the green marker on the image) to have a more central position or is it just not really worth the hassle? (I would need to get power installed in that closet before hand, and then get a wireless (something) to allow my computer in the office to connect again). Currently everything (except the office computer) in the house is using wifi for connectivity as we have no structured cabling in the house.

Anyone able to offer any thoughts around what I can expect and what questions I should be ready for or ask?

Sorry for the vague nature of this, but I really have no idea what to expect

Thanks in advance

trig42

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#2385733 6-Jan-2020 09:02

How old is your house? Do you know what sort of cabling goes from the ETP (on the outside of the garage) to the phone jack in the Office where your DSL router is connected?

If less than about 10 years (maybe even more) it should be Cat5 between ETP and phone jack.

IF it is Cat5, and you no longer want landline phones, then they could utilise the internal cabling and mount the ONT on the garage wall, and replace your router in the office with the new one for the UFB connection.

The other option, which could be just as easy, would be for them to run the fibre along the outside of the house until they can get under then pop it up into the office from below (or the cupboard under the stairs). They will usually want to take the path of least resistance, so the easier you can make it for them before they show up, the better and quicker for you.

You can discuss this at the scoping. At my scoping, I asked them to go under the house to a hall cupboard, and as you can walk under my house it was pretty easy. They blew the cable in from the road and left it bundled at the ETP during the scoping visit. They came back and did the rest of the job (perfectly) about 3 days later.

E3xtc

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#2385751 6-Jan-2020 09:33

Our house is about 8 years old; and while I like that first suggestion you have, there is no power on that wall where the current phone line hits the house, so thats going to be problematic also :(

Looks like the most likely option is - as you highlight - running the cable under the house and bringing it up to where the current modem is. Not great, but probably cost effective solution with minimal pain and assuming the cable run around the outside of the house is not unsightly then it should be okay.

cyril7

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#2385794 6-Jan-2020 09:45

Hi, how feasable is it to extend the underground conduit that currently feeds the phone ETP on the side of the garage further down toward the blue area where you have under floor access. From there you can extend the fibre to where ever makes sense, ie under the stairs, and then add structured cabling under the floor to the office. Once established there in the office you can investigate getting a couple of feeds to the ceiling space ontop of the top floor so you can feed those rooms.

Cyril

E3xtc

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#2385838 6-Jan-2020 09:52

Its (existing conduit) all cast into concrete - so its a no goer to extend that conduit.

The more I think about it, the "for now" solution will most likely be getting them to run it to the existing location (in to the office) with a view (ie leave more cable) to extend it to a more permanent space in the under stair closet where further structured cabling and kit (eg switch, patch panel, etc) can be fed throughout the house (at a later date, aligned with time, funds and inclination).

BarTender

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#2385936 6-Jan-2020 10:57

Once the ONT is in place that is it, unless you want to pay the $2k or so to move it. The reality is once the ONT has been installed it isn't easy to move as the fibre will need to be cut and re-blown from the splicing tray out on the street. It's not something they can easily "pull back" and extend / resplice.

So if it were me I would get them to install the ONT under the stairs and get an electrician to install a power points in there before Chorus turn up. Then you can install your own router / AP in there, and run a CAT6 cable back to the office to have the desktop wired in. Depending on the size of the house you may want an AP per floor. Or have the AP sitting on the roof of the stairwell so it covers both floors.

Do it right the first time as it is always cheaper that way and you won't regret it.

cyril7

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#2385941 6-Jan-2020 11:10

Hi, yep as Peter says, once the ONT is in place its not easy to have it moved, and agree re Peters recommendations of wiring.

So to extend the cable from the current ETP location to underfloor, you say its covered in concrete, but whats the wall like, purhaps a photo?

Cyril

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afe66

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#2385944 6-Jan-2020 11:15

Dont let the absence of power limit placement of ont. This fibre will be there for many years.

If you need to get an electrician so you can optimise placement you should just pay. Is there a cupboard in the office you could run the ont into and subsequently turn it into a network cabinet??

I love my wooded villa lots of crawl spaces and easy to drill holes in floor and walls to lay ethernet.