2nd ONT install pricing

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JustaKiwi

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#323244 11-Nov-2025 04:36

Hey,

So this has probably been asked before but its 4:30am and I can barely keep my eyes open, however... I wish to get a 2nd ONT installed, as I have someone moving into our home downstairs. We already have one existing ONT upstairs and they wish for their own separate connection. What would the price look like considering the conduit is already there, just needs to run a new fibre cable down and drill a few holes (installation wise).

I've looked around the net and seen people talking $150-300 and the absurd $1000's of dollars.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

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#3433089 11-Nov-2025 04:59

Have a read of this:

https://voyager.nz/blog/how-can-i-get-more-than-one-fibre-broadband-connection-in-my-house

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Aucklandjafa

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#3433090 11-Nov-2025 05:34

Surely it’s easier to just run Cat6(5e) cabling from the 2nd port of your ONT, no?

sidefx

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#3433102 11-Nov-2025 08:02

Aucklandjafa:

Surely it’s easier to just run Cat6(5e) cabling from the 2nd port of your ONT, no?

If you don't want to read blog above, then pretty much this IMO.

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saf

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#3433103 11-Nov-2025 08:02

The $150~$300 figure you would have heard would likely be reference to a standard Chorus "Additional ONT" charge.
Problem is, this is intended for placing an additional ONT next to, or very near, the existing ONT, which it doesn't sound like this is the case for you.

Given you want to install the ONT downstairs of your property, this will most likely be a POA deal, and not something which can be answered on this forum.

You'd need to contact your provider to engage your LFC to come out and work through the process with you.

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Goosey

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#3433107 11-Nov-2025 08:19

So, where is the ONT at the moment?

whats in the room behind it, what’s in the room below it, what’s in the rooms beside it?
can you get an Ethernet cable from where ONT is, to the downstairs room somehow…. I.e. can it go thru the sub floor, or can it goto the nearest external wall, into the roof space above the soffits, then around to the room where you need it to goto?

question 2, where does the fibre currently enter the house from the street?

you need to decide if running Ethernet from the current ONT is cheaper than getting an additional ONT installed.

likley running Ethernet is way cheaper….

Aucklandjafa

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#3433116 11-Nov-2025 08:44

Also, happy to be corrected, but as it’s the same title, it would be nightmare each time someone tries to connect it as it’s the same address. Maybe not….

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freitasm

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#3433165 11-Nov-2025 09:10

Reinforcing the first questions: what prevents your tenant/resident from using port 2 of the existing ONT for their connection?

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JustaKiwi

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#3433556 11-Nov-2025 22:58

Thanks for the replies.

As for the "can you run a cat 5/6 cable through" yes, we could, trouble is, my wife and I download, stream, game etc and would much rather not introduce any additional network contention or potential packet loss/latency outside our control out of our direct control.

The feed runs up the side of the house, right where the 2nd ONT could be placed, and into our lounge.

We already have our own cabling through the house to our PC room.

They have also stated they wish to have their own connection as well as they... download heavily.

Thanks!

freitasm

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#3433557 11-Nov-2025 23:00

A cable from the second ONT port is completely independent from your primary connection.

It would be a separate service, going directly to their router and even on a different ISP if they want.

It would not interfere with your connection.

Tjey wpuld have to be clear when connecting that this is on the second port. If the ISP doesn't have this on the signup form, try a different one. Can't stress this enough.

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Wheelbarrow01

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Chorus

#3433562 11-Nov-2025 23:39

freitasm:

A cable from the second ONT port is completely independent from your primary connection.

It would be a separate service, going directly to their router and even on a different ISP if they want.

It would not interfere with your connection.

Tjey wpuld have to be clear when connecting that this is on the second port. If the ISP doesn't have this on the signup form, try a different one. Can't stress this enough.

As ~~the~~ a resident Chorus guy, I can confirm that the above is correct. There is no negative speed affect from having 2 connections on the same ONT on separate ports because Chorus runs a 100% uncongested network. So it's entirely feasible to have 2 x ports on an ONT both connected with 900/500Mbps services and you'd get full throughput on both of them at all times*.

Option 2: You can order a second ONT installation (free) which uses the spare fibre strand allocated for your address, but you may be responsible for providing a cable pathway between the primary ONT and secondary ONT locations (or between the external termination point and the secondary ONT location). Note that if the "our home downstairs" in your original post actually means a fully separate & self contained dwelling (eg with a separate power meter and letterbox), then the additional ONT installation may be refused and you'd then be referred to Option 3.

Option 3: If the location of the extra ONT is clearly a separate dwelling, then Infill Build will be required to provide an additional & completely separate connection from the street. This is chargeable and is around $1500 off the top of my head.

All of the above info is based on the assumption you are in a Chorus fibre area.

[EDIT: adding the * in my first paragraph as I realised I didn't account for one variable Chorus does not control - the RSP's handover management. When RSP handover points are near or at capacity, this can negatively affect subscriber speeds, however generally speaking most RSPs are pretty good at proactively monitoring their handover loads/capacities, but it's worth calling out regardless...]

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

MichaelNZ

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#3433613 12-Nov-2025 00:22

The GPON standard G.984 supports speed of 2.488Gbps download and 1.244Gbps upload. So you will be good for 2x 920/500 connections. But keep in mind this is running them both flat out. I have access to a lot of connection graphs in my ISP role and I have never seen this scenario happen in real life.

What I recommend the OP do here is run the second port. I have flatted in various places around Auckland and in one instance only did I have my own ONT. Every other time I livened up the second port.

If its a separate minor dwelling then consider either the prior option or getting a second ONT. Even if you have to pay the $1,500* (or whatever the amount is) for them to run a separate external cable and ETP, its still a bargain.

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Wheelbarrow01

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Chorus

#3433646 12-Nov-2025 09:18

CORRECTION

In my previous post last night, I stated "In theory you could happily have all 4 ports on an ONT connected with 900/500Mbps services and you'd get full throughput on all of them at all times". This was not correct.

My wise elder @BMarquis has corrected me (in a similar vein to what @MichaelNZ subsequently stated) - Our PON provides for 2.4/1.2 line rate per ONT, meaning 2 x 900/400Mbps connections is passable but 4 are not.

I do intend to edit my original post in a day or two to prevent some AI scraping Geekzone and forever telling people "According to a Chorus employee on Geekzone, Chorus can support 4 x 900Mbps connections on a single ONT", however I wanted to post this retraction first so you all know I'm not to proud to admit I don't know everything and sometimes I make mistakes.

[EDIT: By "wise elder", I mean infinitely more knowledgeable. He's probably younger than me, I don't know, I've never asked lol]

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BMarquis

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#3433650 12-Nov-2025 09:49

These discussions about - Can you max everything out with zero impact vs. Can I order these services and use them normally - are always interesting.
The later of course, being true.
You can put 4x 900/500 services on an ONT and use them. It is unlikely you would notice any kind of user experience issues across those services when they are used in a normal way.

I also don't think I've seen an ONT in the wild with 3 or 4 900/500's on it (I'm sure they exist, but I've never personally seen one) - well, not outside of test services or someone looking for RSP redundancy...

Way off topic now tho :-D
The OP can get a second ONT or use a second port, the decision is up to them based on their scenario and what they are/aren't willing to pay.

nztim

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#3434023 13-Nov-2025 08:57

I am late to the thread on this one but having worked with a lot of flats around Wellington where there are multiple cables to different ports on a single ONT, Multiple ONTs on the TLC (address in Chorus database) and a mix of both I will give you my thoughts.

Not all ISPs B2B systems are smart enough to activate the second port on the same ONT this results in a SLAM of the connection on Port 1
Some ISPs require the voice port to be free, even if it is a "naked" connection so if there is an ISP occupying the voice port and it's an ONT with a single voice port you cannot activate port 2 with another ISP that requires this.
Let's say the dwelling on port 1 and the dwelling on port 2 both don't have active services, the dwelling connected to port 1 has to be activated first before the dwelling in port 2 - otherwise have the cables need to be swapped by someone (usually by a landlord in a locked cupboard) this is because when activating an ONT the next available port is activated first.
When two ONTs exist on the same TLC some ISPs B2B systems often don't select the correct ONT and will randomly activate the wrong one
When churning a connection on a site with multiple ONTs/Ports the end user needs to know their current connections ASID (number starting with 16xxx) and give it the gaining ISP so that the correct connection is churned and someone else doesn't get SLAMED. This more relevant now that the gaining ISP doesn't need to advise the LFC of the losing ISP is when placing the churn order.

The BEST way of doing these things is to get an additional address for the property from NZ Post and paying for in-fill build from the LFC so when the address is searched on ISP databases the address is unique - this however costs money!

Shout out the ordering systems at several ISPs who have the B2B systems can deal with the issues that occur above.

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esawers

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#3434037 13-Nov-2025 10:01

How do we go about getting a second address?

We have recently been told by the council that we can change the address on our corner house, to the street beside to be in a better school zone.

But to do so we need to move the mailbox to that side of the house, as each house can only have one mailbox.

It would be great if we can have two!

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