Original article ISPreview UK:
Imagine you’ve just moved into a house. You’ve done all the checking, so you already know the only viable network operator has listed “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband as being “available” to the property. But on the day of your install, the engineer tells you it needs a dig team and your ISP suggests you might have to wait nearly half a year for it to go live. Oh.. and there’s no other fixed line alternatives.
The situation above is one that Andrew Butlin and one of his neighbours from the Lincolnshire village of Sudbrooke have experienced. But it’s also an issue that could become increasingly common as Openreach gradually retires their older copper-line based broadband (ADSL, FTTC / SOGEA etc.) services.
Andrew recently purchased a house in the village, which is currently only served by Openreach’s national network. “Before Fibre [FTTP] was available in the area, I had signed up to the waitlist, and subsequently was informed it was made available [at the] tail end of last year,” said Andrew. Sure enough, a quick test via BT Wholesale’s Checker and his chosen ISP confirmed that the service was available (Stage 1 Install Process).
The BTW checker also confirmed that SOGEA (Fibre-to-the-Cabinet [FTTC / VDSL2]) was still available and that the exchange is not in a current fibre priority programme. But we’ll come back to this later. Needless to say that Andrew placed his order in early March 2025 and waited until the installation date on 1st April. So far, so normal.
Andrew Butlin told ISPreview:
“On the day of the install the engineer informed me that it would not be possible to install today and that a dig team would have to come out to dig the road.
I have now been given a date of May 20th for the permissions to be received, and that the work will then enter the queue for the dig. My ISP has informed me that I will probably not be online until July or August.
In the meantime, as I am supposed to be working from home, I have attempted to get a copper connection contract setup, however as the area is “Fibre Ready” I am unable to take out a copper connection.”
The situation appeared to indicate that Andrew might be stuck waiting for five months (longer if we include the original order date) for a working home broadband connection to go live. The situation is clearly far from ideal and assumes there are no other unexpected delays further down the line (this is always a possibility).
On the same day that ISPreview got involved, we noted that Openreach issued a new update to Andrew, which stated that the original engineer had found a “blockage underground that they’ll need to clear before they can connect you, as well as installing new duct“. Arranging such civil engineering work is often a slow process, although the operator did action Andrew’s case to their High Level Complaints team.
At this point we should highlight that the July/August date given by Andrew’s ISP was somewhat of a tentative guesstimate – likely based on the provider’s experience of such incidents. Plenty of ISPs have told us that they have a backlog of installs with long delays due to similar issues, so this is by no means isolated. But these are tricky things to generalise, as every home will have a different set of often unique circumstances.
The situation raises questions over the way that coverage checkers continue to report a service as being “available“, even after it has become clear that it may take a long time to actually deliver. In addition, Andrew’s area is not yet part of the “FTTP Priority Exchange” programme, which means that he should still technically be able to take an FTTC (SOGEA) line until the FTTP goes live. Some ISPs will offer to do this if the delay is big enough.
In practice, most ISPs now only have eyes for FTTP once it’s marked as being “available” and, as Andrew’s experience shows, that can make it difficult for people in his situation to get an alternative installed during the wait for FTTP.
Similarly, you’ll often have to call the ISP to explain the situation if you want FTTC/SOGEA, since these days most online order systems will only present the option for FTTP in areas marked as “available“. This makes sense within the context of copper retirement, but it’s also more confusing for those stuck in a similar boat.
Openreach’s Position
The good news is that Andrew’s wait may now not be as long as first feared. Openreach informed ISPreview that a new duct will need to be laid from the property to the nearest footway box between the customer’s house and the nearest fibre distribution point (CBT). This will involve an extensive amount of complex excavation work (they had to avoid a lot of other utilities). The company’s local contractor, Morrison’s, will be the one doing this.
Openreach states that the civils estimate was created on the 01/04/25 with a required by date set by their planners for 20/05/25, which was then communicated to the ISP. After ISPreview got involved the network operator has now reviewed the partner’s civils estimate and they’re “looking to get this completed before the end of the month“, but at the time of writing (6th April) the original (20th May) date remains intact.
In addition, Openreach noted that one of the reasons why properties in this area were listed as available for a stage 1 install process is because they were shown in their database as being fed by duct. But the operator’s initial engineer visit (i.e. the first install attempt) found this to be incorrect.
At the end of the day, we can’t realistically expect ordinary consumers to be conscious of all the extra details and caveats that can crop up during an installation or what their options are during that situation. But this is not the first time we’ve had to write about such a case (here) and it probably won’t be the last.
Mercifully, the rise in competition means that many other areas now have a choice of more than alternative broadband network, but sadly Andrew doesn’t live in one of those. On the other hand, delays can and do happen on alternative networks too, often due to similar reasons. Suffice to say, it may be wise not to assume that a new installation will always be completed within a typical 1-2 week wait.
