Will I need my driveway dug up?

[ianrowe46]

I'm looking at getting Virgin Fibre broadband, either M125 or M250 and wondered if anyone could answer the following:

Our house is around 12 years old, we have a BT 2" duct next to the front door and a small (4" square) CATV box in the pavement at the end of the driveway.

Based on this can anyone advise me whether I would need my driveway dug up to install fibre to the house please?

Also, once they reach the house, what happens next? I.E. what is installed inside the house?

Thanks in advance.

[g0akc]

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@ianrowe46 wrote:

Our house is around 12 years old, we have a BT 2" duct next to the front door and a small (4" square) CATV box in the pavement at the end of the driveway.

Based on this can anyone advise me whether I would need my driveway dug up to install fibre to the house please?

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Difficult to say without more information.  Really you need a VM cable gang or preferably a ‘spotter’ to advise.

I’m not sure if they can/will use that BT (OpenReach) duct.  How far away from the duct is the CATV box?

Is there a grass or earth border alongside the driveway?

A photo would help 

BTW most installations of ‘fibre’ are actually coax cable from the VM cabinet to the property, unless it’s a true fibre to the premises connection.

[g0akc]

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@ianrowe46 wrote:

Also, once they reach the house, what happens next? I.E. what is installed inside the house?

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It varies but usually a box on the outside wall, either grey or brown.  Cable through wall.  A box on the inside wall, likely white, with an isolator.  There could be a length/distance on the wall according to where you want the hub.

From that a coax to the hub - say a metre or few meters long.

If you also have Virgin TV a splitter to the TV box. 

If there’s a VM landline likely a phone connection off the hub

[jpeg1]

A few recent VM connections have been installed through the Openreach duct but most are done separately.

The actual route will depend on which subcontractor does the outside work and what looks to be easiest to them at the time. Digging up the drive is usually the last resort if the cable can't be run over the front garden or fixed to a fence or wall. It's best if you can be there at the time to check it's done correctly.

This work is done in advance of the inside installation by a VM technician.

If you have an existing broadband service, do not cancel it until the VM service is installed and working properly, as installations are often delayed considerably and you could be left without any broadband.