How Full Fibre is installed

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Full Fibre is a brand new service and can be delivered in a number of ways. If Full Fibre hasn't already been installed previously at your premises then a specially-trained engineer will come to your house to install your equipment. The cabling we use for Full Fibre is very delicate compared to standard broadband, so it has to be handled carefully and tested to make sure it hasn’t broken once installed. To find out more, scroll down to read more of our article, or check out our video below.

Prepare for your appointment

Here are a few things to remember and some things you can do to help us install Full Fibre as quickly as possible.

• Someone over the age of 18 needs to be at home for the duration of the installation
• You'll need the home owners or landlords' permission to install your Full Fibre. You can download a copy of Openreach's Supporting information sheet for Landlords (PDF,  2MB) to inform your landlord of what happens during an install
• You can help the installation go as smoothly as possible by planning ahead and thinking about the best location for your Fibre Connection Box and Wi-Fi Hub
• If your ideal location is behind a cupboard or another piece of furniture, you can help us by clearing the path for the engineer to do their work
• Your Full Fibre equipment will need to be plugged in. Depending on which products you'll be using, you'll need a different amount of power sockets available to finish connecting your services:
  • If you're only using a Fibre Connection Box (ONT) and a Wi-Fi Hub or eero, you'll need two power sockets available next to each other.
  • If you're using a Digital Voice (VOIP) product as well as a Wi-Fi Hub and an ONT, you'll need three power sockets available next to each other.
  • If you're using Digital Voice (VOIP) products as well as an eero and an ONT, you'll need four power sockets available next to each other.

How is it installed?

Here's how our engineer will install Full Fibre:

1. First, we'll run fibre cabling from our network in the street to your house, either overhead through a pole or underground in a trench
2. Then we'll drill a small hole through your exterior wall to bring the fibre cable into your home via a CSP 
3. The engineer will install a Fibre Connection Box if you haven't got one already
4. We'll connect the fibre cabling to the Fibre Connection Box, then connect the Fibre Connection Box to your router using an Ethernet cable

How long will it take?

Installation times can vary depending on how much work needs to be done inside and outside your home. The average install takes approximately an hour. When you sign up, we'll give you a morning or afternoon time slot. Your engineer can arrive at any time within your allocated slot.

What is a Fibre Connection Box?

Your Fibre Connection Box is where the fibre comes into your home. It may already be installed and fixed to a wall somewhere in your property, or if you have an engineer coming they'll install it for you.

Images to show what your Fibre Connection Box will look like. 

What is a Customer Splice Point?

The Customer Splice Point (CSP) is a small box fitted to the exterior wall of your house. This is where we connect the fibre cable from either the pole or underground to your property.