CityFibre ConFusion

[Matthew]

In brief, as I've already wasted a lot of time going round in circles with your call centre and Twitter teams...

My Fibre 35 contract is up on 7th September. We've recently had CityFibre installed in our road and I want to connect to it. The CityFibre marketing bumf that I received identified Talktalk as an ISP partner that can supply to our postcode - perfect!

I researched the options and renegotitated my contract with your Loyalty Team. (Basically Fibre150 with VOIP/Digital Voice and a reduced Unlimted UK Calls boost.

I checked that it was definitely CityFibre (your website is quite vague about whether the different Fibre packages are FTTP or FTTC). After some head-scratching and hold music, I was told that you could only supply me with OpenReach FTTP. I don't want OpenReach FTTP!

I managed to find a number for your Installations/Future Fibre Team. After more hanging around and hold music, they confirmed that you can only supply us with OpenReach but that it was "the same".

I'm not hugely technical but I do know that CityFibre and Openreach aren't "the same". I feel like at this point I'm just being sold to. I really want someone technical to reassure me that the Openreach FTTP is as good as the CityFibre one - or at least be honest about the differences. (Is it symmetrical? Is there any copper wire used or is it "full fibre" or "future fibre" or "faster fibre" or whatever terms you're using this week?)

Better still, I'd like someone from Talktalk to tell me how or when I can connect to the CityFibre network. I haven't yet received an explanation of why this isn't possible. Why advertise things that you can't deliver? 

Can anyone on here help me please?

Matthew

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Hi Matthew

Speak to our Future fibre team, when I check your account it is only Openreach that is available at this time. 

The future fibre team will have more information.

[Matthew]

I understand what you're saying but CityFibre have definitely run cable to our street - I saw (and heard!) them do it. We have a CityFibre access point outside each house. They wrote to me saying that their network is live and that I should contact one of their partner ISPs - the list included Talktalk. All postcode searches online tell me I can get CityFibre. That's why I felt a bit cheated to be told that Talktalk are using BT Openreach. A lot of fanfare about a new fibre network but, actually, you can't have it. 

Anyway, given that I probably won't notice any difference, I will investigate getting the upgrade via BT Openreach. Thanks for your help.

[KeithFrench]

The reason that you will be offered one fibre network over another is simple. Whoever has installed the fibre cabling just outside your house, is the network that TalkTalk has to use. You cannot expect City Fibre to make a special case & dig up your road for free, just for you.

You will be supplied with a new router, but which one you get is down to TalkTalk.

[Matthew]

Thanks Keith. We had requested VOIP so perhaps that's why Talktalk insisted we didn't have the option of CityFibre. (There's definitely a CityFibre access point outside our house, as well as a Openreach one.)

Do you know if I can request the Sagemcom or do you typically get what you're given? We currently use three wired connections so the extra ports would be useful.

[Matthew]

The consensus online is that CityFibre offers symmetry - so, as far as I understand it, upload speeds are much better than Openreach. 

[ferguson]

@Matthew 

Why do you not want a service on the Openreach network, even though you seem to have got a deal with TalkTalk that you otherwise seemed happy with? From what I have seen elsewhere they are far more reliable than City Fibre.

[KeithFrench]

Full Fibre or Future Fibre, are just marketing terms to describe TalkTalk's FTTP service. The fibre cabling can be provided by Openreach, City Fibre or other smaller companies. The FTTP is terminated with an ONT, the one you get depends on whose FTTP service TalkTalk is using for your address. As far as I am aware, you do not normally get a choice of FTTP providers, as it depends on which one has laid the fibre network outside your property.

However, the service is basically the same, whoever provides the cabling, as you have been told, with the exception of the VoIP/Digital Voice. Openreach supports VoIP, whereas currently, City Fibre does not. In the latter case, your phone line is retained back to the exchange, in addition to the new FTTP. 

The router that you are provided with can vary, it will be either the Sagemcom 5464, or the Eero. In the latter case, you will also be provided with a Grandstream ATA to provide the digital voice, whereas the 5464 simply has a phone port on the back to connect your landline phone(s) to digital voice. Therefore the 5464 uses one less power outlet. It also has four Ethernet ports on it, compared to the Eero's two.

[Matthew]

Thank you for your reply. Yes, it's (deliberately?) confusing. I note that all of the FTTP packages require installation by an Openreach engineer, implying that there are no Cityfibre packages. Or perhaps TT just haven't updated their small print. When I enter my postcode on ThinkBroadband, I'm given links for separate Fibre150 deals via both OpenReach and CityFibre. 

[Gliwmaeden2]

It sounds like the CityFibre advertising is very generalised  - you have to go by what Talktalk says is available at the time. 

Check carefully in the small print descriptions of products at the bottom of this link:

https://new.talktalk.co.uk/broadband/deals-existing-customer

You'll see that there are two categories of old Fibre150 and then further down is Full Fibre 150. The latter is the only one of these that is FTTP, @Matthew

Use the forum search engine for questions about set up etc.