Preparing for fibre

[Tim+]

I have OpenReach coming later this month and I’m currently preparing the
house to get the ONT installed where I want it.

What size hole do I need to drill in the outside wall for the fibre? Does
the hole need to be lined in any way?

Tim

[Tony Mountifield]

I have OpenReach coming later this month and I’m currently preparing the
house to get the ONT installed where I want it.
What size hole do I need to drill in the outside wall for the fibre? Does
the hole need to be lined in any way?

They should drill the hole for you. My fibre is from Giganet, not Openreach, but I expect
it's very much the same. They drill through the wall from inside to outside, sloping slightly
downwards, then mount a box on the outside of the wall and the ONT (like a modem) on the
inside of the wall.

The heavy fibre from the pole or channel terminates in the outside box and is spliced to a
smaller fibre that goes through the wall to the ONT.

The ONT needs power, and has an RJ45 socket for an ethernet cable which connects to the
WAN port on your router (or the router supplied by the ISP).

They were flexible regarding location, and I requested that they install it on an outside
wall in my upstairs office.

Cheers
Tony

[Tim+]

Post by Tony Mountifield

Post by Tim+
I have OpenReach coming later this month and I’m currently preparing the
house to get the ONT installed where I want it.
What size hole do I need to drill in the outside wall for the fibre? Does
the hole need to be lined in any way?

They should drill the hole for you. My fibre is from Giganet, not Openreach, but I expect
it's very much the same. They drill through the wall from inside to
outside, sloping slightly
downwards, then mount a box on the outside of the wall and the ONT (like a modem) on the
inside of the wall.

Which isn’t where I want it to go. I’ve installed a pull-cord to take it
to my router but knowing how big the hole needs to be might save me having
to lift floorboards again.

Post by Tony Mountifield
The heavy fibre from the pole or channel terminates in the outside box and is spliced to a
smaller fibre that goes through the wall to the ONT.

How big is that cable? How much protection does it need?

Post by Tony Mountifield
The ONT needs power, and has an RJ45 socket for an ethernet cable which connects to the
WAN port on your router (or the router supplied by the ISP).

I know all this. Neither my router nor a mains socket is near the entry
point which is why I’m doing the ground work.

Tim

[Andy Burns]

Post by Tim+

My fibre is from Giganet, not Openreach, but I expect it's very
much the same. They drill through the wall from inside to outside,
sloping slightly downwards, then mount a box on the outside of the
wall and the ONT (like a modem) on the inside of the wall.

Which isn’t where I want it to go.

Openreach are likely to insist on a 6" square splice-box outside and a
small "cover" inside at the point the fibre runs through the wall.

They transition at that point from the rugged outdoor fibre with a 30mm
bend-radius to indoor EZ-Bend fibre with a 2.5mm bend-radius, it

[Tony Mountifield]

Post by Tony Mountifield

I have OpenReach coming later this month and I’m currently preparing the
house to get the ONT installed where I want it.
What size hole do I need to drill in the outside wall for the fibre? Does
the hole need to be lined in any way?

They should drill the hole for you. My fibre is from Giganet, not Openreach, but I expect
it's very much the same. They drill through the wall from inside to
outside, sloping slightly
downwards, then mount a box on the outside of the wall and the ONT (like a modem) on the
inside of the wall.

Which isn’t where I want it to go. I’ve installed a pull-cord to take it
to my router but knowing how big the hole needs to be might save me having
to lift floorboards again.

What distance are you talking about? Any bends? Do you have any flexibility regarding
the location of the outside entry point?

Post by Tony Mountifield
The heavy fibre from the pole or channel terminates in the outside box and is spliced to a
smaller fibre that goes through the wall to the ONT.

How big is that cable? How much protection does it need?

I didn't see, but the fibre cable coming out of the wall on the inside appears to be about
3mm dia, with a plug on the end (into the ONT) that is 9mm square, so about 13mm diagonal.

Sounds like Andy Burns might know more.

Post by Tony Mountifield
The ONT needs power, and has an RJ45 socket for an ethernet cable which connects to the
WAN port on your router (or the router supplied by the ISP).

I know all this. Neither my router nor a mains socket is near the entry
point which is why I’m doing the ground work.

You might need to be extra kind to the installing engineer(s)!

Cheers
Tony

[Graham J]

Tony Mountifield wrote:

[snip]

Post by Tony Mountifield

Post by Tim+
How big is that cable? How much protection does it need?

I didn't see, but the fibre cable coming out of the wall on the inside appears to be about
3mm dia, with a plug on the end (into the ONT) that is 9mm square, so about 13mm diagonal.

In my installation the Openreach technician brought two fibre cables.
Each was pre-terminated at one end only.

The outdoor - heavy duty - cable was plugged into the junction box on
the nearby pole and its other end was brought to a square grey splice
box on the outside wall.

The indoor cable which plugs into the ONT - its unterminated end was
poked through an existing small hole and taken to the grey external
splice box. So the 13mm diagonal dimension of the SC APC plug is not a
limiting factor. The unterminated end is cut to length and spliced in
the external box. This box is usually mounted low down on the external
wall so it can be accessed without the need for a ladder.

[Andy Burns]

Post by Graham J
In my installation the Openreach technician brought two fibre cables.
Each was pre-terminated at one end only.

Another way to do it, is let BT install the outside splice box where you
want it, they'll install the ONT inside near that, bit don't worry about
that, just let the chap leave.

Get yourself a preterminated OS2 fibre of suitable length with SC/APC
plugs each end, and a back-to-back SC/APC coupler

<https://www.fs.com/uk/products/41919.html>
<https://www.fs.com/uk/products/76106.html>

Then the O/P can resite the ONT to wherever he needs it...

[Chris Green]

Post by Andy Burns
Get yourself a preterminated OS2 fibre of suitable length with SC/APC

Isn't that just a "terminated OS2 fibre...."?

[Graham J]

Post by Tim+
I have OpenReach coming later this month and I’m currently preparing the
house to get the ONT installed where I want it.
What size hole do I need to drill in the outside wall for the fibre? Does
the hole need to be lined in any way?

I already had a convenient hole abut 6mm diameter, which the Openreach
technician used. It was plenty big enough.

Probably more important is that the cable routing on the inside should
avoid sharp corners. A bend radius of 10 times the cable diameter is
probably the minimum acceptable - so probably about 50mm