Connectivity FAQ

Typically 10-14 working days from time of order although Fibre connections can take longer. We will keep you and  updated at each stage of the process. We offer the ‘simultaneous provide’ process (where the analogue line needed for the broadband and the broadband service itself are provided on the same day) where possible.

No, all FTTC orders are now “self install”, so your IT Partner can decide when to install your equipment after the service has gone live. They will need to provide you with a VDSL modem.  However, If FTTC is being provided as part of a Simultaneous provide ( i.e. a new analogue line is being provided at the same time), an Openreach engineer/appointment will still be required for the analogue line installation part of the order.

A leased line is a dedicated 1 to 1 connection from a customer premises to the Ethernet core network. It is a highly resilient, managed and fully supported and guaranteed solution that can provide symmetrical speeds of between 10Mbps and 10Gbps depending on your requirements. Leased lines remain the most resilient and fully supported type of connectivity solution.

Typically we advise around 90 working days, however, it is important to note that due to the complex nature of the provision of the Leased Line product, each provision is very unique. Some will be very simple and can be fully installed within a matter of weeks, and some will face complications and delays such as way leave permissions required from the Landlord or additional cabling/excess construction needed. For our part, we will aim to explain each part of the process as simply and transparently as possible and will keep you posted with developments and updates as soon as they happen.

The Leased Line order process:

Once the order has been processed by us and accepted by the carrier, the next step is an engineer visit in order that a site survey can be completed. Once the survey has been completed will we know if any excess construction charges apply. If any excess construction charges apply we will ask you if you wish to accept them and proceed with the order. We normally receive confirmation within 2-3 weeks of the order being placed as to when the survey will be carried out. As soon as we receive confirmation of the survey appointment date and time we contact you.

Important note: An asbestos register must be available on your premises for the surveyor to view for health and safety purposes.

Once the site survey has been completed and any excess construction agreed on, any additional works can commence and updates will be sent through to you about the process of these works.

Once all stages of necessary works have been carried out, a delivery date will be confirmed, followed by a fit and test date.

No, we provide a Cisco router as part of the fee.

Yes.  To explain, a ‘bearer’ is the maximum bandwidth capacity of the piece of fibre installed, for example, anywhere between 100Mbps – 1Gbps. ‘CDR’ is the Committed Data Rate that this service is set to in order to meet the customer’s bandwidth and budgeting requirements.
We can provision your circuit with future expansion in mind if you expect that this will be needed. For example, if you currently require 10Mbps but expect that this may rise to 40Mbps in the near future, the line can be purchased as a 10Mbps CDR on 100Mbps bearer.  This leaves room for future upgrades in CDR when needed.

If a move is required midterm, a charge may be applicable depending on how long into the contract you are and the location of the new site. In all instances, we would advise getting in contact with your Account Manager to discuss the terms.

No, we don’t block any ports on our equipment.

We offer a replacement Cisco router, delivered next business day by courier to the customer’s site.

FTTC can offer speeds of up to 80mbps which sounds sufficient for any business. However, FTTC and ADSL are ‘contended’ services (i.e. shared between users at the local exchange) so customers may experience slower periods at peak times in the working day or times when many users in the area are streaming content (such as major sporting events etc). Furthermore, if there are many heavy users in the area you may never experience the full amount of bandwidth available.

In addition to this, Broadband services do not come with the same Service Level Agreement as a Leased Line. If the circuit fails, you could be without an internet connection for an unspecified length of time, whereas Leased Lines come with full a business Service Level Agreement and Service Level Guarantee of a 1 hour response time and a 4 hour target resolution to any fault. Unlike ADSL or FTTC, Leased lines also deliver symmetrical bandwidth, i.e. the same upload and download speed.