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Frequently Asked Questions

Fibre broadband Frequently Asked Questions - This guide is designed to answer the most commonly asked questions we receive about Fibre Broadband. If you have a question which is not answered on this page, please contact us and we'll be happy to help.

What is Fibre Optic Broadband?

What is Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)?

When can I get FTTC Fibre Broadband?

Why use Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)?

Do I need a BT Phone line to use Lucid Networks Fibre Broadband?

What actual speeds can I expect?

How will Fibre Optic Broadband benefit you?

When will my local exchange be upgraded to provide Fibre Broadband?

What if BT has no confirmed dates for the Fibre upgrades of my local BT exchange?

How is the FTTC Fibre Broadband service installed?

How long will the installation visit last?

Will my existing broadband service be disrupted?

Will I need to upgrade my PC or other equipment to receive Fibre Optic Broadband services?

Will I need any additional hardware?

Is Fibre Optic Broadband intended for Business or Residential users?

What is Fibre Optic Broadband?

BT Openreach is investing £2.5bn in the deployment of Fibre Optic Broadband across the UK between 2010 and 2015. This will reach 10 million homes and businesses by the summer of 2012 and around 16 million premises by 2015 equal to approximately two-thirds of the UK population. This will be deployed by two different means.

For around 75% of premises receiving fibre broadband, it will be delivered over Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) technology which will allow customers to benefit from broadband download speeds of "up to 40Mbps", with a minimum 15Mbps, and upload speeds typically from 2Mbps and "up to 10Mbps". The remainder will receive Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) services. We'll be able to tell you more about FTTP later in the year.

What is Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)?

Fibre to the Cabinet or FTTC describes a deployment where a fibre cable runs from a BT exchange to a street cabinet that contains the Broadband equipment. From here it is linked to business premises and homes via the existing BT copper network. This then connects the home or business to your Internet Service Provider's Fibre Broadband service.

When can I get FTTC Fibre Broadband?

To determine if you can already access Fibre Broadband services, submit your telephone number or postcode on the 'Check your Speed' section above.

If you have access you will be provided with an estimated speed.

If not you can use this link to find if your exchange is one of those planned for the Fibre Broadband rollout. Please bear in mind that this information is subject to change and will updated on a monthly basis.

Details for more than 340 exchanges that will be upgraded during 2010 with a further 124 being upgraded in 2011 announced so far.

Please note that not everyone connected to an upgraded exchange will be able to receive a FTTC fibre broadband service. New fibre-ready street cabinets will not be deployed in all parts of an exchange area, while other premises may not be offered FTTC fibre broadband service due to excessive line length. Also around 10% of premises are served directly from the exchange and these will not qualify for an FTTC service. These areas may be served by Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) in the future.

Why use Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)?

Existing broadband services provided over the BT network use traditional copper-pair cabling which was originally designed to support the telephone network. For the past ten years, the network has also proved itself able to support broadband internet connections with speeds of up to 20Mbps.

However, the capacity for copper cabling to transmit data at high speed diminishes according to the length of the line so most users receive speeds far below this. By using fibre optics for part of this connection, the line length is significantly reduced, enabling faster downloads and much faster uploads.

Do I need a BT Phone line to use Lucid Networks Fibre Broadband

You will need a working BT phone line in order to use our Fibre Broadband service. If you don't already have a phone line, our LucidTalk service provides a suitable phone line, on a one month contract at competitive rates, all on a single bill.

Although the connection speed will be set during the ten day testing period, the actual speed at which you can download will vary depending on a number of factors. Speed may then be limited by, for example, general congestion on the Internet or a number of heavy broadband users connecting to the same telephone exchange as you. We advise that during peak usage times it is likely that download speeds no greater than 3Mbps will be achieved.

Further information about factors affecting broadband speeds can be found in our Understanding Broadband Speeds article.

What actual speeds can I expect?

As copper cabling still accounts for the final part of your internet connection, line length is still a significant factor in determining the actual speeds you can expect to receive. It is possible to get an estimate of your likely download and upload speeds ahead of purchase based primarily on the length of the line. FTTC Fibre Broadband is designed to be a 15Mbps to 40Mbps download service If a line cannot support a speed of 15Mbps based on the line length we will be unable to provision a fibre broadband service to your premises.

Our services will offer a 'Best Effort Minimum Throughput' speed of either 8Mbps or 12Mbps. The elevated 'Best Effort' speed provides a prioritised traffic service to assure faster download speeds at peak times of the day.

Actual speeds experienced may be faster or slower than the estimates provided and can vary significantly throughout the day and over time. Factors affecting delivered speeds include:

These are just a few of the expected benefits of fibre broadband:

• File download and upload in seconds for quicker back-up or sharing with others
• Faster internet browsing including streaming of high-definition video e.g. iPlayer
• Additional bandwidth will improve the performance of Virtual Private Networks making uploading and downloading of files more efficient and making working from home easier and more secure
• Lower call costs by taking advantage of VoIP delivered over Fibre
• Improved business services such as video-conferencing or the use of hosted applications

When will my local exchange be upgraded to provide Fibre Broadband?

Some exchanges have already been FTTC enabled by BT.

They have also released details for more than 340 exchanges that will be upgraded during 2010 with a further 124 being upgraded in 2011 announced. You can find if your exchange is one of those BT planned rollout and please bear in mind that this information is subject to change and will updated on a monthly basis.

Please note that not everyone connected to an upgraded exchange will be able to receive a FTTC fibre broadband service. New fibre-ready street cabinets will not be deployed in all parts of an exchange area, while other premises may not be offered FTTC fibre broadband service due to excessive line length. Also around 10% of premises are served directly from the exchange and these will not qualify for an FTTC service. These areas may be served by Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) in the future.

What if BT has no confirmed dates for the Fibre upgrades of my local BT exchange?

BT has so far announced details of its fibre broadband roll-out for 2010 and early 2011. However, BT has confirmed that it will continue to deploy its fibre broadband infrastructure until at least 2015. By this time they will reach two-thirds of the UK population. We will provide updated information on our website as it becomes available.

How is the FTTC Fibre Broadband service installed?

If you already have an existing broadband service installed to a BT phone line, moving to fibre broadband is a simple process. Someone will need to be at the premises to allow a BT Openreach engineer onsite. The engineer will fit a new telephone face-plate at the site of the existing one and connect a VDSL modem. The VDSL modem will need to be within 1.5m of the face-plate and close to a power-supply otherwise an extension kit will be required which can be provided to you.

How long will the installation visit last?

When you arrange your preferred installation date, you will be offered an AM or PM appointment. Typically 30 minutes to an hour. However, this can be longer. For example if a data extension kit is required. No external work is needed at your property.

Will my existing broadband service be disrupted?

There should be minimal downtime on your current broadband service. You will lose service for a short time while changes are made at the street cabinet that serves your premises.

Will I need to upgrade my PC or other equipment to receive Fibre Optic Broadband services?

PCs, laptops or servers will not require upgrading to use Fibre Optic Broadband. However, you will need a compatible router which we can provide to you.

Will I need any additional hardware?

Other than the VDSL model which will be provided for free, you will need a router which can support the speeds provided by Fibre Broadband and has an Ethernet WAN port with the capability to dial PPPoE. Our recommended routers can be seen here..

Is Fibre Optic Broadband intended for Business or Residential users?

Fibre represents a major advancement in broadband technology and will offer high performance connectivity that closes the gap between shared broadband services and dedicated business connectivity products such as fibre optic Ethernet connectivity. This will give small and midsized business customers a better service at a more affordable price.

We offer different Fibre Optic Broadband services to meet the specific requirements of business and residential users.

Fibre is a premium service and will be offered as an alternative to our existing standard business broadband packages.

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