FTTH - just how long does it take to get installed...

joevpt · 10-02-2023 6:35pm #1

I have helped a number of friends through the pain of getting FTTH from both the SIRO network and the openeir network in the past five months. A total of nine installations. The service providers include Vodafone, Sky and eir (but the fibre networks are just SIRO or openeir). Both Siro and openeir subcontract out the provision of the fibre to your home, but both behave, in my experience, pretty much the same.

You will be given an installation date. You might be forgiven for thinking this is when the service will either be installed or activated or both. From my nine installations, 1 installation only actually installed on the given date. All the others were either cancelled before their due date and then rescheduled or were simply an opportunity for an installer to call to tell you why the service cannot be installed. In the latest installation, the installer came and admitted to me that he knew before he arrived that the installation could not proceed, because he had been to a neighbouring house earlier in the month and knew what extra work needed to be done. He knew before he came to me, which meant he knew I didn't need to be at the house for the appointment. He took some photos and left. It took 7 minutes.
Once they really have capacity to complete the installation the work will be done in an hour or so, unless civil work needs to be done (if a duct is damaged, or a new pole is needed). You will probably have had at least two visits from technicians before you get to this point. I mention this only because you need to set your expectations so that you are not disappointed. Of the 8 installations which were not completed on the first attempt, all 8 required at least 3 appointments, some of which were simply a guy turning up with a van, looking at the house and telling me that the job needed some widget or other which he didn't have in his van. You have to be at home (or a decision maker needs to be there) for the technician to turn up... This is a waste of your time each time the installation gets deferred.
When the service is activated and working well, it really is great (sorting WiFi in your house is a totally separate issue).

From order to delivery my average, for the 9 completed jobs (a mix of both SIRO and openeir) has been 29 days. (the shortest was 7 days, and the worst 43 days). At time of order, the longest lead time promised was 9 days.

The current job I'm working on was ordered 25 days ago. The latest engineers visit (where he knew he couldn't install) was today, and now I'm back in a queue waiting for an appointment, which todays engineer was confident would be in the next 10 days... (if he's right, and if that crew actually do install, it will make this job a 35 day job - versus the promised 8 days at time of order !!)

So, why do they make a delivery promise that will simply not be achieved ? I don't know why this is, but the cynic in me suggests its to just get me to place an order. Once the order is placed, you keep getting a 7-10 day lead time to keep you hanging on. I would prefer to be told the truth, even if the lead time is very long, than to be repeatedly disappointed by missed installation dates.

Here's a novel idea... Why not send out someone to survey the premises before you promise a date? Perhaps these guys think we can't handle the truth ?

If there is a takeaway from this, it's that you should expect your fibre installation to take about a month (in spite of the promises). If its earlier, then happy days.

pizzahead77 · 10-02-2023 6:58pm

Myself and my brother had completely different experiences from you - both openeir installations in completely different parts of the country.

Mine was installed on the day that SKy said it would be on their website after I ordered it. it slipped from the initial Monday I selelected to the Wednesday of the same week and it was installed on the Wednesday.

My brother actually had his installed 2 or 3 days earlier than originally scheduled with Vodafone.

phog · 10-02-2023 6:59pm

Wouldn't you need to be there for that "someone" to come out to survey the premises.

Then when the surveyor completes their survey they might be returning a report to say it could have been completed on the appointment date but it was a surveyor rather than an installation technician that was despatched out.

pizzahead77 · 10-02-2023 8:07pm

There wasn't a separate surveyor visit for either installation - My one involved d=using existing ducting in place and my brother's was overhead.

In both ocassions it was the installer that confirmed that it could go ahead

joevpt · 13-02-2023 2:58pm

phog,

You're right of course. Someone does need to be there when the guy arrives (in fact it was an installer). What is surprising is that when he rang to let me know he was on the way (i.e. before he had arrived here at all ), he knew the installation was not going ahead. How could he have known, you might ask ?

Well this is not his first installation in the row of houses (they are all built the same), so he knew from a previous install what needed to be done.

What surprised me even more, was that while discussing that with me, he already knew that the next call he was going to, also would not be completed that day... The photographs he took were all outside the premises.

I know that early installations (over a year ago) were very sharp and mostly delivered on time. My experience in the past five or six months (and this may well be just my experience) is that delivery times promised and those delivered are sadly diverging. Personally I would prefer to know when I order that delivery will take however long its going to be. Of course the risk is that I would not place the order and if I have a choice, I would order elsewhere.

phog · 13-02-2023 3:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120236404#Comment_120236404

But how do you systemise that? The appointment is made at the point of ordering, the technician may well have local knowledge that will allow them make an educated guess but I don't see how you systemise the appointments based on whether one premises may need a survey and the other can be delivered by the technician.

And yes, of course the photos are generally outside the house because that's where the eir plant is but some are from the inside at the point of entry as that is where the pipe blocked by tiling or timber flooring.

Like you I live in an estate, all built the same and my guess is it's 50/50 on who got their orders delivered on the first call and those that required a second visit.

By adding a survey to each Order adds a delay on all orders and a cost that will eventually fall to the end user.

FTTH - just how long does it take to get installed...

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