Fibre BB due soon - Best to get a VDSL faceplate?

[Rob_B]

I’ll be getting fibre at the end of the month and have seen a few things suggesting I should get a vdsl faceplate to go in between my current one and the socket.

I have currently removed my faceplate as it gives me about ½ Mb extra & it detaches completely leaving just the ‘proper’ socket in the wall that my router goes into.

Are these in between faceplates worth it then? My estimated speed is 55Mb/s and to be frank even half of that would be acceptable, is it likely I’ll get much improvement by spending the £10-£15 on a new plate?

Cheers folks!

Rob

[Schern]

Are you sure you won't get a new face plate as part of the install? BT fitted a whole new box and face plate when I got Infinity 2 installed.

[DanceswithUnix]

The bloke that turned up from BT replaced the faceplate with a VDSL one as part of our install. I think the faceplate in mandatory for the service to work properly, so not surprising that it was included.

[rox0r]

I just had Infinity 2 and the engineer fitted a new VDSL faceplate. However, it does say that Infinity 1 is a 'customer install' and no engineer visit is required...

[Rob_B]

It's self install...I think...

I'm going with Plusnet (I know, I know) who I understand send out a Technicolour 582N and an infinity 'box' (?) Bog standard process seems to be to just plug them into each other then the BT box to the socket.
I do have a 3 day window where they say they'll send an engineer but I've not paid an install fee (which people seem to think you do if you want an engineer) and some people seem to mention self install.

I'm just wondering if it's self install then:

a) Will a VDSL faceplate might speed things up?
b) Is the router pish and would a new one would also speed things up

My thoughts are whether spending £££'s on a faceplate and new router might not be worth it.

[Schern]

Why not wait and see what kind of performance you get? The expense might not be necessary.

[Rob_B]

I like to be prepared, and seeing as I think it'll be self install I'm wondering what impacts these options will have.

[DanceswithUnix]

So if you are currently running without a faceplate, do you not have a landline phone?

[Rob_B]

No, we have a phone. I’ve removed the faceplate and the microfilter goes directly into the master socket.

This pic shows what I currently do (for some reason it’s a 1.9MB image, who does that?!)

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/images...plit-large.jpg

I have removed the front piece (piece 1), my microfilter goes into the ‘test socket’ as it’s called.
I understand a VDSL plate goes in between pieces 1 & 2 on this image (?)

[peterb]

Just looked at my installation (not taken it apart!)

Looking at the picture you linked to, and numbering from the left, 1, 2 and 3, the bit that is changed is the centre one, 2. That has an RJ1 socket on it, which goes to the VDSL modem or modem/router. It contains any necessary filtering for the phone socket which remains in the same place. I think it also filters/isolates the bell wire, if present.

This link shows some images

https://www.clarity.it/vdsl_nte5_adaptor_faceplate.htm

The installation of the faceplate is usually done by a BT OpenReach engineer (under contract to the ISP). If it is self install, then that should include the kit needed - including the faceplate.

[Rob_B]

I’d seen that page so that’s what I thought should happen. Mine doesn’t have any wires connected to the 1st plate though.

If a self install then I thought this step would get missed (didn't think they'd include a plate) so you’d just plug into the socket as normal which can slow things down a little. Someone on HUKD said they got something like 50Mb which jumped to 70Mb when they got a VDSL plate installed, taken with a pinch of salt but every Mb helps!

[DanceswithUnix]

Filter quality can make a big difference, and if they had been using the crud you usually get bundled with ADSL modems that isn't a surprising jump.

Looking at this: http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fib...=4#Post4292543

it looks like you should be fine if you have a good ADSL filter. In fact having read that, I have an ADSL Nation XF-1e in a drawer somewhere, I might try that instead of the BT faceplate.

[peterb]

I’d seen that page so that’s what I thought should happen. Mine doesn’t have any wires connected to the 1st plate though.

Those wires go to extension phone sockets. Plate 1 contains the components that break out any ringer ct (which are largely redundant these days. Those extensions are filtered by the filter in the new intermediate plate. The idc connections on the new intermediate plate are for VDS extensions, so you could put the modem remotely and connect it there, rather than use an RJ11 plug. If you have a combined modem/router, that might be of use. If you are using a separate modem, you are probably just as well fitting that close to the socket, and running Cat 5e to a remote router (if you need to.)

[scaryjim]

If you're getting fibre from plusnet, an engineer *will* call, and they'll replace your socket with a VDSL one then fit your fibre modem. This is all done by openreach on Plusnet's behalf.

The fibre modem *should* be properly attached to your wall - the bloke who did our first installation not only had a decent makita drill, he also had little adhesive dust bags that stuck on the wall and collected all the brick dust! The guy who did the one here apparently just chipped away some plaster and balanced the damn thing on two screws - it fell off the wall as soon as he drove away The engineer will also connect the modem to your router, but he won't do any testing of your connection once that's done.

If you do end up with the Technicolor router don't even bother plugging it in; get your own decent router. The Technicolor is a repurposed 4-port ADSL modem/router (they repurpose one of the LAN ports to be a WAN port, meaning you end up with a 3 port router with a useless RJ11 connection). It's a lovely ADSL modem/router (they sent me one when I had ADSL here to tide my over) but the reviews I've read of it as a VDSL router say it's pretty useless. Basically any cable/VDSL router will do the job (I got a Netgear WNR1000v3 when I signed up for fibre, and it's been rock solid).

[ma9mwah2]

I got a free replacement faceplate when i had mine installed a few weeks ago. Openreach Engineer turned up and did what he needed (quite simple for my setup).

[Rob_B]

Just to update, 2 openreach guys turned up yesterday and after much drilling and faff I'm the proud owner of an openreach modem and new faceplate