In this section of the site we answer the most popular questions that our customers have about Fibre. If you can't find the answer here don't hesitate to contact us.
Q. What is FTTC?
A. FTTC stands for Fibre to the Cabinet. It's commonly known as "superfast broadband" and is the first fibre broadband product available on the mass market in the UK. The technology uses a fibre optic cable between the exchange and your nearest street cabinet which enables much higher upload and download speeds. The line from the cabinet to your home is still copper, but as copper performs just as well as fibre over short distances, you don't suffer any degradation in performance..
Q. Who can get fibre broadband?
A. Fibre broadband is next-generation broadband and is still being rolled out across the UK. You can buy Fibre broadband with Internet Direct as soon as your local exchange and street cabinet have been enabled - no-one can provide fibre broadband until then. The roll out should see 50% of households and businesses able to access fibre broadband by the end of 2013, with more to come after that.
Q. How do I know if I can get fibre broadband?
A. You just need to put your phone number into our availability checker and we'll tell you straight away if fibre broadband is available to you, or not. If not, you can give our team of experts a call who will be able to advise you about other ways to get a faster internet connection. Just give them a call on 0845 638 7171.
Q. The company next door can get fibre broadband but I can't?
A. An exchange is considered "FTTC enabled" when 80% of the cabinets it serves (the cabinet is the point on your street where the internet is brought in) are also enabled. Unfortunately that means that 20% of cabinets can't provide FTTC even if your exchange, and most of the area, can get the service.
Q. The availability checker says I can't get fibre broadband now. Can you tell me when I will be able to?
A. Of course. Just call our dedicated team on 0845 638 7171 who will be able to take your phone number and address and look into a more specific estimated delivery date for your area.
Q. The company next door can get fibre broadband but I can't?
A. An exchange is considered "FTTC enabled" when 80% of the cabinets it serves (the cabinet is the point on your street where the internet is brought in) are also enabled. Unfortunately that means that 20% of cabinets can't provide FTTC even if your exchange, and most of the area, can get the service.
Q. Do I need specific hardware?
A. Yes, you'll need an vDSL modem and a WAN router to receive a fibre connection. We will provide the modem on all our fibre broadband packages and may provide the router too, on some packages. Call our team on 0845 638 7171 to find out more about how to get the hardware you need.
Q. Is there an installation process?
A. Yes, fibre broadband needs to be installed separately from your standard ADSL connection. We will book an installation date for an engineer to come to your property between 8am and 8pm. He will fix a wall plate to your current phone port which will enable FTTC. There is no external installation, however, unlike other products which often require expensive cables to be laid specifically to your premises - fibre broadband works across the existing infrastructure, once your area has been enabled. We charge a flat fee of £75 to install fibre broadband, regardless of where you are..
Q. What speeds can I realistically expect from my fibre broadband connection?
A. With fibre broadband, to make sure that you get the fastest possible speed, we will always provide your service using the fastest available technology. Your actual speed will vary according to how far you are from the exchange and cabinet, and the quality of your line. Unlike other broadband connections, however, Internet Direct offer a throughput assurance with fibre broadband, meaning you can be certain you can achieve up to 12Mbps of throughput on your line (the actual assured figure will depend on the results of your speed test). Internet Direct also operate our network differently to other providers. This means we don't traffic manage across our lines, giving you the change to reach your maximum potential speeds, all of the time.
Q. Do Fair Usage Policies apply to Internet Direct fibre broadband?
A. We don't operate a Fair Usage Policy, but state usage limits clearly. Our products come with a fixed usage limit across a month, for daytime use. Between the hours of 11pm and 9am, however, we offer unlimited usage. This is Truly Unlimited, with no Fair Usage Policy, no throttling and no caps.
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