Forum Discussion
what to expect - Telus switching me from VDSL to fibre
So a Telus rep phoned me and said they were going to discontinue their old-style internet and Optik TV service (which operates on VDSL from copper phone wires) and they want to swap me over to fibre ...
polecat, I'm not using Telus wired phone, switched to cellphone-only over 10 years ago. Now using Public Mobile, the low-end Telus cell service provider, they're good and the price is right, however all account setup and customer service stuff is done via their message forums.
Am crossing my fingers hoping I can get the fibre into the house. Telus phone rep sounded optimistic, I guess it depends on who the installer is. They have set up a 3+ hour time space for the installation but I think it will be only 30 to 60 minutes, since the fibre is already in the garage, I think they just need to do something at a network building about 3 Km away to activate it.
I have had first COVID shot 2 months ago and due for 2nd shot in 10 days, I guess I could delay the fibre until end of month for ultra safety, but local situation seems good.
Telus will go for the path of least resistance. When I bought my house they had previously run fibre under my vinyl siding and had the ONT and modem come out in the living room under the TV. I had to pay ~$400 to get them to put it in the garage. Their hourly rate is HIGH.
I would call ahead and let them know your PVR isn't working and needs to be replaced. Typically, in my experience, installers only carry what they need for their scheduled jobs and a couple of other pieces. They'd mail you a new PVR if the tech doesn't have one (as it doesn't require a tech to install). You could also ask for wireless receivers for your other two TVs. They share the PVR recordings with the main box and connect to the PVR wirelessly so you should be able to use it well. Just adds one more box to your collection.
If you can do work to have things run ahead of time, you're more likely to get Telus to do what you want. The least amount of work they have to do the better for them.
Fibre installation now done, it went pretty smooth and took about 1.5 hours, only 1 Telus technician used. I get about 29 Mbit download, 58 Mbit upload, 5 msec ping, 300 GB download limit, not high end but OK for me, and fast enough that I will upgrade Netflix to 4K ability. Minor issues afterward with my Telus account settings and PVR, now fixed.
In advance about 2 or 3 weeks ago I called tech support to ask them to make a note that I wanted to run the fibre line run through my house crawl space with ONT (Optical terminal box) installed in a central closet and they said that would probably be OK, and they noted my preference in their info for the installation people. I delayed the installation so I could get the 2nd COVID shot.
I pre-installed a small shelf and plywood wall panel in the closet to make it easy to place the ONT and router. AC power outlet already there. In advance I changed my existing copper Telus VDSL setup by moving the old Actiontech router to the closet. I ran a long telephone extension cord into the closet from the family room. Actually I used a 20' cord and a 10' cord connected together. I didn't have an in-line cable connector, so just used an old PC modem card to connect the 2 cords, these old modems usually have 2 phone jacks wired in parallel so they are a no-cost way to connect 2 phone cords without splicing/soldering wires, etc, a crude but effective short term solution.
Telus just swapped my old router for a new router that has the ONT built-in, so this does everything with only one box. They call this the "Telus Wi-Fi Hub", it's in a white cylinder shape case about 7" high. It has 4 LAN ethernet ports. It sits on the shelf, the plywood wall panel was not required.
The Telus person was OK with my putting the optical cable in the crawl space so he gave me a spool about 50' long prewired with connectors on both ends. I taped the ends to protect from dust since my crawl space has a lot of construction debris (dirt, concrete particles, sawdust, etc). It took about 15 minutes to install the cable which passed through a hole I drilled in the garage area. This cable then was stapled to the garage wall and eventually connected to the Telus wall panel in the garage. This panel has the optical cable from the street area. The street cable is thicker and stronger than the house optical cable. My house optical cable has about 20' extra length available so I could in the future easily move the Telus electronics to another room.
Installation was done on worst day of current heat wave, it was 43C. Fortunately only about 30C in the crawl space.
My existing PVR was not replaced but I was given a new remote, I might call them and ask for a replacement PVR since I have HDMI issues. Apparently if they mail you a new device it's a new one, while the on-call service technicians usually have refurbs, my technical advised it was better to get the devices that are mailed out to customer.
Dimo-XModerator
I'm not sure, but I don't think you can maintain both the old wiring and have Fiber simultaneously. Might be worth asking though just in case!
Dimo-X frankw I had my phone moved to fibre the incoming tel wires are now isolated from house circuits . Inside tel wires are fed from pots 1 on the ont. I guess you could use the old phone line if you want to pay for it and telus would let you. I have battery backup. You still have POTS 2 for a second line. No more noisy line during rain storms for years before fibre. Polecat
