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PureFibre Install Questions

nerdboyjoe
Neighbour

PureFibre is finally available in my neighbourhood. I would love to order it but I have some fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) about the installation process and I haven't been able to find details on Telus' website. I'll present some background information first and then I'll ask some questions at the end. Hopefully either a current PureFibre customer or a Telus installer can answer them.

 

I am a very long-time and loyal Telus customer with Internet 50 ADSL, Optik TV (regular, not 4K, but I do want to upgrade to 4K soon!) and landline phone service. I own a fairly large, sprawling rancher-style house built in the late 50's. It's mostly 1-story tall but the house is built on a slope, which allowed for the addition of a "mini" lower floor with a garage and a home gym on the west side of the home.

 

My current network is a bit of a hodge podge. Thankfully, when Telus did the ADSL install a few years ago, they were able to run some Cat5e through the attic to create a few new wired network ports in most of the rooms, including the home gym on the lower floor. Wireless service is a bit of a challenge in such a sprawling home but I managed to solve it to my satisfaction by using 2 wireless access points and dual SSIDs. I currently have the Actiontec modem providing wireless service to the west side of the home (including the lower floor gym) and an Actiontec wireless extender providing service to the east side. When roaming from one side of the house to the other, we easily switch SSIDs on our mobile devices. It works well for us and I like it better than a shared SSID where the mobile devices don't always automatically switch access points when roaming.

 

The Telus demarc point for the ADSL and telephone lines is in my den, which also serves as an extra guest room when the mother-in-law visits. From that demarc point, the ADSL and telephone lines go up into the attic. The telephone lines split somewhere up there into 3 extensions in various rooms and also into our alarm system. I have no idea where that splitting occurs. As for the ADSL line, it goes through the attic and then down the walls into an office "nook" that's around 30 or 40 feet from the demarc point. We currently have the Actionec modem installed in that nook and we prefer it there. The nook also has a 3 or 4 wired network ports that are connected to Cat5e cables that terminate in various other rooms to provide them with wired network connections to feed the wireless extender, the Optik TV PVR, two Optik TV terminals, two desktop computers and various network appliances such as a WDTV box. You can think of the nook as a rudimentary server room with a psuedo network patch panel (no panel in reality, just the 3 or 4 ports I mentioned).

 

When I had a Telus technician at my house several months ago to replace the PVR, he mentioned that PureFibre is coming. I asked him about the installation and he speculated that the fibre would connect to the house at the existing demarc location and then they would install the ONT (the PureFibre Optical Network Terminal) very close to the demarc location, probably in my den. For me, that is not an ideal location. My wife has already complained then when her mom comes for her yearly 1-week visit, she will complain about the lights on the ONT and demand that we turn it off at night, which would leave us with no internet, no TV and possibly no phone and alarm monitoring, depending on whether the phone will use the ONT or the existing copper. On top of that, because the den currently only has one wired network port, I would probably have to locate the Actiontec modem in there too, which would double the flashing lights problem that my mother-in-law would complain about.

 

If we have to put both the ONT and the modem in the den, I guess we could but it will cause me two problems:

  1. Mother-in-law and wife will complain about the flashing lights when my mother-in-law visits. I guess this problem is not insurmountable, just annoying. You know how mother-in-laws can be...
  2. By moving the modem from the nook to the den, wireless service to the west side of the home and the home gym would suck.

 

Some possible solutions to the above problems:

  1. Get the Telus technician to run fibre from the existing demarc point through the attic (or around the outside of the house?) and install the ONT in the nook instead of in the den. That way I can keep the modem in the nook and I don't need to add any new wireless access points or wired network ports. For me, this is the best solution but I've heard that the technician is not likely to do it because they prefer to put the ONT very close to the demarc point.
  2. Install the ONT in the den, get the technician to install another wired network port in the den and the nook, connect the two ports by running Cat5e through the attic, and then keep the modem in the nook. For me, this is still a good solution but I wonder whether the technician would be willing to install two new wired network ports, possibly involving some wall fishing.
  3. Install the ONT in the den, move the modem to the den and get the technician to install another Actiontec wireless extender in the nook to service the west side of the house. This is not ideal but I guess I could live with it. But I think Telus should provide the wireless extender for free, much like they did a few years ago when then installed the first wireless extender.

Questions:

  1. How likely is it that the technician would do each of the 3 options above? I don't mind paying extra for new wired network ports provided the rate is reasonable and I don't have to wait weeks for it. What are the rates for new ports?
  2. Are there other options that I didn't think of? For example, could the demarc point for PureFibre be installed in a different location than the existing demarc point for ADSL and land line?
  3. Do I have to connect the land-line phones and alarm system to the ONT or could I continue using the existing copper feed for that? What are the pros and cons of connecting them to the ONT?

 

Regards

5 REPLIES 5

Exhile
Ambassador

@nerdboyjoe wrote:

  1. Mother-in-law and wife will complain about the flashing lights when my mother-in-law visits. I guess this problem is not insurmountable, just annoying. You know how mother-in-laws can be...

 

You have a serious problem here. Smiley Happy

NFtoBC
Community Power User
Community Power User

@nerdboyjoe wrote:

 

Questions:

  1. How likely is it that the technician would do each of the 3 options above? I don't mind paying extra for new wired network ports provided the rate is reasonable and I don't have to wait weeks for it. What are the rates for new ports?
  2. Are there other options that I didn't think of? For example, could the demarc point for PureFibre be installed in a different location than the existing demarc point for ADSL and land line?
  3. Do I have to connect the land-line phones and alarm system to the ONT or could I continue using the existing copper feed for that? What are the pros and cons of connecting them to the ONT?

 


  1. Telus charges $75 per hour for installing additional lines, and it may mean a separate visit, and a separate work order. You might be as well to do it yourself, or hire someone locally to do the additional wiring. I'd suggest a Cat6 or two between the demarcation point in the Den and the Nook for future-proofing. I had run lines where I wanted them, through my crawlspace and to a termination space in my office. The Telus tech terminated both ends, and confirmed operation of the PVR (also on a Cat6 I installed) before departing. Depending on the situation, it may be straightforward to pull multiple Cat6 cables with the current ADSL cable, but you lose the ADSL line.
  2. The Tech MIGHT run the Fibre cable to the nook, but it may depend on the overall distance - the Fibre drops they use come in certain lengths.
  3. Generally they are running everything through the Fibre line. 
    1. Pros of staying on copper:
      1. Power outages never cause loss of telephone no matter how long, as the exchange has full power backup. Fibre is battery backed up at your home.
      2. Separate line to exchange
    2. Cons:
      1. Possibility of better pricing on Fibre. Most copper phone lines are in a regulated environment, Fibre is not.
      2. A greater variety of services in the future. The big telco's regulated services are prevented from offering certain services, available from VoIP and small providers. Fibre has the opportunity to have more offerings in the future.

 


 My wife has already complained then when her mom comes for her yearly 1-week visit, she will complain about the lights on the ONT and demand that we turn it off at night, which would leave us with no internet, no TV and possibly no phone and alarm monitoring, depending on whether the phone will use the ONT or the existing copper. On top of that, because the den currently only has one wired network port, I would probably have to locate the Actiontec modem in there too, which would double the flashing lights problem that my mother-in-law would complain about.

 

 

A bit of black electrician's tape works wonders when duct tape is inappropriate. If simply blacking out the lights is not enough, you could fashion a cover from a small box lid, such as from a jigsaw puzzle.

NFtoBC
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Thanks NFtoBC! 

 

When I first read "A bit of black electrician's tape works wonders when duct tape is inappropriate", I thought you meant I should cover my mother-in-law's mouth with tape! Haha!

 

Regarding moving the phone and alarm system onto the ONT, I guess I'll wait and see what the technician proposes. One thing I don't like about battery backup is having to replace that battery every now and then. Expensive and the "time to change the battery" nag beep is annoying too. 

 

Do you know if the sound quality of the phone would be any better if moved to the ONT? I have static on the line now which various Telus technicians have traced to something on the pole outside but they have never been able to make it perfect.

 

Regarding your personal choice of Cat6 over Cat5e, did you do that for future-proofing? Cat5e seems sufficient enough to me. Cat6 is expensive and stiff.

 

Regarding the $75/hour Telus charge for installing more wired network ports, do you have any experience with that Telus service in terms of the quality of the work and how long long it takes to install a port? Having done some (shoddy) DIY work in this area before, it seems like a reasonable fee and I'm guessing they don't mind doing small jobs. I've called some electrical companies in the past and they didn't seem interested in small jobs. They want you to install lots of ports and spend $2,000.

 

NFtoBC
Community Power User
Community Power User

@nerdboyjoe wrote:

Thanks NFtoBC! 

 

When I first read "A bit of black electrician's tape works wonders when duct tape is inappropriate", I thought you meant I should cover my mother-in-law's mouth with tape! Haha!

  


That would be most inappropriate!

 


 

Regarding moving the phone and alarm system onto the ONT, I guess I'll wait and see what the technician proposes. One thing I don't like about battery backup is having to replace that battery every now and then. Expensive and the "time to change the battery" nag beep is annoying too. 

 


Battery replacement is included in your regular fees.

 


Do you know if the sound quality of the phone would be any better if moved to the ONT? I have static on the line now which various Telus technicians have traced to something on the pole outside but they have never been able to make it perfect.

 

 


You would lose the static. Trail, BC was one of the early Fibre communities because the air quality negatively affected copper connections, an issue not faced by Fibre. 

 


 

Regarding your personal choice of Cat6 over Cat5e, did you do that for future-proofing? Cat5e seems sufficient enough to me. Cat6 is expensive and stiff.

 

 


Cat5e should be fine. I got a really good price on the cable I used. I figured I may as well do it once, as have to redo it. Some sections of my installation are now inaccessible, as I did them during a renovation.

 


 

Regarding the $75/hour Telus charge for installing more wired network ports, do you have any experience with that Telus service in terms of the quality of the work and how long long it takes to install a port? Having done some (shoddy) DIY work in this area before, it seems like a reasonable fee and I'm guessing they don't mind doing small jobs. I've called some electrical companies in the past and they didn't seem interested in small jobs. They want you to install lots of ports and spend $2,000.

 


Your Mileage May Vary. I've had no problems finding folks to do small jobs in my town, and skills build quickly when doing it yourself, or acting as general labour for a small contractor.

 

 

 

 

NFtoBC
If you find a post useful, please give the author a "Kudo"

nerdboyjoe
Neighbour

Telus is coming on Tuesday to do the install. Wish me luck! I'll update this thread with my experience.