Fibre-optic connections at last in South Tenerife

[Delderek]

Yup. That's the way most of us do it.

[Marion]

Yup. I just cut mine with a Stanley knife.

[NAH]

Could th y access the conduit through a hole cut in the back of the cupboard? I'm presuming it is made of hardboard and not some really expensive cupboard with fact wood at the back. I've got holes in mine in Scotland to access power points etc.

I think the main problem would be the size of the hole required in the rear of the unit, firstly to locate the face plate and secondly to enable sufficient visibility of the face plate to enable removal of the two screws holding the plate in place using a screwdriver through a hole in the rear of the unit...without dropping the screws down the back of the unit will be almost impossible.

The cable access draw rod would then need to be directed through the rear of the unit and down into the conduit (use washing up liquid as lubricant if difficult) in order to pull the fibre back through.
If it were mine I would move the unit to avoid any kind of hole being created in the back because once installed you will never (fingers crossed) need access to it again.
If it were my property and I was doing the complete install...and.....I decided to go the hole drilling route I would also allow plenty of time to complete the operation because doing it this way will ne much more fiddly, so I doubt Movistar will be keen on that idea.

I've attached a couple of pictures of a friends installation who did not have a spare conduit with blanking plate, they pulled the fibre through the co-ax conduit and mounted the fibre termination plate next to it. As you can see the fibre patch lead then connects to the modem / router and the rest you know.



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[Nova]

I think I'll move the cupboard. I have considered cutting a hole in the back but I'm afraid of the back splitting or otherwise compromising the structural integrity of the cupboard. With IKEA cupboards I think the back plate strengthens and stabilises the whole unit, even though it's very thin and flimsy itself.

Impressively, I received another text message from Movistar today confirming my new appointment on 5th April! 

[NAH]

Agreed @Nova if at all possible I wouldn't go the hole cutting route either, the fact that there would be an unnecessary hole in the rear of the unit afterwards would drive me mad every time I thought about it or opened the cupboard and saw it.

The only unit I would consider cutting a hole in the back of is either where the rear is standard thickness (same as the rest of the unit) chipboard or where the unit required no additional support from the rear panel.

Please be careful unscrewing / moving things though. I'm sure @Perikles will give you a hand if you ask him nicely 

[Nova]

I have a stepladder and an electric screwdriver and I mounted all the furniture by myself. All I need is for a Movistar chap to take the weight of the bridging unit while I detach it. I think I'd better remove the bridge completely, which would leave the cupboard fully moveable. The tricky bit will be putting it back again, so I hope the chaps won't be in a hurry to leave 

[Nova]

The technician just called to ask if he can come tomorrow instead 

[Marion]

Good luck for tomorrow!

[Nova]

   I'm so excited!! 

[Delderek]

I used to get excited when I purchased something new, or a new installation of a techy thing. Now I treat it with trepidation, it either won't work properly, or nowhere lives up to the advertised hype. I have fibre, which sometimes gives me 32Gb, but surprise surprise during peak periods it slows to 20Gb, only 4Gb more than the old ADSL copper connection, and each month as more and more sign up, it reduces. Open Reach engineer playing around in the manhole last week managed to reduce it to 10Gb after connecting a neighbour, took five days to get it sorted. I really am an easy going guy, but these days its difficult to stay that way