Communal, and other words for delay

The hardest British broadband sentences are not about megabits. They are about the cupboard. Converted houses, mansion blocks, new towers — fibre has to climb through space that belongs to someone who does not want a hole in it this month. The industry has words for this: communal, MDU, wayleave. Your calendar has other words.

None of this means flats cannot have excellent fibre. Many do. It means the comparison table is the easy part, and the building is the product you actually live in. Plan for the building.

Permission is part of the product

Street-led fibre still needs a drop. Building-led fibre needs a riser. Both can need a wayleave. The comparison table does not show this because a ranking cannot see a managing agent. You can. Ask, before you give notice, whether communal access is already in place. A “simple FTTP install” that needs a frame in a locked cupboard is a project.

Still switch, with a calendar

Communal delays are not a reason to stay on a rolling price forever. They are a reason to start the order earlier than a house would, to warn the agent, and to budget a second visit. The year can still work. The building is simply part of the product you actually live in.

The agent is part of the install

Put the managing agent on the order notes. Put the cupboard key. Put the flat number on everything. London and every converted house in Britain fail switches on missing ‘Flat 4’ and unsigned risers. A simple FTTP that needs a frame in a locked cupboard is a project. Start it earlier than a house. Compensation wants you available; a neighbour with the key is not you.