Extending a BT Fibre cable

[smilodon]

I have FTTP and need to extend the cable coming into the house by a few metres. I've Googled but still can't work out of this is possible.

Currently the cable comes into the house through the window frame, down to floor level in a bit of trunking and then runs under the carpet to the BT modem on the other side of the room.

However I now need to run the cable up over and around a  door frame to reach the modem, as I'm having hardwood floors fitted and the cable obviously can't go under this flooring. This means I need about 2m of extra length to reach the modem. Moving the modem closer to the incoming fibre cable isn't an option.

Is there such a thing as a fibre extension cable, where I can plug the existing cable into one end and the other into the modem, thereby adding the extra few metres I need?

I'm thinking maybe not as so far I can't find anywhere to buy said extension cable?

Cheers

[albert]

If you could splice fibre it would be no issue. That's what BT or others do when rolling out the fibre network, they lay fibre cable to the door and it's visible coming through the street, then they literally join a new piece to the existing end to extend it as far as you need. So probably the easiest way to to get someone to come in and splice additional fibre length to the existing cable and test it to make sure the fibre is still carrying a perfect light signal.

Hardware joining. This is a tricky one. Fibre repeaters can be expensive. Normally they come in the form of media converters where the fibre enters a small black box and the exit is an RJ45 connection. They also need power, so where your current fibre pair would be placed half way to the router. I haven't found one in my 10 mins of googling that looks inexpensive and easy to work with.

In the end I imagine you want highest quality maintained so I would say seek a pro.

[Sneakytiger]

so your trying to move the white openreach box smilo?

[smilodon]

Cheers.It's defiantely not simple job!

Sneaky, no I'm just trying to extend the length of fibre cable that runs from the external BT box on my outside wall to the BT modem in my livingroom.
Currently the cable runs through the wall and under the carpet to the cabinet with the modem in it. I'm laying hardwood floors downstairs, which cable can't be run under. Therefore I have to re-route the canle up around the livingroom door frame which is adding another couple of metres to the total length. What I would ideally like is a little adapter I can connect the existing fibre cable into and a short extension that comes out of the adapter and then into the modem.

[albert]

https://www.ppc-online.com/blog/joining-fiber-cable-what-are-the-options

Here's a little more on joining fiber (yes the best search is the US spelling unfortunately).

For RJ45, it's a simple electric signal over copper, so joining to RJ45 cables with a little black female to female connector is just like twisting a couple of wires together. For light, it needs to retain that level of intensity and if there's refraction in the glass the signal tails off gradually over distance. So little joiners would be very complex and expensive compared to copper.

One idea is you could buy a small switch with a couple of fibre ports and place that near the door to accept the connection from BT, from where you can run another cable to the router. That switch would in effect become an external device, and useless except for lengthening the fibre run (or adding a probe if you dabble with security monitoring, which is also awesome).

Maybe do a bit of social media trawling and find an old BT guy who still does work on the side, and slip em a few beers for a new cable run. Wins every time for quality and you don't really want to risk your Internet speed and error rates rising because of a DIY job.

Or learn to splice and buy the fusion splicer although a quick eBay search and £1500 is your starting price so.. nope.

I did this reply a bit as I was searching so it's a little disjointed. New cable run is still the best and cheapest option.

[kregoron]

Is there a termination connector on the end of the fiber?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6135[/ATTACH]
here are a few types, if yes, then its possible to get a fiber coupling like the ones in the bottom of the photo. And then extend the fiber with a 2-3m kable. Just need to be sure of the type of cable coming into the house. Single mode or multi mode and so forth
Its not the best solution, but its the simplest. We sometimes used them in as a quick fix.

[smilodon]

Cheers, sorry I completely forgot to update this thread. I managed to get a coupling and a 5m cable with plugs on either end. Worked a treat until my painter discovered there was a metre of extra cable stuffed in the wall. Once we pulled that through the cable reached the modem no problem :doh:

Thanks for the advice and help though, much appreciated.

[TeaLeaf]

Worked a treat until my painter discovered there was a metre of extra cable stuffed in the wall.

:roflmao: