The CityFibre Installation Process: What to Expect
From the street to your router: A guide to getting connected.
The Physical Connection
Switching to CityFibre isn’t just a software change. It involves connecting your home to a brand new physical network. This means an engineer must visit your property. Here is a walkthrough of what happens.
Phase 1: The Toby Box (Outside)
A few days or weeks before your install, you might see engineers working on the pavement outside your house. They are installing a “Toby Box” (a small plastic pot in the ground) at the boundary of your property. They blow the fibre cable from the street cabinet to this box. You don’t need to be home for this.
Phase 2: The Install Day (Inside)
On your booked day, the engineer arrives. The appointment usually takes 60-90 minutes.
- Planning the Route: You and the engineer will agree where the equipment should go. It needs to be on an external wall (or accessible from one) and near a double power socket.
- Drilling: The engineer will drill a small hole (approx 10mm) through your wall from the outside.
- External Box (CSP): They mount a small grey box (Customer Splice Point) on the outside wall. This protects the join between the rugged external cable and the thin internal cable.
- Internal Box (ONT): They mount the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) on the inside wall. This is a white box, about the size of a coaster. It plugs into the mains power. This is your “Modem.”
- Testing: They plug a laser tester into the ONT to ensure the light signal is strong.
Phase 3: You’re Live
Once the ONT has solid green lights, you plug your Router (the Wi-Fi box) into the ONT using an Ethernet cable. In most cases, it connects instantly. You are now live on Gigabit broadband!
Note for Renters
You need your landlord’s permission for the drilling. Most landlords are happy because Full Fibre increases the property’s desirability. CityFibre has a standard “Wayleave” form, but often a simple email or text approval is accepted.