How to convert to optical fiber? Here are some tips to avoid mistakes

It is better to keep two connections in parallel

Thus, “the most important advice to give to those intending to transition to a full fiber connection is, for now, not to carry out the operator change procedure but to activate the new line in parallel and independently,” explains Giovanni Christi, technical expert for German multinational routers Avm. As is known, for lanes from one xDsl connection to another (including Vdsl, and therefore fiber up to 200Mbps cabinet), it is recommended to perform a “player change” to reduce costs and times. That is, do not cancel our line ourselves, but ask the new operator to activate the new line. The new launcher will manage cancellations and smooth passage from one line to another.

But the switch from xDsl to full fiber is a technological shift. “Theoretically, operators can coordinate to make a smooth transition, without interruption of service, but in practice they can’t at this point,” Christie explains. The reason is that they have to send a technician to the house to install the optical port (in the future, when homes already have this end of the network, this will not be necessary). Technician times are hard to coordinate with old line closing times, so the risk of being offline for days or weeks is real if you make a “change of player”. So the advice is to order the new line, and after making sure everything is OK, cancel the old line manually (you can now do this easily, even via a call center; the registered letter is no longer needed).

Disadvantages: For a month we will have to pay for the old and new line and cancellation costs may be higher. We’ll also lose any fixed number associated with the line, but that won’t be an issue for now. One solution to keeping goats and cabbage would be to make a technical change with the existing operator, which already offers us VDSL. However, we should hope that we are covered by that and not just by one of its competitors. It is also not certain that our operator will make us a favorable offer, compared to others in the market.

modem problem

There is another problem with the modem. Many current VDSL modems are also good for full fiber optics. If the user has a modem of this type, owns it (purchased in stores or in installments from his own operator), then he can think about keeping it even with a new connection. However, in this case, you must make sure that the “Free modem” option is selected during activation. Otherwise, the operator will give us his modem; Right now, Tim and Wind 3 are making us pay for it in instalments. Vodafone and Fastweb no – they give it on loan for free. However, even in this case, some advanced users may want to keep their modem, possibly high-end with all home network configurations and repeaters already installed.

However, choosing a free modem has an unknown issue now that users need to know about. In other words, Agcom has given operators, specifically for full fiber optic connections, a partial derogation from the obligation to offer modem freedom. Free modem user can connect it via LAN cable to the wall socket, while operators’ modems are connected directly to the optical port. “The negative practical consequence is that ‘only with operators’ modems we can now surf at higher than gigabit speeds with modem-connected devices,'” Christie explains. AGCOM announces that it is analyzing the exceptions – granted by the previous authority board – for possible review.