BTnet installation process, step by step

The installation process at a glance

BTnet is a dedicated access line from your premises into BT's network. Because the line is built for your site, every order goes through a survey and an engineering stage before the service starts. In plain words, these are the steps under BT's terms and help pages:

1. Enquiry and needs. You tell us the address, what the connection is for, the speed you need now and later, and whether the site must stay online through a fault.
2. Availability and desktop survey. BT gives an up-front lead-time prediction based on average installation times in your area and a desktop survey that places the job in a delivery "category".
3. Quote and order. We prepare a written quote for the plan, speed, contract term and any resilience. When you order, BT's credit vetting may apply.
4. Site survey. The survey is the first step of any order. It confirms a suitable access line can reach your site and gives a firm expectation of lead time.
5. Extra engineering and permissions. If the survey finds work beyond the normal level, excess construction charges may apply. If the route crosses land or a building you do not own, a wayleave agreement may be needed.
6. Customer Committed Date. After the survey BT gives a Customer Committed Date (CCD) for delivery, or an estimated date where it cannot commit to one.
7. Engineering works. The access line is built and run into your building, ready for the network terminating equipment (NTE).
8. Equipment fitted and configured. The NTE is installed and, unless you chose BTnet wires only, BT's managed router or Meraki equipment is fitted and configured.
9. BT's tests. BT configures the service and runs standard tests, pinging the managed equipment or, on wires only, the port.
10. Your acceptance tests. You have five Business Days to carry out acceptance tests. If you do not tell BT otherwise in that time, the service is treated as accepted.
11. Service Start Date. Billing starts, and BT's availability service level applies, from the Service Start Date.

Each stage has its own page in this section, and the questions most people ask are answered below. If you want the short version for your site, contact us with the address and we will tell you what the early steps look like there.

Before you order: availability, design and quote

The work you do before ordering shapes everything after it. A clear brief avoids changes later, and changes after the order can move dates.

• Check availability properly. There is no instant answer for a leased line. BT's prediction comes from local averages and a desktop survey, and only the site survey gives a firm answer. See how BTnet availability is checked.
• Choose the plan. BTnet wires only, a managed Cisco router or Meraki with BTnet Security. The plan decides what equipment BT fits and where BT's responsibility ends.
• Size the bearer and speed. The bearer is the physical access circuit; the port speed is the bandwidth you buy on it. Choosing a bearer with room to grow means later speed changes can be made with Bandwidth Flex instead of a new installation. See bearers and port speeds.
• Decide on resilience now. A second access line is far easier to plan at the start, when route separation can be looked at in the same survey.
• Agree an ECC limit. BT's terms let you set a limit for excess construction charges in the order. Within it, BT carries on; above it, BT re-quotes. We explain the choice when we quote.
• Expect credit checks. BT's terms say you may be credit vetted and BT may ask for a deposit or other security for payment.

Our questions to ask before you order turn this into a checklist, and BT leased line cost explains how each choice affects the price.

After you order: survey, permissions and your committed date

Once the order is in, BT arranges the surveys needed to confirm that a suitable access line can reach the site. The site survey is where the plan meets the building: the route in from the street, the entry point, the path to your comms room and where the equipment will go.

Three things can follow from the survey:

The Customer Committed Date is the date delivery is due to start. BT uses commercially reasonable endeavours to meet it, and if BT misses it, BT's on-time delivery service level lets you claim a credit against the service introduction charges. Where BT cannot give a committed date, it gives an estimated date instead. If you ask for a change to the order, BT may revise the CCD to fit. Our guide to BTnet lead times covers dates in detail.

Installation day: what happens on site

Engineering visits happen in Business Hours, which BT's terms define as 08:00 to 17:00 on a Business Day, unless agreed otherwise. You need someone on site who can let the engineers in and escort them where required.

On the day, the usual sequence is:

• The access line is brought in along the route agreed at survey, using the trunking, conduits or cable trays you have prepared.
• The NTE is fitted. This is BT's termination point for the line. On wires only, BT's responsibility ends here.
• Managed equipment is installed. On the Cisco router or Meraki options, BT fits and configures its equipment, and the boundary moves to the equipment's LAN port.
• Internal cabling is connected. Cabling between BT's equipment and your own network is your responsibility under BT's terms, so have it ready or arranged.
• BT tests the service. BT runs its standard tests and confirms when the service is ready for your acceptance tests.

Your site preparation checklist covers space, power, cabling and access in detail. A missing piece of preparation on the day, such as no access to a riser or no power where the equipment is going, can stop the visit going ahead.

Acceptance tests and the Service Start Date

When BT has configured and tested the service, it either confirms the Service Start Date or tells you the service is ready for your acceptance tests. Under BT's terms:

• You carry out acceptance tests within five Business Days of BT's notice.
• You can confirm acceptance in writing, or the service is treated as accepted if you give no notice to the contrary within that period.
• If a test fails and you tell BT within the period, BT remedies the problem and then confirms the Service Start Date.
• BT does not test wireless access, so test any BTnet Wi-Fi yourself.
• BT may invoice from the Service Start Date even if other services that depend on BTnet, such as a new phone system, are not ready yet.

That last point is worth planning for. If BTnet is the foundation for a phone move or a cloud migration, line up those projects so they can follow soon after the Service Start Date. Simple checks for acceptance: a wired test of speed in both directions (our leased line speed test guide explains how), your static IP addresses working, and your key applications reachable.

What can slow an installation down

BT's terms also say BT is not liable for delay where another supplier delays the supply BT relies on, or where legal or regulatory restrictions prevent it. In practice, the biggest single factor you control is how early you start.

How Forever Communications helps

Forever Communications is an Authorised Supplier for BT. We cannot set BT's dates, but we can make sure your order is clear, complete and well prepared, which is what keeps installations moving:

• Before you order, we help you choose the plan, bearer, speed and resilience, and explain what the desktop survey category means for your site.
• At quote stage, we set out the ECC limit, credit vetting and contract points so there are no surprises later.
• During delivery, we can help you prepare the site, line up landlord consent and understand each update on your committed date.
• At go-live, we can help you plan acceptance tests and the move of your phones and systems onto the new line.

Planning a move or a new site? Start the conversation early. Contact us for a BTnet leased line quote.