ᐅ Telecommunications in New Construction of a Semi-Detached House – What/When/How

Created on: 10 Jun 2020 09:21
V
vorkalmatador
Hello dear homebuilding community,
I know there are already thousands of topics on this, but since I still have a few general questions, I’ll just go ahead and start topic number 1001.

The situation: New construction of a semi-detached house, construction start planned for the end of the year, completion planned for September 2021. The semi-detached house is located in the second row. Our relationship with the other family is very good after several meetings, so we are planning to “work together” on this.

From what I understand from the general and extended construction description, the construction company does not take care of telecommunications; the electricity connection is mentioned in the additional building costs.

Our profile: We are two young adults with two small children, tech-savvy, currently using a lot of Wi-Fi. A LAN cable is connected to the TV, which we watch via IPTV. At the moment, we are with Vodafone (cable). Since it is a shared medium, there are often speed drops in the evening.

What we want:

  • No satellite TV. I don’t want a dish on the roof; I’ve never used satellite TV in my life, so we don’t need it.
  • We basically don’t need a landline; we’ve used it maybe three times in the last five years.
  • Fast, stable internet with coverage throughout the entire house and, ideally, in the garden as well.

Now, there are two options: cable via Vodafone or DSL via Telekom, right?

According to the availability check, cable offers up to 1 Gbit/s (gigabit per second), DSL with Telekom up to 250 Mbit/s (megabit per second).

Cable would allow TV, internet, and landline, DSL for internet, landline, and IPTV via Magenta.

Both connections would have to be newly installed. Can you already contact the providers even though the building permit / planning permission has not yet been granted? How does the timing usually work? It would make a lot of sense to have this installed at the same time as the electrical conduit work, right? The ground would already be open then. Can this be “shared” with the other party of the semi-detached house?

At the moment, I’m leaning strongly towards the DSL option. We don’t use TV via cable, and the speed fluctuations with cable internet make me a bit uneasy.

What can I prepare now to ensure good internet reception later in the finished attic / first floor and on the terrace?

How is the DSL connection usually set up? Does a Telekom “socket” go into the utility room, and must the router be placed there?

I’m planning to have LAN sockets installed in the children’s rooms, the bedroom, the living room, and the attic. Does that actually make sense?

I know these are a lot of (beginner) questions, but I hope you can shed some light on this.
Thanks so much in advance.

Best regards
M
morph3us
11 Jun 2020 10:36
I don’t have an offer yet; it has been requested. I estimate around 1000€ (about $1100).

We won’t be able to avoid the cable connection because I need a broadband connection for work. My company will tolerate 3 Mbit (3.3 Mbps) for two weeks, and then home office will no longer be possible.

The question is therefore not cable or telephone provider but: Does it make sense to install a traditional phone line as well? For me, that would mean an additional cost of 799€ (about $880) without any future benefit.
V
vorkalmatador
11 Jun 2020 10:56
You can also get a phone connection through cable.
In my opinion, a telecommunications line doesn’t make sense here.
K1300S11 Jun 2020 11:04
Some friends of ours are currently building in a development area without cable or DSL, fiber optic only. Why would you pay for an additional connection that you don’t use anyway?
Tolentino11 Jun 2020 12:18
Well, at most as a fallback option. If it takes the telecom company 20 weeks to install a new connection, you can’t just switch easily if you need to.
It is certainly convenient (assuming the contract terms allow) to be able to change providers from one month to the next.
How is it that electricity, gas, and telephone/DSL services are deregulated, but cable still operates as regional monopolies?

I am also facing this decision. In the area where my building project is located, DSL is only available up to 16 Mbit/s. Cable, however, is normally available. Unfortunately, there is no fiber optic service (not even planned for development).
Therefore, I will definitely opt for cable. Whether I also go with the telecom provider remains undecided.
Does anyone know if, when fiber optic is deployed, there might be no new home connection fee if you already have a traditional telephone/DSL connection? In other words, is the telecom provider somewhat flexible if you are already a customer and simply want to upgrade?

Good luck

Tolentino
K1300S11 Jun 2020 12:32
I believe this must be paid for additionally, as extra wiring is installed after all.
11ant11 Jun 2020 12:34
Tolentino schrieb:

How is it possible that electricity, gas, and telephone/DSL services are liberalized, but there are regional monopolies for cable?

From a regulatory standpoint, these monopolies do not actually exist; however, in many areas, no competitor challenges the regional state-owned cable company. As a customer, this does not really matter, since there is practically no difference whether you get Internet via TV cable or TV via Internet. An additional twisted pair (or splitter) for traditional landline phone service is no longer needed on any of these options.
Tolentino schrieb:

It is quite convenient (assuming the contract terms allow) to be able to switch providers from one month to the next.

I switch several times a day with just one button press; on my internet connection from KD, I still have four phone account providers – with the fourth, I can even dial out using the caller ID number from the second.
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