Do we want the fastest internet connection at all costs? Let’s find out what to do to request FTTH fiber at home or in the office.
Among the technologies available to surf the Internet at the maximum speed, the best is without a doubt FTTH, which brings the optical fiber into the home and allows to reach (and exceed) 1000 Megabits per second, against the maximum 200 Megabits per second of the mixed fiber optic / copper cable technologies. Not all municipalities in Italy are covered by direct optical fiber but, even in the streets and municipalities where FTTH is a reality, many users are not aware of this great opportunity, remaining tied to the old contracts that provide only ADSL or mixed copper fiber. .READ ALSO -> FTTC fiber and FTTH: what are the differences and which is better?
How to get FTTH fiber
In the following guide we will show you how to check coverage and how to apply for FTTH fiber, so you can immediately benefit from the best connection speed and download the largest files in seconds.
Unfortunately, FTTH fiber is not present in all municipalities and in all streets of Italy, so before moving on with the request it is always advisable to check if FTTH is really available and if it is managed by one of the telephone operators present in Italy. If there is availability we will have to prepare for at least a small masonry intervention near the telephone socket: the old telephone socket will in fact have to be removed, to make room for the socket that will manage the fiber optic signal.
for the occasion, the technicians may also have to pull the new fiber optic wire, passing it from the cabinet to the socket of our home, thus taking a lot of time for the first installation: given the great opportunity, let us free ourselves from any commitment and dedicate the full day to install, so you can benefit from FTTH.
FTTH coverage check
The first thing to do is to check the coverage of the FTTH network, which varies greatly from city to city but also from street to street (often even a single discarded house number is enough to obtain availability). The best site to check for FTTH is without a doubt Fibermap, accessible from the official website.
On the page that opens, we select the region, indicate the province and municipality in which we live, provide the address and house number of our home or office and check if, in the table shown, there is an indication AND next to the item Ftth. If we find the indication NO, our address is not yet covered by FTTH, but we can reach a maximum of 200 Megabits per second with mixed copper fiber (in the ways in which it is indicated EVdsl as active).
Choose an operator with an FTTH offer
After checking the coverage we can check if the main telephony operators only see offers in FTTH when we try to sign a contract for a new telephone line (assuming that we did not already have an active line at the indicated address). The operator pages to check for FTTH fiber are as follows:
- TIM
- Vodafone
- Fastweb
- WindTre
- Tiscali
The control procedure is the same for all operators: we re-enter the data in the coverage verification fields (often hidden on the same page as the offer), entering the address and house number with common precision. In the summary screen of the offer, make sure that the green dot F (FTTH fiber) or that the speed of 1000 Mbps, 2500 Mbps, 1 Gigabit or 2.5 Gigabit is clearly indicated.
If the FTTH fiber is not indicated and we find other labels (as for for example the FR, FWA or A stamps), we are not covered by the fastest fiber with the selected operator; we therefore recommend that you forget about it and try one of the other operators. To learn more, we invite you to read our in-depth analysis More affordable and reliable home internet offers Fiber or ADSL.
I already have an Internet subscription for home, how can I apply for FTTH?
What can we do instead when we already have an active Internet contract for the home (in VDSL or ADSL) but we are not using FTTH? If the Fibermap page clearly indicates the copertura in FTTH (maybe activated a few months or a few days), usually the procedure for updating the technology is the responsibility of the operator, who should contact the customer and schedule the update of the telephone socket and the installation of the new fiber inside the house. If we have not received any communication regarding this, we invite you to contact the operator’s assistance directly, as also seen in the guide Request TIM, WindTre, Vodafone, Fastweb operator assistance.
Unfortunately, in many cases operators will avoid updating the connection technology or invent the most trivial excuses to achieve their real goal: make you cancel your old subscription in order to take out a new one (with FTTH fiber). For the occasion, we can try another telephone operator, but only if we do not yet have any active restrictions with the current active subscription. If, on the other hand, we want to follow the path of cancellation and the new contract (even with the same operator), it is advisable to know in advance that there may be days in which we will be without the Internet, the time necessary to cancel the old line and be able to switch to the new one; this step will also involve the payment of the double subscription, but only for a limited period of time (usually one month).
Conclusions
If we have the opportunity to move into FTTH, let’s not miss the opportunity: now the prices are in line with the other technologies and we can switch to the more powerful and faster fiber even if we already have a contract for the fixed telephony activated (even if with some more ups and downs, as seen above). We remind you that the presence of FTTH coverage on Fibermap is not synonymous with a secure contract in FTTH: there are many scenarios in which the direct fiber optic line cannot be activated or dedicated cable laying is not envisaged. Better to be very careful before signing the contract and only accept the FTTH, thus avoiding to accept only the best technology available at that precise moment (which can also be EVDSL).
If we want to connect to the Internet without using the traditional telephone line or without waiting for the optical fiber to arrive in our remote municipality, we recommend that you read our guides. How to have ADSL Internet without TIM and telephone line e Connect to Wifi without ADSL: Possible options.
Still on the FTTH theme, we can read our guides How to use the FRITZ! Box modem on an FTTH fiber optic network and Best router for fiber: which one to choose.