Originally Posted By: jim302
It all depends on your service provider, region, and type of equipment in your neighborhood.
First of all, some phone providers will advertise some of the newer DSL technologies such as VDSL as fiber even though they are still copper. In that case they will just change your DSL modem and leave just about everything else along as long as your inside wiring is in good shape. The rest of this post deals with real fiber.
Your Internet Service Provider will install an ONT (Optical Network Terminal). In most cases, this goes on the outside of the house and replaces the current NID where the copper phone wires come in. They will install a new weather proof enclosure and will run power to the ONT using a power supply that is installed indoors (feeding the ONT using low voltage DC over a new cable they will install)
From the ONT to your router, they will need CAT 5 Ethernet or better. So if you have the old untwisted quad wires then that will have to go. The wire will need to be clean, ideally with no splices, and a dedicated run (no daisy chaining phone jacks). This does not have to be in the same room as the power supply that feeds the ONT... in many homes, they will put the ONT power supply in the garage and the router somewhere else in the house.
Now in some cases, providers are starting to use indoor ONTs which bring the fiber straight into your house. They will still replace the old copper NID as there is a legal requirement for a demarcation and grounding point. Yes, fiber must be grounded even though it is glass... there is a a metal tracer wire on the fiber going into your home which is used for utility location (underground) or strengthening against wind and ice (above ground wiring).
I wouldn't consider fiber safer during a storm because there's still a connection to copper for power. Using a cordless handset will be safe. One thing to be aware of is power backup... your phone provider should have backup power. You will, however, need to keep your ONT (and router if your phone is VoIP) powered up for all services to work properly. The ONT that AT&T installed for me didn't come with a backup battery but I bought one from Batteries Plus. My other equipment is powered by a regular computer UPS. For long power outages, you need a generator or need to get creative with bigger batteries.
As for your fax line, it should work without problems. When you move to fiber, your provider may move your line to a VoIP based product. However, the phone will be prioritized over other Internet traffic and stays within the provider's managed network, so it is different than a typical Internet based phone service (like Vonage).
Again, it is hard to say for sure because it all depends on your service provider.
This post covers it extremely well.
I will only add a couple points based on my experience:
1. There is not always a metal tracer wire and subsequent grounding via that means. In my dealing with telco's this seems to vary. Rogers runs 4-strand fibre with no tracer, can't recall what Bell uses off the top of my head. They ground the boxes directly usually.
2. Some ISP's provide an "all-in-one" device that acts as an ONT as well as providing the gateway, wireless, TV and VoIP services. Bell Atlantic uses these. Fibre comes into the premises and goes into the ONT, which is usually located where your NID was split, usually from a BIX, to provide your phone service. The outside connection to the NID is swapped over to the copper feed from the ONT and they hand you a sheet with the WiFi information and the username/password on how to go in and change this if you desire. This login is generally locked down and only gives you the ability to change local subnet info, SSID, encryption type and password.
An example of #2 would be this
HG8245.
