20CN and 21CN exchanges

If an exchange is upgraded to 21CN then ADSL2 and 2+ become available to get higher speeds,if that didn't prove stable for a long line then ADSL1 would be available but there wouldn't be an option to go back to 20CN for broadband like ADSL Max would there as some/all of that 20CN equipment would have been removed?

Mac

20CN equipment is NOT removed from the exchange, providers don't usually allow you to migrate back because the 21CN service is cheaper to provide.

ADSL Max can be configured on 21CN WBC hardware, i.e. an up to 8Meg ADSL profile is available to providers.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

20CN equipment is NOT removed from the exchange

Never?

I'm never, never sick at Sea!"
What, never?
No, never!
What, never?
Well, hardly ever...

Gilbert & Sullivan, HMS Pinafore.

I carefully did not say NEVER, at present it is NOT removed, but in the future it may well be.

Will all exchanges eventually become 21CN or will the smaller ones remain 20CN due to the cost of upgrading exchanges which only serve several hundred premises?

Mac

Define eventually?

I expect there to be less exchanges eventually, since fibre removes the length limits implicit in copper, even for telephone only lines.

Once 20CN kit becomes impossible to source, and spares are rare, then a final upgrade to 21CN for both voice and broadband will take place. The removal of old strowger to SystemX took many years to complete, no reason to suspect that 20CN to 21CN will not be a similar timescale.

FYI Here's a previous related TBB News item - it doesn't sound too rosy for those of us stuck on a 20CN exchange

Yes that's rather sad really but understandable if you leave it to a private sector company with a UK [cough] monopoly.

There's not many private companies (quite understandable) rushing to pick up the fallout from the public sector as the coalition thought there would be or was that just another load of porkies for the benefit of the populous

Mac

This means that exchanges that haven't been upgraded with 21CN will continue to receive IPStream services into 2014 and beyond. Unfortunately this does mean that some of the country may be stuck on 'up-to' 8meg ADSL for some years to come.

A VERY IMPORTANT BIT.

In short the ones that will be left, are probably the ones that got enabled back in 2004, i.e. were not commercially viable until the pressure of demand schemes kicked in, and BT is expecting the BDUK projects to effectively negate the need for them to be upgraded, i.e. not win in that area, or win and thus do a WBC upgrade for one exchange in an area, and run the fibre links to a larger town.

Once voice does go 21CN properly and FVA for FTTC appears (FTTP is on its way), then we can expect BT to give up leases on a good few exchanges.

In reply to a post by b4dger:

FYI Here's a previous related TBB News item - it doesn't sound too rosy for those of us stuck on a 20CN exchange

There's still the option of SMPF on these IPStream exchanges of which I am a customer.