Connecting Fibre from Exchange to FTTC cab

Iv just seen a FTTC cab installed adjacent next to the existing green cab, however how did BT deploy the fibre cables to connect the FTTC cab back to the exchange without there clearly being no digging work on the road?!

TIA.

BT Openreach blow the fibre cables to the FTTC cabinets down existing ducts.

In reply to a post by chris6273:

BT Openreach blow the fibre cables to the FTTC cabinets down existing ducts.

Ah interesting. They must have some beefy equipment for it to be blown far distances.

Edited by Bobby_Valentino (Sat 20-Aug-11 12:21:36)

In answer to your original "what if it gets stuck" question, Openreach have some very small engineers (descended from Oompa-Loompas I believe) who are sent down to lubricate the fibre with magic goo.

In reply to a post by adebov:

In answer to your original "what if it gets stuck" question, Openreach have some very small engineers (descended from Oompa-Loompas I believe) who are sent down to lubricate the fibre with magic goo.

In reply to a post by adebov:

In answer to your original "what if it gets stuck" question, Openreach have some very small engineers (descended from Oompa-Loompas I believe) who are sent down to lubricate the fibre with magic goo.

rofl

Not quite.

With these 'main' fibres it's all in the sheathing already, so the cables are pulled in via existing E-side duct routes, and then jointed/spiced off as and where. Smaller runs will have 'empty' cable sheath pulled in, and the fibre blown through as required.

quite long distances too...

Our exchange, about 6 miles west of Cambridge, is due to accept first orders around Feb 2012. The exchange serves a number of villages within a 2-3 mile radius. However a recent project update from BT says that fibre service will in fact be provisioned from another larger exchange just south of Cambridge city centre. Presumably the local exchange is just a garden shed of some sort and too small for the associated fibre kit. From the update it seems they are intending to run a mix of fttc & fttp from poles. Our postcode is listed as getting fttp from the only cab in the village. Getting quite excited now

In reply to a post by bgriffiths:

Our postcode is listed as getting fttp from the only cab in the village.

I don't think FTTP comes from cabinets. More likely to arrive via nodes in underground joint boxes and/or at the top of poles.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the speed when it gets there

In reply to a post by charles1:

In reply to a post by bgriffiths:

Our postcode is listed as getting fttp from the only cab in the village.

I don't think FTTP comes from cabinets. More likely to arrive via nodes in underground joint boxes and/or at the top of poles.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the speed when it gets there

Correct, but .

There is an Openreach spreadsheet from April that lists cabinets and postcodes for deployment of FTTC and FTTP. There is no discernable difference between the two except most cabinets are FTTC and some are FTTP.

So presumably what it means is the lines on that cabinet will get FTTP, though as you rightly say it is unlikely to be via the cabinet.

I believe at the moment brownfield FTTP will still have the PSTN service over the existing copper. Even some of the trial areas I think, but could be wrong on that. Only greenfield might get both broadband and PSTN over the fibre in the foreseeable future.

Essentially BT (Openreach) group together a number of exchanges and feed the fibre from one exchange where the headend (Handover point) is located. This reduces the number of handover points required, and ultimately this will have the potential to allow them to close down many local exchanges

In reply to a post by Ribble:

... ultimately this will have the potential to allow them to close down many local exchanges

But only when they remove the need for copper - which in turn will be if/when they sort out how they get the voice call down the fibre with the same standard of service as today - particularly the ability to call emergency services during a power cut.

"sort out" isn't really a technical thing - it is more to do with cost & politics.

As someone has pointed out the fibre could have been blown down existing ducts. Alternatively the cab could have been placed in advance of an imminent fibre install.

Around here they appeared to either be pulled through mechanically (or by elbow grease) or some sort of vacuum contraption.