Openreach FTTC capacity planning (lack of?)

Given OR are deploying the smaller Huawei cabs in our locality I've often wondered what the plan is for increasing capacity should a cab become full. The obvious options are swap for larger cab (disruptive), new cab alongside existing or increase line density in existing (would need sufficient battery capacity, space for extra pairs & jumpering blocks etc) assuming the supplier can provide replacement cards with a higher capacity (as disussed in this recent post).

So given the obvious options and variation is associated costs I'm somewhat astounded by the goings-on documented in this part of "Diary of an FTTC Install". Surely this can't be the OR solution for adding capacity, a completely separate cab not even close to the existing one, with all the additional civils that entails? It seems like a tremendous waste of money.

The diary is based in a village in Surrey, close to Guildford, that I'd class it as reasonably well-off. It is also a fair way from the Guildford exchange, and with dire ADSL speeds (less than 2Mbps, some around 0.5Mbps)

So it truly doesn't surprise me that a lot of people have gone for fibre. And, if a location can generate demand to fill a cabinet within a year, then it isn't a surprise that BT would just add another.

Remember that once you have a cabinet active, running full with a few hundred users, then choosing to upgrade by replacement is a *big* disruption to your existing users. Upgrade by addition is *far* easier... and the neighbourhood (by buying) has effectively told BT that the extra cost will be worthwhile.

The addition method is what openreach have done elsewhere.

The problem is how to judge demand in advance of orders, and for a firm that is meant to be at arms distance from the consumer and operating on behalf of communications providers it is even harder.

Hello mary,

There must be a good reason for it, but in this photo (from that FTTC Diary), taken inside the Huawei 128 cabinet, by Drsox, there is spare frame space to the right of the MA5616. Unfortunately, it's not enough space to be useful:

http://beusergroup.co.uk/technotes/images/e/ee/PICT8...

Just an extra half unit more on that frame and two MA5616 could have squeezed into the cabinet, doubling the number of lines served. If that configuration were possible, then with eight VDMM linecards, the current highest port density of Huawei VDSL2 linecards, plus two CCUC controllers, that tiny "128" cabinet could still serve 384 VDSL2 subscriber lines.

As you've already said though, there would also be space issues for a beefed up power supply and cooling system, as well as a doubling of the current space requirements for the extra 237a connection blocks.

cheers, a

Edited by asbokid (Fri 12-Oct-12 20:56:15)

Fair enough but it still seems daft not to at least put the cab next to the existing one, you would have thought the digging and power connection costs would be a large part of the expense of putting a cab in.

Also it does lead to a rather cluttered street scene, if OR have got it wrong here then can we expect to see multiple cabs dotted around everywhere over the next few years?

Post deleted by R0NSKI

Edited by R0NSKI (Sat 13-Oct-12 17:25:58)

In reply to a post by MaryHinge:

Fair enough but it still seems daft not to at least put the cab next to the existing one, you would have thought the digging and power connection costs would be a large part of the expense of putting a cab in.

Too right - and, in fact, there are technical reasons why the fibre cabinet cannot be more than 100 metres from the PCP.

But are you sure that the new cab isn't next to the existing one? This is what the diary says:

In reference to beusergroup.co.uk/technotes/index.php?title=Diary_of_an_FTTC_Instal...:

It looks like they really do install extra cabinets to cope with demand. A new plinth has appeared near the connection point and the existing FTTC cabinet.

Also it does lead to a rather cluttered street scene, if OR have got it wrong here then can we expect to see multiple cabs dotted around everywhere over the next few years?

If so many people want FTTC services, then that is what we'll start to see.

However, BT will probably be so ecstatic to see take-up rates that good, that the area will get earmarked for conversion to FTTP. Then all the street clutter will migrate underground, or to the top of poles.

Maybe