FTTC and old cab, how do they connect up?

Hi

My FTTC cabinet has been installed some 10 metres (and closer to me) away from the old cabinet. This got me thinking, is the cabinet being physically closer to me a positive or a negative?

So it got me wondering how they make the connections? I can only think of two practical ways.

1) New single pair from the FTTC cabinet carrying VDSL to the old cabinet where it connects with my pair, presumably some filter is needed at the connection to my pair in the old cabinet to stop the VDSL signal going back the wrong way to the telephone exchange!

2) 2 pairs are used. My connection between me and the exchange in the old cabinet is broken, the exchange end uses 1 pair to take the voice line to the new FTTC cabinet where VDSL is added and another pair takes the VDSL and telephone signal back to the old cabinet where it then joins back to my pair going to my home.

Or some other method?

I think the tendency is that if the cabinet is sited physically closer to us than the old cabinet, we all see it is a positive as we know the less VDSL travels the better, but 1 or 2 above means it can only be a negative as you have the an extra journey between FTTC cab and the original cab.

I'm not expecting 10 metres or so to make much difference in my case, it just got be thinking about how they are wired.

Regards

Phil

It's your option 2, which means that the FTTC cabinet does not need opening for an FTTC install. The engineer breaks the existing E side to D side connection at the PCP, and reconnects the line via the pre-allocated pairs running to and from the FTTC cabinet.

Shame there is not an option 3) by not bothering to connect the voice service from the exchange. That ought to shave a few pounds of the line rental. However what's all this about an incoming voice call "cleaning up" the line?

Incoming call drives a little more current down the line, so can resolve high resistance faults temporarily

Not sure going with no voice would save that much, look at how bundled the voice and bb is...i.e. trying to grab that revenue from people voting on xfactor i.e. the outside the call bundle stuff

Hi

Thanks for that info.

So that confirms then that if a FTTC box happens to be sited closer to someone's property than their connecting cabinet, it doesn't mean an advantage, if anything everyone is disadvantaged slightly as distance is always line length from premises to telephone cabinet PLUS distance between the FTTC and cabinet. It makes perfect sense though it would be connected up this way.

They certainly made a mess of digging up across a side road to run the cables, it hasn't been put back well and for those living on that street, it's pot holes waiting to happen. These contractors really need to be made responsible for putting the road back as it was.

These older telephone cabinets must be a spaghetti of wires with all the added pairs for FTTC. I've seen engineers working on my cab before FTTC and it's just packed with wires, it's a wonder they can get anything connected up to work at all.

Regards

Phil

Edited by deleted (Sat 16-Nov-13 15:03:04)

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Incoming call drives a little more current down the line, so can resolve high resistance faults temporarily

Not sure going with no voice would save that much, look at how bundled the voice and bb is...i.e. trying to grab that revenue from people voting on xfactor i.e. the outside the call bundle stuff

I wasn't thinking too much about the line rental money here, it just seemed to me that the shortest/least amount of copper pairs to your property with an FTTC service, then perhaps a cleaner line would ensue and therefore higher broadband speeds.

It is not so much X factor grabbing revenue from making a voice call, our dear HMG is at racking in millions in the process often from people who can least afford expensive calls. Factor in call setup fees, line rental and CLI charges, then I can understand the popularity of mobile phones.

Does FTTP demand that you also take a voice package?

FTTC is already more reliable as the influence of the E side wiring is minimal to zero.

On Openreach FTTP three options really

1. Copper voice with FTTP BB
2. Just FTTP BB
3. Fibre Voice Access and FTTP BB

Options 1 and 2 are more attractive price wise if memory serves right