Exchange Only Lines

We are on the Woburn Sands exchange which is fibre enabled but we are one of many residents (approx 200 houses) on an exchange only line.

Is there much evidence that these sort of lines have actually now been provided with Superfast Broadband at any/many exchanges?

If so, what technology was used and how was BT convinced to do the extra work?

thanks

Can be achieved by installing a standard PCP (cabinet) outside te exchange and routing all of your phone lines though that. There will be a greater possibility of that happening if all the lines are in one or two cables, but if they are spread through various cables going in all directions from the exchange then less chance.


You could pester BT and present them with a "petition" from a large number of EO lines - it might work. Those same people could offer to pay for a PCP install - not cheap but it could be done - it will be several thousand pounds although spread across 100 lines the individual burden may not be great.

Have you found out if your local council plans to upgrade your lines using BDUK funding?

Yes we have and we have an imprecise answer - some properties yes in two years time and some no. I think most/all go in one cable to the exchange.

I am still unsure how many EO line upgrades to FTTC have actually taken place. I read about the concept of placing a new PCP at or near an exchange but am wondering if it is actually happening on the ground.

Its happening/happened. Possibly in the hundreds of cabs just for E/O

The 2 nearest exchanges near me have both had a PCP cabinet installed directly outside their exchange so it's happening in some places.

Yes, they are appearing albeit slowly. Every BT exchange has EO lines - and there are 5600 (ish) exchanges with some having large numbers of EO lines on several cables. There could be the need to 10,000 cabinets, so not a cheap roll out and BT would want to know what payback they would receive on each.

This is a reply i have had from Superfast North Yorkshire regarding EO lines.

Fibre To The Remote Node (FTTRN or �cabinets on poles�) is due to be trialled shortly in North Yorkshire. We do not expect to know the outcome of this trail, ie. whether it is potential solution to provide fibre more cost effectively to more premises in the county than currently possible, until around September/October of this year. If, as we hope, it is successful, then it is likely to be towards the end of this year/start of next year before we have a plan for the exact communities that will benefit. This will ultimately be decided on the basis of maximising the coverage with the funding we have available.

Some of the additional funding will be spent on enabling further existing cabinets, however given that you served by an �exchange only� line from Brandsby, it would appear that in reality the most likely way in which you could receive fibre would be if FTTRN is successful

The good news is it's definitely happening at exchanges around the UK. My guess on your estate is that a majority of the houses are connected via 1 or 2 cable runs. Those properties will get a fibre cabinet outside of the exchange and those houses access to fibre. There may be a few houses who do not run through these main ductings, may go entirely different directions and therefore not cost effective to upgrade. Say 90% of the houses run via 1 cable, that 90% will get fibre. The other 10% wont.

So that's probably why it's a mixed bag.

Edited by ukhardy07 (Tue 17-Jun-14 02:49:45)

If such an FTTC Cabinet is erected outside the Exchange; are the required links (as in FTTC Cabinet to normal PCP) run back in to the Exchange, to connect up the individual subscriber lines and filters?

If that is the case, then it would appear that only lengthy EO lines might not benefit.

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

If such an FTTC Cabinet is erected outside the Exchange; are the required links (as in FTTC Cabinet to normal PCP) run back in to the Exchange, to connect up the individual subscriber lines and filters?

If that is the case, then it would appear that only lengthy EO lines might not benefit.

I'm not quite sure exactly what you are asking. Basically what happens is they out a PCP outside the exchange and route the EO lines through it, then the fibre cabinet goes next to it and connects to the PCP in the normal way using copper tie pairs.

Thanks Icaras.

What you have described, the existing EO Cables have to be intercepted somehow; and wired up to a PCP, with new, normal Voice Links back in to the Exchange to complete the basic Phone/Voice circuits conventionally.

Then the FTTC Cabinet is erected "alongside" and the VDSL Links put in from the FTTC Cabinet to the (new) PCP Cabinet.

That seems like an awful lot of work; and some lengthier EO lines possibly having to go through the process, because of being in the same cable, whether or not the Subscriber/Customer wants Broadband or those on longer Line Lengths would benefit.

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To me it seems simpler if the FTTC is placed somewhere around the Exchange building, inside or out does not matter, as long as the distance is not too great, say 50 metres maximum.

Then the VDSL Links would be taken in to the Exchange if the new FTTC is outside; otherwise "across" the Exchange to the panel/s that the EO lines terminate at, more like ADSL.

That would save the cost of the PCP, split wiring work, long interruption to service etc.

The design of the telephone exchanges limits things slightly. Also the fact that they can't put the VDSL2 DSLAMs in the exchange due to interference. So the fibre cabinet for EO lines needs to be outside the exchange.

However it is certainly possible to have tie pairs leaving the frame (he last point in the exchange before the lines go outside) with termination blocks on the frame, going to the fibre cabinet outside and then returning on some other termination blocks in the exchange. You'd then just need to run jumper wires from these blocks to the line before it leaves the exchange.

However it's just simpler to put a copper PCP outside the exchange and divert all of the EO lines into it. Contractors can't work inside exchanges so using the method I described above a contractor couldn't do the job. Adding new tie pairs would also be a lot harder also, and some frames are really short of space and congested. It's just easier having everything outside.

Thanks, Icarus.

That clearly explains why OR follow what otherwise seemed to be the costlier choice.