Timescale from Cabinet install - > Live cabinet

Hi All,

Just wondering if there was any general rule of thumb from when a cabinet gets put up to when it is actually live?

Finally had some activity from BT in my local area and thanks to roadworks.org this time they actually stuck to (and were actually two days ahead) with the planned works to install 4 new cabinets in and around my area.

So now I've got some shiny new cabs - does anyone have a rough idea how long it takes before they go live and can start to place orders on them or is it just an as and when thing?

Cheers,

1 week, 1 month, 1 year ...

If cabinets are installed before an exchange is upgraded then you could be in for a long wait. Or there could be delays getting fibre to the cabinet. At the other end, if the exchange is fully commissioned and working, fibre already laid to the cabinet location, then you could be looking at a very short time-scale.

Unfortunately it's "as and when". Normal is 1-3 months. For some it is two years and counting. Also each of the four is independent in this respect, as the delay can be due to problems with the power supply or fibre ducting to the specific cabinet.

Cheers Guys,

Yeah the exchange has been live for over a year - and the roadworks listed were to provide the cabinet and all the power and ducting.

So I'm hoping this means it's going to be a failry quick turnaround but you never know!!

My local cabinet was installed in November, still waiting for switch on!

Plenty of roadworks going on but it appears that the major ones are now done so I shouldn't have to wait too much longer.

Cheers MHC,

I'm guessing there is something happening sooner rather than later as I've gone past today and there was BT engineers at both cabs, old and new doing stuff. New cabinet looks like its full of hardware so I'm guessing they are doing something today!!

It wasn't chaos with traffic I would have pulled up and asked! IF they are still there tomorrow I'll shout em and see what's happening!

They could be terminating the "tie-pairs" - used to feed the telephony from PCP to DSLAM and the combined VDSL and telephony back to the PCP. A laborious job ensuring that 200 pairs of cables are terminated on the correct IDC connector - yes they know their colour codes and will get it right however it does take concentration - out by one on a terminal strip and suddenly large numbers of lines could be affected.

If they're using BT's newest "toolless" PCP wiring, the job would something like this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Z3Y5grzfM

Wow, sounds like they are in for a fun time then. They've been there all morning and have two guys sat at either cab, so I guess they are doing something and maybe even doing some training of staff whilst they are at it? Reckon there was 4 fans and 6 folks in total.

That was great to watch . Some other time I'll watch some of the others listed there.