Fibre capacity

Hi all, I was wondering if someone could help me with some information.

BT/Openreach is installing what seems to be FTTP to about 10 rural properties close to me. Distance from the exchange to the properties is about 3,000 metres.

I and 7 other homes also live about 3,000 metres from the exchange. BT has installed a 32 way tray splitter on a post 2,400 metres from the exchange. From that post they are continuing the fibre optic run to 8 of the original set of 10 homes I mention above and 2 houses right next to the post.

I questioned BT why we weren't being supplied with high speed from that post as we're only 600 metres away from it. They first said distance. I told them we weren't any further than the original set of homes mentioned above from the exchange and that the splitter was only 600 metres away.

Now they say there aren't spare fibres close by.

My question is how many fibres are there in the optic bundle they're running up from the exchange to the 32 way tray splitter?

The cable says Blown Fibre Tubing Mark3(2.7/4.0mm) and on yellow tags it says Fibre capacity: DAAIPQQ-DAAIPQS

This fibre bundle isn't being used for any other properties except the 10 above. Can such a fibre bundle handle about 20 homes?

Do they in fact have spare fibres and can they connect the unconnected homes.

Thanking you all in advance.

Same reason that those within 600m of the 72,000 or so aggregation nodes that provider fibre to FTTC, i.e. planning decisions and availability of ducting between you and the location.

i.e. millions upon millions are in your position of being close to the FTTP out build, i.e. every fibre cabinet has the basics waiting for when Openreach has the time and resources to build out a lot more FTTP.

So the question is are you on the same cabinet footprint as those getting FTTP?

If not then issue is ducting or pole routes and there is a plan, that is not done to suit individuals but rather the overall plan. Of course you want to pay all the cost of a custom build of a single fibre over the 600m (i.e. planners, new poles, ducts, labour) then it might be possible, but the planning is such it may actually come from a different direction.

Thanks for the reply Mr Saffron.

We're all currently on the same cabinet that is located just outside the exchange. Poles are all there and there are no other properties in the area.

The remaining properties (myself and the others) are at the end of the line from a spur on the post that has the splitter.

So boils down to whether you somehow got hold of the planning team in Openreach/BT Group or just a minion saying enough to get you off the phone. If you just dialled BT Retail or 151 then you won't have spoken to the right people.

There are some FTTP areas where the property that is a long way from others have to pay excess construction charges, e.g. 9 homes on the road are done, but the one down a private 200m long lane on its own is left out, usually capacity on it.

Without seeing exact area on a map and then looking at what is actually live and ready to order for others and subsequent chasing of BT management its difficult to give a firm answer. Is FTTP live for the other premises yet, ie. ready to order.

In reply to a post by Sierra:

My question is how many fibres are there in the optic bundle they're running up from the exchange to the 32 way tray splitter?

In one sense it doesn't matter how many go from the exchange to the splitter. What matters is that you have one 32-way splitter fed by "all" those fibres.

A house doesn't get service from the fibres coming from the exchange - it gets service from the fibres coming out of the splitter.

To be added to the service, you need there to be a spare port on the splitter - and we don't really know how many of the 32 ports BT consider to be a usable amount.

Unless, of course, it isn't a splitter, and is really a fibre DP. Are you sure it is a splitter?

The cable says Blown Fibre Tubing Mark3(2.7/4.0mm) and on yellow tags it says Fibre capacity: DAAIPQQ-DAAIPQS

BT's architecture would normally put the BFT from a fibre DP out to a manifold located in a chamber or on a pole near the property; those manifolds are normally for 7 or 12 fibres, and are used to convert BFT into the final drop into the house.

You'd guess, then, that BFT tends to come with 7 or 12 tubes.

Are you sure the BFT holds fibre coming into the trays from the exchange, rather than fibre going out to the homes?

The general architecture used by BT has multi-strand fibre cables out as far as the DP, and the cables tend to have a number of strands that are a multiple of 12. We've certainly seen mention of 48 and 96-fibre counts. The biggest cables can have up to a 288 fibre count.

Of course, some of these will be dimensioned as spares in case of breakages in the decades to come, and some will be for future point-to-point use (eg G.fast nodes, or business use).

I believe it is a fibre DP and the splitter is located nearer to the exchange. I susspect the problem for OP is that the road is a narrow lane with joint user poles carrying existing copper, and that the existing line for the OP may in fact come in from the other direction, taking a long route.

Here are some pictures:

http://imgur.com/a/EboK2

The splitter on the post is 600 metres from my home and the fibre will still continue down the road 400 metres to the homes that are marked to receive high speed but not up to us and we are at the end of the line. The old posts that carry the copper pairs are being used for the fibre bundle. No one has yet received fibre but we are out of the picture so to speak.

This splitter is located about 2,400 metres from the exchange.

That's the Fibre DP not the splitter. I assume you are located up the road to the side off the photo?

In reply to a post by Ribble:

That's the Fibre DP not the splitter. I assume you are located up the road to the side off the photo?

Thanks for that info. For some reason I thought it was a 32 way tray splitter. The road you can see is where the fibre optic is due to continue for another 400 metres and I live 600 metres to the right of the picture.

Thought so. As I said previously, the joint user poles further up that road towards you will be a problem.
I think the existing copper route to those properties near where you live goes a long route north out the exchange before heading back yo you.