A peek at the future world of Openreach FTTP

For anyone that hasn't seen the blog article A peek at the future world of Openreach FTTP

Interesting article thanks, I have the following questions:

1. I assume fusion splices are still required at the splitter node & the fibre presentation inside the customers premises?
2. Are the connectorised cables running from the DP to the SPN really much of a benefit duct space-wise? ISTR the latest BFTs are quite a bit thinner now.

The biggest problem with FTTP is probably blocked ducts where the drop cables are underground, and connectorisation isn't going to help with this, which is why G.Fast to the DP may well be the preferred deployment method for ultrafast over FTTP in areas with underground ducts (when they start to look beyond G.Fast from the fibre cab).

With connectorisation there may well be a case for FTTP rather than G.Fast for overhead drop areas (particularly in areas of low housing density) the main disadvantage of G.Fast being the requirement to power the nodes. Perhaps if they get reverse power working to a satisfactory degree this might change.

Comments?

Yes, fusion splices at the SPN, and there may be something at the home - but whether internal or external isn't certain.

I think the fibre used in connectorisation comes in two forms:
- For DP-SPN, the fibre used is corning SST with additional strength members, that helps get past blockages in the distribution side, not the drop side. This likely replaces COF 201 cable, not BFT.
- For DP-Home, the fibre is Corning with Fast Access "peelable" fibre, so may be something like their ROC drop cable, fitted with the optitap connector.

This is the UKNOF talk where Neil McRae talks of both the G.Fast trials and the connectorised FoD trial, where he specifically mentions SST and fast access:
UKNOF31 - G.Fast and NGA2: http://youtu.be/LLpk2dz6nBQ

By the sounds of it, their two biggest problems are blocked ducts - hence the use of SST - and the time/kit needed to perform the blowing when doing a job for a single customer.

The fibre that @MrS mentions, where the black jacket can be peeled leaving a white indoor inner, doesn't quite fit with either of those products used that way. There is an indoor/outdoor variant of SST that does behave like that, and can be used on the drop cable portion instead of the ROC cable - but it then doesn't offer the "fast access" facility.

That indoor/outdoor cable might mean there is no splice needed in the home, if the fibre can be presented into a connector for the ONT.

Corning ROC drop cables, with OptiTap connector

Corning Optisheath DPs with SST cable

SST indoor/outdoor variant

Corning ROC fast access cable

No external splicing at the home, believe a final mechanical splice in the home suffices. They are using OptiTap to stub end cables from the DP to the ONT in the home.

1. There may be some splicing used, but a lot less than previously.
2. The newer smaller BFT help too, so there are various options now.

The changes narrow the gap between G.fast and FTTP costs, hence deployments like Swindon to assess actual costs versus what manufacturers claim.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

They are using OptiTap to stub end cables from the DP to the ONT in the home.

Your photo of the cable is a little blurred. When it has the outer jacket in place, is it perfectly round? or somewhat flattened?

Perfectly round for that particular cable

In my current FTTP installation the only splice that I was aware of at the home was between the drop cable and the internal cable in a small box on the outside wall. The fibre connects to the ONTE with a connector that was already on one ed of the cable.

I think that is one of the ones they want to get rid of. Especially if it is also the transition from blown-fibre tubing and EZ-bend internal fibre.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Perfectly round for that particular cable

Hmm. That still doesn't match up with the choices available on Corning's website. More mysteries ...

http://catalog.corning.com/opcomm/en-US/catalog/Cate...

Zooming on original and the DP end cables definitely a round profile, and remember seeing it plenty of times. At the Huntindon G.fast demo last year some of the cables did match the oblong profiles of the Corning website

There will be a further splice in the DP node, top of your road on the left I seem to recall, and then another at the splitter node which is down Evingar aways ...

There is also bound to be a couple more, at least one at the aggregation node.

Especially if it is also the transition from blown-fibre tubing and EZ-bend internal fibre.

It is ..... but how would it be done away with ?? Since you don't know how far from CSP to ONTE, the simple solution is to have the plug in bit ONTE end and then the other cut and spliced in the CSP .... as it is already. Otherwise you'll end up with reels of slack in some cases.

CSP days are limited if Swindon trials pan out.

Yeah - the oblong profile on that page is the one where the outer jacket can be stripped, leaving a circular white indoor cable.

The circular profile cable originally didn't look to have the ability to be stripped that way - the pictures just don't show that extra layer. There is no mention of options in the specification either ... but the plain text does mention an option with the extra outdoor outer. I guess that is what you saw...

Did some enhancing on a crop image and there might be the white in door sheaf visible, or that could be an artefact, but if the cable was as oblong as the Corning site and ones I've got pictures of elsewhere I'd have noticed it and would be obvious on the DP pictures where the connector is plugged in for the live customers.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

but how would it be done away with ??

First by having a cable that meets dual outdoor and indoor needs, which @MrS described. That removes the need for a splice where the cable transitions from the outdoor world to the indoor one.

@MrS suggested a mechanical splice as the way of connecting a nice indoor cable (with ONT connector) onto the incoming feed. I imagine we've made that into a more feasible solution by bringing it indoors, for one.

Talking of DPs...

Is there a reason for having a 4-connector DP that people are connected to, and two 8-connector DPs that are empty?

The labels don't quite gel for it being a single DP: 2450, 2451A and 2451B.