G.fast

Now that the G.fast pod seems destined to be attached to the FTTC cab, how well will this work with aluminium cables between the cab and the end user?

Presumably less well than with copper.

But, as the only way to give you an answer is from experience, you need to find a researcher who has experimented with aluminium, or a subscriber with aluminium. Neither seems likely.

Perhaps we will finally see a gradual replacement of aluminum cable now.

It is attaching to the PCP not the FTTC cab.

Not very well over aluminium, maybe those areas will eventually see FTTP - too early to guess that.

Copper isn't always better, it depends on the gauge & condition of the ali etc. An all-copper D-side with a bad joint or water ingress somewhere could be worse that one that contains Ali.

If you are already on FTTC then the existing sync speed, attenuation & SNR stats will probably give a good idea of G.fast speeds once the product is out there in volume.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

It is attaching to the PCP not the FTTC cab.

What will they do where the PCP is a 1950's cast iron cabinet?

Either skip it or re-shell it. So if you have a current generation PCP g.fast might be more likely

I think that replacement of aluminium cables is very unlikely, aside from a catastrophic situation where such cable may be cut by an excavator and similar, thus affecting many subscribers.

They just reshelled two near me - both have been fixtures for 60+ years. No other issues visible with either previous cabinet (that an occasional coat of paint over the last 60 years wouldn't have resolved) - attracting comment/complaint from the locals that the new cabinets are fatter (so taking up more pavement space)

in some cases the affect of ali is exaggerated. I have 50m of ali and it has a minimal affect on my sync speed.

However g.fast may possibly help you as they doing network rearranging on some cabinets during the early rollout, to maximise coverage of g.fast from the cabinet. It got approved by the accountants because it is cheaper than deploying nodes. So finally a business case for network rearrangement.

One near me had a new cab placed next to it and all the connections transferred to the new one. I think it was a safety issue because the old cast iron one is right next to the kerb with the doors opening onto the road. The new on opens toward the pavement.