Virgin Media FTTP coming to Thanet

Well it finally looks like Virgin Media are in the process of starting the roll out of their FTTP broadband in Thanet.

There are now five of these scheduled across Thanet

Installation of Virgin Media Powered Hub Cabinets 1 x 1700mm(H) x 1800mm(W) x 650mm(D) and 1 x 985mm(H) x 535mm(W) x 330mm(D).

Namely:

On verge side of 17 Pysons Road, Broadstairs CT12 6TR 6 Jul - 17 Jul
On footway opp 48-50 Northdown Road, Maragate CT9 2RN. 5 Jun - 14 Jun
On verge opp 14 George V Avenue, Margate CT9 5PX. 5 Jun - 14 Jun
On verge O/S 6 Park Road, Birchington CT7 0AE 5 Jun - 14 Jun
On verge side of 2 Cross Road, Birchington CT7 9HN 5 Jun - 14 Jun

I'm told by Ignitionnet on Kitz forum that the cabinet sizes indicate an FTTP installation, and each of those cabinets is for up to 3,000 premises passed. Also being a completely new install and FTTP it should not suffer with congestion.

Hopefully this will bring good competition to the area, and offer a true 21st century broadband option, as I'm only aware of one cabinet in Thanet supplying FTTP, and that is NDRAM20 which serves the Eurokent Business Park on Haine Rd.

Hopefully in the coming months we will see many more signs of intended work, and hopefully the work being carried out.

I told you

They are planning to come hard and fast (within reason).

You did indeed, sounds good to me - perhaps I'll have to see how their prices compare later in the year

FYI I've signed up on the Kitz forum as well.

Confirmed that it's FTTP.

Unlike Openreach everyone else doesn't have an exchange ready to go to hold the OLT and they tend to choose to place them in cabinets, as Virgin Media are with their FTTP.

Obviously, again unlike Openreach, Virgin Media and everyone else don't have ducts and poles awaiting fibre so there will be a bunch of other civils work to build additional transport cabinets and of course the ducting to carry fibre between cabinets and homes and businesses.

Can anyone explain why FTTP means no congestion?

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Can anyone explain why FTTP means no congestion?

I think they mixed up congestion with signal loss in the coax cable.

Paul

Maybe the hope was that the new "Project Lightning" areas would have a network dimensioned in a way that attempts to avoid the chronic congestion due to oversubscription affecting some (many?) legacy Virgin areas.

No we haven't, I think you've got copper/aluminium telephone lines confused with coax cable

Exactly, I'm no expert, I'm sure that I've read that the new FTTP roll out has much more backhaul bandwidth available than the old coax system, so shouldn't suffer the chronic problems some areas do.

I'm sure that Ignitionnet will be along to explain, as he's far more knowledgeable than me.