DLS

If your cabinet has been enabled for FTTC that area is unlikely to get FTTP, (until the electronics wear out).

FTTP could use the same fibre cables ( Different fibres) as you would never provide just 2 fibres to a cab, Fibre cables usually come in 24/48/96 pairs, costs only go up about 15% with each size increment. A full cab with 288 workers ( unlikely) would use 4 pairs.

FTTP uses a Fibre pair to a splitter that will serve 32 installations so you wouldn't want to install those where you already have a cab. From splitter to house would be a blown fibre down a subduct, ( small flexible tube pulled in within a bigger duct).

FTTP has the benefit of not needing power to the splitters so the cost of getting power to the cabinet is not there.

Each area is therefore likely to be one or the other although both may be in the same exchange area.
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Exactly. BT have already stated that FTTC and FTTP are mutually exculsive - you will get access via one or the other, with no choice of which.

At least that is their mindset in this rollout. They might start rethinking things when it is time for the next rollout - in perhaps another 10-15 years.

I reckon it is that kind of timescale where they will need to be contemplating FTTH to start overlaying the FTTC network - and who knows where fibre technology will be by then.

Zyborg

It sounds like you are in Hereford? Openreach may run the fibre the same as the copper cables or if there is a different 'easier' fibre route they will use that. What they are unlikely to do is lay new duct as that costs a fortune.

There is a spreadsheet that is available, linked to somewhere in these forums, that will tell you for a postcode which Cab you are on and what % of the postcode will get FTTC from that cab. Where there are multiple Cabs add the % together to see how many will not get FTTC.

The FTTC service is likely to be better than the wireless, and a vast improvement on your present ADSL.

I too am waiting to see some work on our cab / exchange which has also got a June date. Not seen anything yet. Want a race?

Modern electronics have a 5-8 year life, so there will need to be a decision in 5-8 years and that is likely to depend on the payback / penetration of High speed.

FTTP really needs high penetrations to cost in and present take ups are still low % according to Industry stats ( Virgin and BT) posted on here.

New developments should all be Fibre by then as these hit the penetration quickly as no copper alternative.

Thanks kitcat and WWWombat.

I wasn't very clear in my question; I was thinking along the lines of FTTP for Gbit/s (or more) connectivity rather than the Infinity-style FTTP. For instance, I know of at least a couple of cases of FTTC-enabled cabinets close to small business parks where Gbit-class internet access has been prohibitively expensive for many small businesses. Would the fibre infrastructure rolled-out for FTTC change that, or would completely new fibre have to be installed all the way back to an exchange? As kitcat says, the incremental cost of fibres is quite low, but is there capacity that can be tapped for other services? Perhaps it's something BT are keeping up their sleeve (or in their ducts) for now.

In reply to a post by kitcat:

Modern electronics have a 5-8 year life.

Maybe that is the case with consumer electronics, where the best option is to throw away & replace.

But it certainly is *not* the case with industrial electronics. And I say that coming from a background of working as a developer in telco-rated exchange & network equipment manufacturing.

Of course it is true that the functionality might only have a limited life - so requiring a lot of software development. But the hardware stays out there for multiple decades - there is stuff out there still running from the beginning of my career 25 years ago.

Both System X and System Y (AXE) exchange equipment exist within BT's network, where 21CN replacement has stalled, and been put back to 2020. Hardware will be up to 35 years old by that point. Granted it is running in a well-maintained environment, but it is still almost an order of magnitude different from your ideas.

In this case, FTTC started life as a 40Mb technology, but it has changed within 2 years to an 80Mb technology, and within another 2-3 years will turn into a 100-120Mb technology.

I reckon that those advances - without hardware changes - will keep ahead of consumer demands for a while - at least for the bulk of consumers. And I'm definitely thinking of more than 10 years here.

And that ought to benefit rural consumers - because BT will have a chance to concentrate on getting service out to them without having to consider a whole new rollout again.

And once FTTP does start to be put in the ground (and up poles), then I expect that BT will be wanting a much longer life for those components - back up to the 4 decades, rather than 1.

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

(Both System X and System Y (AXE) exchange equipment exist within BT's network), where 21CN replacement has stalled, and been put back to 2020.

Cos it doesn't work .

There is that too

And cos people were transferring too many voice circuits out of BT for it to be worth transferring over until they *really* need to.

Which means BT probably now have a vested interest in making that "modern" electronics last as long as possible... at least until they can downsize the number of exchange buildings, and have technology that lets them do exactly that.

Wwombat

What was produced in the 80s was much more robust than now, custom chips purpose designed,

What is produced now is mass produced, off the shelf components exactly as in consumer electronics.

They may last 8-10 years but that is not the design life.

They are also in much worse environmental conditions than exchange based equipment. Temperature extremes will cost years of life.

The fibres will last much longer in the ground, the optics may last longer but I wouldn't bet on over 15 years.

DLS

You wouldn't use FTTP for GBit delivery in the current way.

I believe there are WDM PONs out there in development that could do this but currently this would be direct fibre, which is why it costs more. This would use 30x as many fibres all the way back to the exchange and Core Bandwidth allowance would be higher. ( You would only want 1Gb if you intended to use it.)

Openreach have said something about 300Mb on FTTP for later in 2012 but most businesses that want that would want it upstream not downstream.

The connection to the core then starts to look like Internet peering not edge delivery and that is why it is more expensive.