Would be very interested if this meant we could have "FTTP on demand" for EO lines....

Perhaps this is where EO lines will finally be included in the fibre rollout.

Yes, initially I think BT has dropped a huge financial clanger.

A savvy financial company would have done it more like this ?

1) announce the roll out of FTTC.
2) provide FTTC wherever its financially the cheapest to do so, while covering the maximum percentage of the population. (ergo grab some headlines)
3) upgrade all of the exchanges anyway.
4) Offer FTTP to customers for a price.

why? because lots of people are crying out for great broadband, and really would overpay on regular charges to get it (i know i would have, and, see the post in another part of the forum)

I haven't thought about it before really.. but i dont think BT have either...

What happens to existing users service when the 128 limit is reached and they need to change the smaller cab with a bigger 288 line capapcity cab? Doesn't it make sense just to install the larger cab by default anyway?

If money is unlimited they yes, but with takeup unclear at this time, a more financially prudent route in the short to medium term seems to be the emphasis

In terms of removing the 128 fttc cab and replacing it with the 288 one, would they need to call the power company up again to reconnect the power (dig up the road again etc...) or just use the same existing cable that was providing power to the smaller cab and use that for the replacement of the larger cab?

In reply to a post by Moradin:

Yes, initially I think BT has dropped a huge financial clanger.

A savvy financial company would have done it more like this ?

1) announce the roll out of FTTC.
2) provide FTTC wherever its financially the cheapest to do so, while covering the maximum percentage of the population. (ergo grab some headlines)
3) upgrade all of the exchanges anyway.
4) Offer FTTP to customers for a price.

I think BT have been a lot more clever than you might realise - and have actually done largely what you suggest..

1. They announced FTTC
2. They will be upgrading the areas where it makes commercial sense to by 2015.
3. They use BDUK funding to upgrade the other exchanges.
4. They 'trial' FTTP in various places or where there are a lot of big customers to get experience in rolling it out and now announce 'FTTP on demand'

This enables them to see exactly what the size of the market is for FTTP market is - I suspect BT think its not as large for residential users as you do (compared to FTTC)

FTTP on demand will also let them install FTTP/FTTB for new builds in FTTC areas and fibre EO lines..

If it turns out the market is larger than they think, then they can justify rolling out more FTTP themselves - and in the meantime say its already available (at a price) + they have said they expect FTTC to exceed 100Mbps in future..

Edited by gt94sss2 (Sat 04-Feb-12 19:57:12)

Yes, i see what you mean. they have played it a bit strange.

as you say, maybe its because their market research has just identified all the people who post on this forum as internet junkies, and we are the minority who would pay over the odds, and not everyone. or a larger percentage of the population to make it profitable.

i guess i wish that they had just got their act together sooner, and were not years behind other countries.

dream on i guess... well, at least for 4/5 years.. when i suspect we will finally catch up with a lot of the world.

I await with interest the first quote to a residential customer without a FTTC enabled cab for FTTP... I wonder how much I'd pay for this, interesting times ahead. As one poster has already said, it will be painful to have to drop hundreds or even a couple of thousand pounds on FTTP installation that my neighbours have got for less than a hundred quid, unless line rental is less for on demand lines as OR don't have to recoup installation???

In reply to a post by gt94sss2:

In reply to a post by Moradin:

Yes, initially I think BT has dropped a huge financial clanger.

A savvy financial company would have done it more like this ?

1) announce the roll out of FTTC.
2) provide FTTC wherever its financially the cheapest to do so, while covering the maximum percentage of the population. (ergo grab some headlines)
3) upgrade all of the exchanges anyway.
4) Offer FTTP to customers for a price.

I think BT have been a lot more clever than you might realise - and have actually done largely what you suggest..

1. They announced FTTC
2. They will be upgrading the areas where it makes commercial sense to by 2015.
3. They use BDUK funding to upgrade the other exchanges.
4. They 'trial' FTTP in various places or where there are a lot of big customers to get experience in rolling it out and now announce 'FTTP on demand'

This enables them to see exactly what the size of the market is for FTTP market is - I suspect BT think its not as large for residential users as you do (compared to FTTC)

FTTP on demand will also let them install FTTP/FTTB for new builds in FTTC areas and fibre EO lines..

If it turns out the market is larger than they think, then they can justify rolling out more FTTP themselves - and in the meantime say its already available (at a price) + they have said they expect FTTC to exceed 100Mbps in future..

It's surely going to have a massive effect on leased line pricing and take up in the future though, it seems a strange business decision from BT really, alot of medium sized companies that are paying thousands of pounds a month are surely going to move to BT FTTP and the ones that don't will I guess be paying less due to downward pressure on leased line pricing?

I know that FTTP won't have the same kind of SLA's a leased line is provided with but most companies aren't really business critical users as such and could even keep the leased line as a failover option. Even changing from a guaranteed 300mb/s to a 60mb/s that is burstable to 300mb/s would save £3000 a month according to AAISP's pricing.

I don't think the info is broken down that far in their annual accounts but I would expect BT make far more from providing leased line services than they do consumer broadband. They certainly make more from their business services overall than their consumer side or did when I last looked at their annual accounts.

I have 4 offices in FTTC areas - none of them are connected to cabs that can offer FTTx... BT have a mechanism to maintain their leased-line revenue...