FTTC technical question...

Hi guys, I was just wondering if someone could clarify how FTTC works...

So before FTTC is it a bundle of 50 or so pairs to a cabinet which is basically a big junction box?

And after FTTC is the cabinet now like some kind of mini exchange with only 1 fibre for 40 houses? Or is it 40 fibres for 40 houses?

Is the voice line then still on the old copper network, or is it then put down the fibre from the FTTC cabinet?

Thanks, JF.

Voice remains exactly as it is now, so over copper.

The FTTC is a bundle of fibres, with the number used being down to the bandwidth rather than number of properties. With fibre you could push 100 Gbps with no problem down one fibre if you wanted to.

So from the main exchange, a bundle of fibres, with usually 1 to 4 serving the FTTC cabinet, which has electronics in it, to create the VDSL signal, which is then sent down some copper wires that link back to the old green cabinet where it is combined with your existing telephone line.

So linking the two green cabinets is a bundle of copper wires, usually enough to handle a full fibre cabinet, which is either 144 (for smaller ones) or 288 for the standard size one.

The 288 line cab I looked at had 6 line cards each for 48 lines and each card had a 1 gigabit Ethernet fibre pair to it.

Ah right, thanks for the explanation.

So FTTP will be 1-4 fibres from the exchange to a fibre cabinet, then an individual fibre from the cabinet to each premises? leaving the old copper pairs in place purely for the phone?

JF.

FTTP fibres could be split in a chamber or on the side of a pole - they need not go anywhere near the cabinet as theyre fed from the exchange.

In reply to a post by 405mi16:

So FTTP will be 1-4 fibres from the exchange to a fibre cabinet, then an individual fibre from the cabinet to each premises? leaving the old copper pairs in place purely for the phone?

No FTTP works completely differently and has no cabinets. The copper system is completely ignored - the fibres from the exchange are "split" at a point probably in an underground chamber, and then individual fibres fed to each property.

This gives a brief description of the FTTP network

Just out if interest, are the fibres the go between the exchange and FTTC cabinet straight through connections (obviously made up of many seperate lengths spliced together) or is there any other equipment between the exchange and FTTC cabinet?

Are the tubing that the fibres go dedicated to each cabinet so at the exchange you would end up with one or more for each cabinet, or do they branch off as they gradually get further away from the exchange?

I'm finding the rollout in our area very interesting

Nothing else between the head end , which will often be in another exchange , and the cabinet. FTTC uses point to point fibre, a dedicated fibre from exchange to cabinet.
The fibre spine cable (244 fibres) will go to a node (aggregation point) where it's branched off in tubes to cabinets or fibre splitters in mixed FTTC/FTTP areas. The node maybe close to the local exchange or further out into the network

interesting, thanks.
One last question, is there any redundancy built into the FTTC network? If a cabinet has multiple fibres, are they for capacity or redundancy? do they take the same route?