FTTPoD Exchanges Running Late?

I thought the last batch of FTTPoD exchanges were due to be released by the end of March? Seem to recall the previous batch were released on time.

Mine has been released and wasn't in the batch.

Not that it matters nowhere is selling it due to the upcoming price changes and they'll change it from an investment to an absurdity.

A few might go via the city voucher scheme £3k goes a long way and if a business is upgrading a 10 Mbps symmetric line to use FoD the monthly price probably looks attractive

I thought everyone had the option of FTTPoD (at extra cost of course) in a FTTC cabinet enabled area?

FTTP on Demand will mean you will be able to order the GEA-FTTP 330/30Mbit/s product variant for your customers who are within an FTTC exchange area and are served by an FTTC enabled cabinet.
In response to an FTTP on Demand order we will survey, plan and build the FTTP network to the individual residential or business premise.
This is a good opportunity for end users in FTTC only areas to experience the speeds capable from FTTP.

http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/super-...

following the Fact Sheet link from your link, it says FTTP is available to"customers within the pilot exchange area".

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

I thought everyone had the option of FTTPoD (at extra cost of course) in a FTTC cabinet enabled area?

No, that's just an impression they like you to have. And I have been told of BT staff saying that, but it is not true. Only a few pilot areas can get Fibre on Demand.

And if you look at the cost, I doubt anyone will bother. Cheaper to have three or four phone lines, each with FTTC on them.

It's clearly priced so that it can't undermine lucrative leased line business.

Not yet, they are making available in various phases, i.e. they wait until they have enough teams trained and up to speed on installing the FTTP elements in different areas.

If there are delays I would hazard a desire to concentrate resources (i.e. staff) on hitting commercial roll-out deadlines and keep ramping up the BDUK roll-outs. Beyond the political bluster there will hopefully (and a very stupid council if it did not) include coverage target milestones to be met to ensure full payment.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

A few might go via the city voucher scheme £3k goes a long way and if a business is upgrading a 10 Mbps symmetric line to use FoD the monthly price probably looks attractive

Performance wise for sure though the lack of an SLA may end up biting the odd business in the hindmost.

In reply to a post by hoopla:

And if you look at the cost, I doubt anyone will bother. Cheaper to have three or four phone lines, each with FTTC on them.

It's clearly priced so that it can't undermine lucrative leased line business.

It doesn't undermine the leased line business in quite the way you think; it actually augments it. But you have to think business, and not residential or homeworker.

The starting point, for comparison with leased lines, is that the upstream is the important figure, not the downstream.

The second thing to look at is to see that FTTPoD is only the Openreach portion of a solution, and it needs to be wrapped up into a complete solution by a CP (or ISP). We are used to retail ISPs that add the Openreach FTTx product alongside a wholesale contended backhaul.

However, some business ISPs are combining Openreach FTTC with an uncontended backhaul, setting symmetric speeds, and making a product known as "GEA Ethernet", or "Ethernet over FTTC". These products come with business SLAs.

I've seen the latter, as a form of "entry-level" leased line, priced at £130pm for 2Mbps, and £200pm for 10 or 20Mbps.

The next step up from GEA-Ethernet is (copper-based) EFM circuits. I've seen these priced at £300pm for 10Mbps, and 20Mbps priced at £450Mbps.

Beyond that, you can get proper (fibre-based) ethernet leased line circuits for £350pm for 10Mbps.

It would seem to me that they could wrap the FTTPoD product inside one of those "GEA Ethernet" wrappers, set a symmetric speed of 30Mbps, and price it at around £350-450pm. That would make a natural progression of the GEA-Ethernet line, replacing the top end of the Copper-EFM line, and act as a new entry-level into the fibre-ethernet line.

The advantage for BT/Openreach is that it allows these entry-level leased lines to be built using access network technology that is shared with the residential rollout, rather than being installed in a dedicated, ad-hoc fashion. The advantage to us, eventually, is that the gradual take-up of these lines makes a nationwide-ish FTTP rollout more feasible.