Why doesn't FTTP come from the cabinet?

If I wanted FTTP a new cable would come from a secret distribution point. There's already fibre in the FTTC cabinet at the end of the road, why can't the new cable come from there?

I'm sure there's a technical reason!

Would it make any odds anyway? And when I get my Boris Broadband, will that come from all new connections via all new distribution points?

The unused fibres in the cab are reserved for either additional backhaul capacity, g. Fast or spares in case of fault/damage.
Both FTTC cabinets and FTTP splitters are connected via aggregation nodes as part of distribution network hierarchy

Hi

They've just not run enough fibres out to the cabinet to then connect a lot of premises up. It might have made sense to run enough fibres for an eventual FTTP deployment, but it all adds cost and at the time of VDSL planning full FTTP seemed a future we might never have.

Hopefully though they have enough duct space to push through more fibre where it makes sense following the same route from the aggregation node to the cabinet, so your FTTP may be a new feed from a bundle of new fibre cables up to your nearest FTTC cabinet (well manhole cover nearby) so the fibre can then join up and follow the same route as your existing telephone cable.

Regards

Phil

Edited by deleted (Mon 17-Jun-19 15:51:53)

As for the Boris broadband if its Openreach delivered then it will follow a pattern just like you see in the Fibre First cities and BDUK areas now where it is appearing.

It might be delivered in some areas by other operators who knows, since it is little more than a sound bite currently.

Generally the VDSL2 roll-out did account for an eventual FTTP roll-out hence the aggregation node for roughly every 1,400 premises, but what is not present is the downstream fibres and splitters for those 1,400 premises.

One day in the future when we have gone all fibre in areas street cabinets may start to get removed, by avoiding any FTTP infrastructure, some of those getting paid wayleave fees for cabs on their property may not like this.

Hi

So I'm wondering how do they get from the aggregation node to the property?

I assumed they would:

Rope or blow more fibre from the aggregation node to the PCP or FTTC cabinet, obviously not to the actual cabinet but the chamber close by that the existing fibre to feed the cabinet arrives at. As the cabinet already has ducting to it from the aggregation node this would make sense to me as it avoids needing to lay any more ducting and the digging up of roads.

Now that the fibre is near the PCP it can be taken along the same route as the existing telephone cables to the various distribution points. This then allows re-using overhead poles or underground ducting. Here there may be issues as the ducting could be decades old and blocked or non-existent of course so may need quite a bit of civil work, but its repairing existing assets, and I presume is where a lot of the cost and time comes into it.

Or, do they go from the aggregation node and find the shortest route to the street and dig/lay ducting a new, ignoring the fact they can get to the FTTC and star out from there? Of course this way some distances are a lot less as the aggregation node may be closer to the street than the PCP/FTTC combo is.

Maybe it's a combination of both methods. Love to get some insight.

Regards

Phil

Edited by deleted (Mon 17-Jun-19 17:17:08)

They use the existing ducting or poles where at all possible, so yes the GPON fibres will pass close to the existing cabinet by nature of the layout of the duct network, but a car can wipe that cabinet out and the FTTP service should continue to work.

Digging is avoided as much as possible, some pavement chambers do need rebuilding to house the splitter and manifolds and some poles may need replacing too.

My fibre cable used existing ducts between my house and the agg node - it didn't go to the FTTC cabinet because that is in the wrong direction across the road. They installed a new DP half way down the road and had to clear a couple of blocked ducts and then come back a second time to clear more blockages. They also had to install about 10m of new duct from the pavement chamber under my side path so the fibre cable is underground until it comes to the side of the house. The cable installer did say that he thought part of the underground ducts were now full where they had installed the larger 48 fibre cable for my install - so that might make it more difficult to install any more FTTP to other houses.

In reply to a post by PhilipD:

Hi

So I'm wondering how do they get from the aggregation node to the property?

I assumed they would:

Rope or blow more fibre from the aggregation node to the PCP or FTTC cabinet, obviously not to the actual cabinet but the chamber close by that the existing fibre to feed the cabinet arrives at. As the cabinet already has ducting to it from the aggregation node this would make sense to me as it avoids needing to lay any more ducting and the digging up of roads.

FWIW: with my FTTPoD install, the fibre route taken is along existing ducts, but apparently not the same route as the copper that serves my property.

I am served for phone and FTTC by PCP7 (and I believe an SCP too); but the FTTPoD fibre route goes past PCP4. It's two sides of a distorted rectangle.

I don't know why they chose this. Maybe the copper route is already heavily congested. But I think it's more likely because the copper route fans out from the exchange, whereas the fibre route fans out from the fibre aggregation node - they are not co-located.