FTTC backup for FTTP

I have had recent LOS a few times on my FTTP with Zen, I also still have FTTC with Vodafone, that I was going to cancel as I now have FTTP.

Due to FTTP failures, I'm now thinking to keep the FTTC re provisioned on a cheaper 40/10 service as backup for the FTTP, but was wondering where the 'convergence' or single point of failure of the Vodafone FTTC & Zen FTTP would be.

In terms of the cables, the copper comes in over head, and fibre is in a separate duct, and both go in different directions down the road. So I have some resilience on the cabling to property.

I know the FTTP goes to headend at exchange, FTTC may go to same exchange?

Beyond this are they separate networks?

TIA!

In reply to a post by craigski:

I know the FTTP goes to headend at exchange, FTTC may go to same exchange?

Almost certainly it will.

The fibre from your house and the fibre from the cabinet both go to a fibre aggregation node, and from there to the headend exchange. Somebody digging up the fat cable from the fibre aggregation node will kill both services, but that will be a very rare event.

If you want properly independent backup, I think you should look at 4G/5G if you have usable coverage. SIM-only options can be as low as £10 per month (unlimited usage, 2 years), and options including router from about £17.

But in the long term, FTTP ought to be more reliable - especially since you say the fibre is underground all the way. If the outages have been on the Openreach side rather than Zen's (which LOS implies), hopefully they will get their act together and fix whatever's wrong with your bit of network.

Working out at what point infrastructure becomes shared is difficult enough when ordering multiple leased lines, so you have to guess at the consumer level.

FTTP and FTTC are highly likely to share a fibre route from aggregation node to exchange, and then there is the exchange area itself (fire, flood) and power supply on the Openreach side having some common factors. You'll have protection against a single fault in either Zen's or Vodafone's racks, but not against an exchange-level power and generator failure. And you're unlikely to be able to access information on duct routes between the exchange and peering locations, which could well be shared.

It's a difficult choice - a spine fibre break is unlikely, as is a major exchange incident. In either of those situations it's likely that the mobile network will be under heavy load in your immediate area, which makes 4G a less attractive option. This can be mitigated by using a high-gain directional CPE that can be locked to a 4G cell outside your exchange area, if geography permits.

I don't believe Virgin's consumer network uses Openreach facilities, so that feels like a sensible option where available even though their service is patchy in places. Personally I use Openreach and an altnet (which may rely on Openreach for backhaul), knowing that Virgin is a slightly more diverse option but rejecting it because I can't stand VM's attitude to customers.

FTTP altnets are worth considering, but many make use of Openreach EAD to backhaul from street cabinets... but they may also use other networks, which could include Virgin.

If you're in a rural area a WISP may have a base location you could link to in a different exchange area, but these services tend to be priced higher than the £20/month 40/10 service whose expense is easily justified.

Thanks both. Interesting, I hadn't considered the load issue on the mobile networks if a major broadband outage. Yes, in a rural area, no 5G, no virgin, no altnet, no WISP.

4G is sketchy inside so will need external device. I'm leaning towards keeping my FTTC as its different ISP than FTTP, at least for time being. The single points of failure look as though they would get a lot of attention to resolve as quickly as possible, even though they may take time to resolve.

I have a symmetrical gigabit FTTP connection with an AltNet and vDSL 30/10 service with Plusnet for £21 as a backup. Reason being I WFH 100% 10hrs/day and depend on Remote Desktops and Zoom to function.

Despite using 2 different wholesale providers, I'm sure their services are co-hosted in the same facility at some point upstream.

Regardless, for WFH continuity & resilience both services are connected to a Draytek 2865 which seamlessly cuts over one to the other in the event the FTTP connection goes down (which it has). £21/month is a small price to pay for the material dependancy on internet access IMO.

Edited by nofappingway (Thu 03-Feb-22 15:12:28)