In reply to a post by zyborg47:

This lad I chat to in Coventry is so fed up with FTTP, he was looking at going back to FTTC, he knows it is not FTTP that is the problem, but it is an extra bit to go wrong and it is going wrong. We presume it is the ONT that have problems

I'm not sure if it's fair to describe an ONT as "extra" -- FTTC requires a modem instead and that's more likely to go wrong than the ONT. While a number of ISPs integrate the modem into a router / WiFi access point combination, that doesn't change the fact that the modem is an extra component which could "go wrong".

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

This lad I chat to in Coventry is so fed up with FTTP, he was looking at going back to FTTC, he knows it is not FTTP that is the problem, but it is an extra bit to go wrong and it is going wrong. We presume it is the ONT that have problems

Here's a bit of homework for you, work out the different stages data goes through on it's journey via FTTC and FTTP.

In reply to a post by burble:

Here's a bit of homework for you, work out the different stages data goes through on it's journey via FTTC and FTTP.

It would be good to have this as a diagram, maybe Thinkbroadband could host on the main site. It would need to indicate the different networks, such as ISP->wholesale->last-mile->home for some, or ISP->home for others.

In reply to a post by behuk:

I'm not sure if it's fair to describe an ONT as "extra" -- FTTC requires a modem instead and that's more likely to go wrong than the ONT. While a number of ISPs integrate the modem into a router / WiFi access point combination, that doesn't change the fact that the modem is an extra component which could "go wrong".

UMM, I suppose when we first started on FTTc we had a modem and a router, and then they became combined. When ADSL first started, it was just a modem, I used a third computer with internet connection sharing to allow myself and my lodger at the time to get online at the same time.
I used a modem on FTTC for the last 2-3 months I was on FTTC.
But for many people, the ONT will be an extra.

In reply to a post by burble:

Here's a bit of homework for you, work out the different stages data goes through on it's journey via FTTC and FTTP.

As much as it may not seem like it, I do have a life, not much, but a bit of one.

Each altnet can do what they want, they don't often advertise how they are deploying though.

I would probably not want to use an altnet that deploys their OLTs in street cabinets if I had other options, give me a nice solid exchange building with lots of fibre already available to backhaul please, though the types of customers served are going to impact whether this is an option - the really rural operators probably don't have the luxury.

As far as I can tell, Lit Fibre use BT exchanges so I don't have to worry about power issues, cars knocking cabinets over, vandalism, hot weather causing equipment reboots etc. Cityfibre build their own "fibre exchanges" which are insulated and climate controlled shipping containers with multiple power feeds, security fencing, and not in a position where a car can wipe them out.

In reply to a post by jpm:

I would probably not want to use an altnet that deploys their OLTs in street cabinets if I had other options...

Which is precisely what Swish do. As I said, I don't have any choice about that currently, except to go back to my miserable FTTC line. Don't think it was a cab fault caused the last problem, though.

In reply to a post by Thaumaturge:

Which is precisely what Swish do. As I said, I don't have any choice about that currently, except to go back to my miserable FTTC line. Don't think it was a cab fault caused the last problem, though.

Do they do this? I didn't think they used any Openreach equipment and I haven't seen any evidence of any new cabinets in my area.

To be fair to Swish, I have not had an issue with them and am happy with the service. Their Trustpilot reviews are pretty decent too. I had no complaints about by BT service either apart from the speed and I'm happy to see the back of PPPoE.

In reply to a post by Thaumaturge:

How reliable should an FTTP connection be? I see odd comments on here like "it's been rock solid", but I've had Swish Fibre for just over a year now, and I'm just getting over my third significant outage.

What you're experiencing there is what is pretty typical from most altnets. They are rarely as stable as the Openreach style services - mostly because the latter is quite a mature setup and most altnets are still scrabbling around, building networks, learning etc.

People love to moan about Openreach & BT (sometimes quite rightly) but one of the reasons they're slower and more boring is that they've generally got better processes and network stability - I'm always very wary of altnets as our experience with several of them has proven they're not as robust. I'm sure in time it will change as they get consolidated into a couple of players, but for now... not gonna happen.

In reply to a post by BuckleZ:

Had BT install my FTTP July 21 - to this day, I've not had 1 second of downtime.

I do get the odd PPP drop at 1am (due to balancing traffic usually) - These are rare

So you have not had '1 second of downtime' but actually many more seconds. Because those drops will indeed be 'downtime' - whether you want to be selective about reality or not.