Rural FTTC rollout/upgrades

Hi,

I've done some reading and keep finding slightly conflicting information on the future of fibre to the cabinet in rural locations.

I understand that all the exchanges will shut down analogue services by 2027.
I understand that OR is rolling out FTTP to most locations.

I keep reading that after the analogue shutdown, your phone line will need to be connected to your router.

However, I'm not sure I can find a definitive answer on whether the Cab to Premises can/will remain over copper to rural locations and if so for how long.

ADSL and ADSL2 are both analogue but I presume this is only analogue back to the cabinet and would not be guaranteed to have been upgraded by the 2027 'deadline'


I'm considering making an offer on a new house in a rural location with terrible cell service.

It's connected to an exchange Turville Health (THTV) that is not yet on OR rollout plans for upgrade.
I do expect that to change before the end of 2027 but there are only about 20 houses on the road/cabinet so I can't see OR prioritising it for FTTP rollout.

I'm apprehensive about buying a house that could be left on last mile ADSL analogue services and permanently.

It's got decent FTC performance but I don't want to buy a house and then struggle to sell it in the future if it never gets FTTP.

Can anyone help me clarify what the worst case on FTTC looks like after the cutover?

Can anyone point me at some definitive documentation to understand the rural FTTP rollout over the next 10 to 15 years?

thanks
Tony.

Edited by tonyj2 (Mon 14-Oct-24 10:09:48)

Its my understanding that for remote area's that are uneconomic to give FTTP and are not covered by local authority schemes or an altnet they will be left on copper and ADSL will provide a VOIP as the minimum phone only option.

FTTP
Expected to reach 85% of homes by 2026, and 96% by 2027
Up to 1,000 megabits per second (Mb)

So by 2027 4% of homes will still have no access to FTTP.

There is something called project gigabit, bucks area has been awarded to Cityfibre, so check with them with any roll out. Check with https://bidb.uk/ for any potential roadworks and also mobile data mapping as that shows 4g and 5g .

If you want to go to the dark side with no other options, Starlink could be one way to gap the isssue till fttp arrives. Fibre to the exchange (adsl/2+) and fttc will be avialble for sometime if already deployed to the location that you wish to buy.

OR plans to go into the 30s with fttp rollout. Project gigabit will despite its flaws will cover alot of uneconomic premises

In reply to a post by tonyj2:

I understand that all the exchanges will shut down analogue services by 2027.
I understand that OR is rolling out FTTP to most locations.

I keep reading that after the analogue shutdown, your phone line will need to be connected to your router.

However, I'm not sure I can find a definitive answer on whether the Cab to Premises can/will remain over copper to rural locations and if so for how long.

ADSL and ADSL2 are both analogue but I presume this is only analogue back to the cabinet and would not be guaranteed to have been upgraded by the 2027 'deadline'

ADSL/ADSL2 are still digital - the equipment is housed at the exchange, rather than in DSLAM cabinets adjacent to customer-to-exchange connection points (PCPs).

There are two separate Openreach programmes:
PSTN shutdown, originally by the end of 2025, now Jan 2027: This removes all voice services, including wholesale line rental (WLR) from FTTC and ADSL services. Openreach will be providing SOGEA as a replacement to FTTC via the existing DSLAM cabinets, BT Wholesale will be providing SOADSL using Openreach SOTAP.

FTTP rollout: This replaces the copper connections to premises with full fibre. Once an exchange area has fibre available at 75% or more premises a stop-sell is imposed so where FTTP is available you can no longer order a new copper line or migrate a copper line to a different provider, you have to install or upgrade to FTTP.

Communication providers may offer digital voice services over the top of any of these broadband data services.

SOGEA will likely exist well into the 2030s as the DSLAM cabinets are not reliant on local exchanges, their fibre connections are already go to, or will be rerouted to, 'head-end' exchanges.
SOADSL/SOTAP will likely only exist until the early 2030s either as the non-head-end exchanges are decommissioned, copper rearrangements providing SOGEA, or FTTP become available.

There is a separate SOTAP for Analogue product which provides a voice-only service equivalent to WLR, however this is very much a transition product for critical national infrastructure (CNI) and premises which only have an active phone service with no existing data (FTTC or ADSL).

Why don't you put the address into one of the switch type site, like uswitch? That will give you an idea what is available.

As been said, ADSL is digital, it just comes from exchange, where FTTC have the equipment in the cabinet, which is why it is faster.

Shutting down the analogue services does not mean removing copper lines.

They're shutting down the analogue voice services that runs over copper lines and replacing it with a VoIP service. That VoIP server can run over ADSL and VDSL services using copper and FTTP using fibre.

Some exchanges may run ADSL for some time yet, notably in parts of Scotland.

In reply to a post by tonyj2:

I understand that all the exchanges will shut down analogue services by 2027.

Analogue *voice* services from Openreach will be shut down.

In reply to a post by tonyj2:

I keep reading that after the analogue shutdown, your phone line will need to be connected to your router.

Yes: a.k.a. "digital voice". The underlying broadband (ADSL or VDSL) then carries both your Internet traffic and your voice calls. (EDIT: your "phone line" is already connected to your router. But your telephone *handset* will need to be moved to a port on your router, if you retain a voice service)

In reply to a post by tonyj2:

However, I'm not sure I can find a definitive answer on whether the Cab to Premises can/will remain over copper to rural locations and if so for how long.

They will remain for as long as necessary - i.e. until FTTP is available to a given property, which for some properties will be many years away.

In reply to a post by tonyj2:

ADSL and ADSL2 are both analogue

ADSL(2) and VDSL carry a modulated digital signal. They are nothing to do with the analogue voice component ("narrowband") which can also be carried over the same copper wires, and will be switched off. Running just the broadband by itself is called SOGEA and is how all new copper broadband lines are provisioned now.

There are copper wires from the exchange to the cabinet (E-side, exchange side) and copper wires from the cabinet to the property (D-side, distribution side).

In the very long term, the exchanges themselves will be shut down (apart from the main "head-end" exchanges which carry FTTP), and in principle the E-side cables could be recovered. But the cabinets will remain, with their VDSL line cards, until the last user on the cabinet moves away from copper. That'll be many years away in most areas. Whilst FTTP priority areas don't allow ordering of new copper services or migrating them, people who still have them can keep them. There's not yet been any serious proposal for forcibly disconnecting people who choose to remain on copper services when FTTP is available to order.

In reply to a post by tonyj2:

I'm apprehensive about buying a house that could be left on last mile ADSL analogue services and permanently.

ADSL is from the exchange, VDSL (FTTC) is from the cabinet. If the property has decent FTTC performance then you can rely on that remaining there indefinitely, until such time as FTTP is available. Indeed, it may improve slightly, as other users on the cabinet move to FTTP, reducing crosstalk.

In reply to a post by tonyj2:

I don't want to buy a house and then struggle to sell it in the future if it never gets FTTP.

Well, that's a different issue entirely. There are cost benefits to Openreach in being able to shut down exchanges, and being able to downsize their copper-skilled workforce when copper goes away completely - so ultimately when it gets down to the last few properties in an area I think they will make a final push to finish off the job. But there *is* a risk that the property could be on FTTC for a long time.

In reply to a post by tonyj2:

Can anyone help me clarify what the worst case on FTTC looks like after the cutover?

The worst case is that it carries on the same as it does today, because there is no "cutover" to speak of, apart from removal of the voice signal from the exchange.

EDIT: even if you were to move in tomorrow and order FTTC, you'd get SOGEA - there would be no narrowband voice signal on your line. So you'd already be "future proofed" against the 2027 PSTN switch-off. You'd stay on exactly the same service until such time as FTTP became available and you chose to migrate to it.

In reply to a post by tonyj2:

Can anyone point me at some definitive documentation to understand the rural FTTP rollout over the next 10 to 15 years?

No, because it doesn't exist. Openreach have published "aspirations" to get to 85% FTTP coverage by 2027, and to 95% by 2030, but that's all they are: broad-brush aspirations, and certainly not in detail to the level of individual properties or even exchange areas.

Edited by candlerb (Mon 14-Oct-24 21:00:10)

@candlerb

Excellent summary. Thank you.

If there is a FTTC cabinet, does this mean that there might be a fibre usable for a 20-home PON?
Or is it a different system? Would there likely at least be a duct route to/from wherever it needs to be?
I have read a lot on the forum about the possible difficulties of getting the fibres the last few metres into the homes, but is the long run out to the rural area generally easier, where there is FTTC?