Upgrading broadband speeds more quickly

As an alternative to the current FTTC project, or a partial step in this project, is it possible for BT Openreach to 'push' fibre from exchanges to cabinets without the upheavel or massive exchange and cabinet replacements to give people a much better ADSL 2+ experience?

Surely this would be a lotter cheaper and quicker, freeing up lots of copper cable. It should only require a fibre card at each end and will alllow many custers to see 20+Mbs via much improved attenuation figures.

The current DSL upgrade from ADSL/ADSL2+ to VDSL requires new equipment in exchanges, cabinets and peoples homes, anything that can make this process quicker would help more people faster.

In reply to a post by SimonWindsor:

As an alternative to the current FTTC project, or a partial step in this project, is it possible for BT Openreach to 'push' fibre from exchanges to cabinets without the upheavel or massive exchange and cabinet replacements to give people a much better ADSL 2+ experience?

Surely this would be a lotter cheaper and quicker, freeing up lots of copper cable. It should only require a fibre card at each end and will alllow many custers to see 20+Mbs via much improved attenuation figures.

The current DSL upgrade from ADSL/ADSL2+ to VDSL requires new equipment in exchanges, cabinets and peoples homes, anything that can make this process quicker would help more people faster.

How would it free up copper cable?

It should only require a fibre card at each end

Really ? I think a DSLAM in the cabinet would be required to sit between the copper loops and the fibre, same as with current FTTC.

Doing ADSL2+ from the street cabs might have some merit, but it doesn't change much other than allowing continued use of existing customer modems / routers.

I am not a telecoms expert, but I assumed a method might exist that would allow the copper cable runs from the exchange to cabinets could be replaced via a fibre cable.

If the technology to do this requires a DSLAM in the cabinet to convert from digital to ATM then I accept the idea will not work.

In reply to a post by SimonWindsor:

I am not a telecoms expert, but I assumed a method might exist that would allow the copper cable runs from the exchange to cabinets could be replaced via a fibre cable.

If the technology to do this requires a DSLAM in the cabinet to convert from digital to ATM then I accept the idea will not work.

And then you would also need to modify the exchange to switch a block of audio circuits onto the fibre and then at each cabinet a small voice switch to put them back onto the copper network.

Basically you want to move the exchange from 5500 buildings into the 85000 street cabinets...

In time this might happen, i.e. the DSLAM's in street cabs are probably capable of handling voice, but do to LLU in the UK, this would be a regulatory night mare.

You would not save kit/hardware, only recover money from recycled copper. Investment in new hardware would negate this most likely. i.e. most FTTC cabs can only cope with around 50% takeup in an area.