New pod identification

Hi I saw a new pod has been recently installed next to my green cabinet. I was wondering if this was Gfast or whether its an expansion pod. I am expecting expansion as it appears Gfast is dead (unfortunately).

New cab

Edited by deleted (Tue 27-Jul-21 08:55:50)

The grey cabinet isn't an openreach cabinet. Possibly for an alt network fibre build or virgin.

That looks like CityFibre. Either way it's an altnet's FTTP. They're using the Openreach ducts via Passive Infrastructure Access to deliver it, so even better than G.fast.

Ah, that makes sense, as the ducting clearly comes from the BT manhole but I the colour was wrong!

Here's hoping it is some new company offering fast services as at the moment due to the BT run between our pole and the cabinet being aluminium the speed from BT is terrible as there is a lot of noise on the line and an oversubcribed Virgin network things are not that great internet supplier wise where we live!

Where roughly are you?

South London area.

I had a look at CityFibre and they are not offering in this area according to their website, nor is Openreach with their FTTP. I was wondering how else I can identify who might have installed it?

Probably Community Fibre then.

https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/broadband-map#...

Community Fibre (standard HellermannTyton cab is a giveaway in SE London). Pop your postcode into their website and see if it says "coming soon" or if you can order.

If your BT line is fed via pole, look out for additional black boxes on the poles. Usually when these go up, you're almost ready to order service from them.

@ft247 (don't know if tagging works here) seems to have followed the Community Fibre rollout in South London on his recent thread:

https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fibre/f/4676702-co...

Also some performance stats after getting connected earlier this month:

https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fibre/f/4688493-co...

I'll have a look out for the black boxes!

The cabinet appears to be one of these grey boxes, which does look like we might be getting FTTP via community fibre which is awesome!

Believe those are also the cabinets that Virgin Media use to deploy FTTP but if you're already in a VM area it won't be that. I'm not aware of any areas where HFC is being overbuilt with RFoG but I'm sure it will happen one day.

My first thought would actually be VM, especially if the lock is a circular aperture. Community Fibre's cabinets near me are larger and have forced air cooling.

With that said, I haven't seen what, if anything they use in underground fed PIA deployment areas, so it could be that.

I don't think that is a BT cabinet next to it so I am going to punt on Virgin.

Next time you are down there have a look whose name is printed on the manhole covers.

In reply to a post by FibreBubble:

I don't think that is a BT cabinet next to it so I am going to punt on Virgin.

Next time you are down there have a look whose name is printed on the manhole covers.

I had a look at the manhole covers and they look like the concrete BT covers but the name has been scraped out, probably by wear.

There is no other identification marks on any of the three cabinets, etc one has "MUX" written on it!

Check the locks on the green cabs…

https://postimg.cc/68Xzt3zw

I'm not convinced that's a BT cabinet in the centre, there's no reason for it to have a warning sticker on it about electricity.

In reply to a post by jpm:

I'm not convinced that's a BT cabinet in the centre, there's no reason for it to have a warning sticker on it about electricity.

Yes, and the green cabinets are not a type I have seen before. The end one is an old cabinet with new doors, almost as if it has been repurposed. The centre one is not vented either.

I will investigate further to see what I can find out.

Me neither

In reply to a post by adamkimber:

In reply to a post by jpm:

I'm not convinced that's a BT cabinet in the centre, there's no reason for it to have a warning sticker on it about electricity.

Yes, and the green cabinets are not a type I have seen before. The end one is an old cabinet with new doors, almost as if it has been repurposed. The centre one is not vented either.

I will investigate further to see what I can find out.

Just thinking out load (always dangerous on a forum!) - is it in any way possible or probable that these are former Openreach cabinets that have been “taken over” as part of PIA or other arrangement to an AltNet (possibly Community Fibre given the location and grey cabinet type) to house some of their active equipment - hence the updated doors on the green cab?

Otherwise it may just be Virgin M.

Just thinking out load

Have you a licence for your minkey ?

🙈😂🤣

I don’t believe any of those are Openreach cabinets.

The new grey one however, looks suspiciously like those being installed by the fibre Alt nets round this way

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Check the locks on the green cabs…

https://postimg.cc/68Xzt3zw

Didn't know about the locks, will check when I am next passing!

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

I don’t believe any of those are Openreach cabinets.

The new grey one however, looks suspiciously like those being installed by the fibre Alt nets round this way

The grey cabinet is made by HellermannTyton as noted above. These are used by amongst others CityFibre, Community Fibre and Virgin (for RFoG). Given the location it can’t be CityFibre as they aren’t present within the M25.

Just leaves the other two…but the green cabs don’t look like usual Virgin M. ones either and the Community Fibre cabs are all painted grey irrespective. Actually the chamber lids don’t look particularly BT like either. Weird one.

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Just leaves the other two…but the green cabs don’t look like usual Virgin M. ones either

Could easily be VirginM, and built by one of the 23 former companies, as the dark green far away cab looks similar to those around here for Coax, perhaps the light green is for phones. As a complete guess, maybe the new cab is a fibre termination for HFC upgrade to DOCSIS 3.1 ?

I didn't really pay attention to the other two cabinets.

They are a Virgin Media MSAN / telephone cabinet and a power/nodal cabinet by the looks of it.

I wonder. That cabinet is the right size to be an FTTP distribution cabinet. There's nothing else VM use cabinets that small for.

VM have ongoing trials overbuilding their hybrid network with full fibre and announced they plan to do it commercially.

This is how they would do it with that cabinet layout.

I think I recall you were Farnborough way ….
Go have a look round Camberley, similar grey cabinets are popping up all over , for Tooli …. Verran Rd for instance.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Go have a look round Camberley, similar grey cabinets are popping up all over , for Tooli …. Verran Rd for instance.

Interesting, and thanks! Yet another AltNet!