Broadband FTTC, FTTP, Gfast etc.

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I have moved these posts out of the other thread so it doesn't get derailed. C-T

It was with great rejoicing that recently OpenReach started offering full fibre internet here (we don‘t actually get the fibre from them, but our provider does). Hence in a couple of weeks’ time we can finally get rid of the landline and with it, the nuisance calls. It’s been a good reason to persuade the aged parents to start calling our mobile numbers too...

 

[Chippy_Tea]

It was with great rejoicing that recently OpenReach started offering full fibre internet here (we don‘t actually get the fibre from them, but our provider does). Hence in a couple of weeks’ time we can finally get rid of the landline and with it, the nuisance calls. It’s been a good reason to persuade the aged parents to start calling our mobile numbers too...

Is this FTTP or FTTC ?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Is this FTTP or FTTC ?

FTTP - from ZEN internet. We had FTTC before, but for that we still had to have the landline :-)

 

[Chippy_Tea]

FTTP - from ZEN internet. We had FTTC before, but for that we still had to have the landline :-)

Thanks i was going to ask if its possible to dump the phone line on FTTC but i guess as you still rely on the copper to the nearest cabinet you cannot, i am on TalkTalk FTTC and am very happy with my speeds and connection stability.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Thanks i was going to ask if its possible to dump the phone line on FTTC but i guess as you still rely on the copper to the nearest cabinet you cannot, i am on TalkTalk FTTC and am very happy with my speeds and connection stability.

That's right - FTTC is fibre to the green box by the roadside then VDSL from that to your home via the phone line.
Full FTTP is slightly more pricey but works out cheaper without paying the standing charge for the fixed line
The installation actually involved the OpenReach guy stringing a new cable over to the pole. So we now have two coming to the house because they leave the old copper one in place (probably cost them more to remove it than just to leave it there...)

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I am not too fussed about getting rid of the landline phone as we now never get nuisance calls and family members still call us on it.

I am happy with FTTC as i get a rock steady 70Mbps but i will probably go for Gfast when i can get it.

 

[Hanglow]

We only get about 35Mbs from FTTC which is a bit ****. No plans that I can see yet to upgrade more, area isn't dense enough I guess.

 

[uDicko]

I am happy with FTTC as i get a rock steady 70Mbps but i will probably go for Gfast when i can get it.

This will be a game changer

 

[Furry Shark Brewery]

I am spoilt getting circa 400Mbs to the door. Sure beats 1999 AOL penny a minute dial-up at a blistering 28Kps

 

[Chippy_Tea]

We only get about 35Mbs from FTTC which is a bit ****. No plans that I can see yet to upgrade more, area isn't dense enough I guess.

The beauty of Gfast (for those that didn't watch the video) is it uses the existing copper wire used by FTTC to deliver the speeds in the quote below without having extra equipment installed inside your house which you do need if you go the FTTP router.

Gfast is basically an improved version of Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) which means the end user can achieve speeds up to four times faster than traditional FTTC broadband current Fibre Broadband maximum speeds are up to 80mb download GFast increases this to up to a potential 330mb download speed.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

We only get about 35Mbs from FTTC which is a bit ****.

This is my speed test from a few moments ago using the very accurate speed test site here (you do not need to add a postcode) https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I am spoilt getting circa 400Mbs to the door. Sure beats 1999 AOL penny a minute dial-up at a blistering 28Kps

I remember the early days of online gaming on dial up, a 100ms ping was low in those days

 

[Graz]

I'm led to believe that due to the p*ss poor performance of my current FTTC offering which is less than 20Mbps down stream, typically nearer 18Mbps, that I'm on a program (Faster Worcestershire) to get FTTP sooner possibly even before the end of the year. Can't wait.

I don't subscribe to anything like Netflix etc. at the moment as while the bandwidth of my connection is sufficient for SD video and maybe even HD I still get buffering on iPlayer sometimes. Can't imagine it would be any better from a subscribed service. If I get full fibre I might change my mind!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't subscribe to anything like Netflix etc.

I don't but i do use iPlayer and catch up TV a lot.

One thing i have noticed is i can now play a video on YouTube in 1080p or higher full screen and it doesn't buffer, when i was using ADSL it wouldn't play 720p without buffering every few seconds.

Try this in 2160p (4k) full screen, doesn't miss a beat here. (looks for smug smiley)

 

[Hanglow]

I know about Gfast but I couldn't find any info on when/if they are going to add it to my box on the street. I was only able to get FTTC about a year ago. Unfortunately the UK is rather backward on this and even with the Scottish Government subsidising increased connectivity, when they shouldn't have to, we will still lag behind as their subsidy program was for "superfast" which is only 30Mbps which I already have. It might have been fast ten years ago, but I could use 10x the speed to be honest.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

We may have quite a wait -

Openreach (BT) has confirmed to ISPreview.co.uk that they do not intend to build their G.fast based “ultrafast broadband” (100Mbps+) ISP network to any more UK homes until April 2021. The service has been on pause since last year, when the operator re-focused toward gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology.

In a hybrid fibre G.fast setup the fibre optic cable only goes as far as your local PCP street cabinet (similar to FTTC / VDSL2 technology) and then runs to your home via an existing copper line. G.fast can make use of 106-212MHz of spectrum and thus delivers its best speeds for those within c.100-300 metres of a cabinet (variable speeds of up to 300Mbps), but it’s fairly useless for those on longer lines.

By comparison FTTP takes a high-capacity optical fibre cable all the way to your home, which removes the reliability problems of copper and makes gigabit (1Gbps+) speeds a possibility. The advantage of G.fast is that it was quick and cheap to deploy, but Openreach’s cabinet (side pod extension on PCP) based approach hasn’t always produced the best speeds and suffered as the political impetus switched to “full fibre” and “gigabit” networks.

Suffice to say that few were surprised when Openreach announced, in September 2019, that they would review the plans for G.fast build beyond March 2020 (here). Unfortunately the conclusion of this review ended up being delayed by the COVID-19 crisis, but the operator has just now begun to inform UK ISPs about their latest position.

In other words, G.fast deployments will officially remain on pause until at least April 2021, but in reality it’s unlikely to ever play a big role in the future of UK broadband again. Openreach does however still see a potential role for G.fast in some specific scenarios, such as via in-fill in certain hard to reach areas (including certain types of MDU / apartment blocks).

Full article - Openreach Confirm G.fast Broadband Rollout Paused Until 2021 UPDATE - ISPreview UK

 

[obscure]

I’m on FTTC:


Honestly I am at a speed that for me is good enough I can have video streaming on multiple devices, I have no issues with using teams or similar (for work) it’s a bit of a pain now and then if I have a large download I.e. video games but on the whole it does what I need to.

We don’t have FTTP where I am but it would need to be a fairly small premium over my existing bill for me to consider it. The one potential upside would be a faster upload as on this my connection isn’t great.

 

[Deathstar]

I have just migrated to Virgin, I was on FTTC, but on a longish copper line so was getting 55/14.

In all honesty the speed I have now, is more than I needed, however the deal was too good to refuse.
Full TV package, with the top BB package in the area, full phone and unlimited data mobile sim.

 

[DocAnna]

I have moved these posts out of the other thread so it doesn't get derailed. C-T

It was with great rejoicing that recently OpenReach started offering full fibre internet here (we don‘t actually get the fibre from them, but our provider does). Hence in a couple of weeks’ time we can finally get rid of the landline and with it, the nuisance calls. It’s been a good reason to persuade the aged parents to start calling our mobile numbers too...

Oh we have had that joy this week

[EDIT - though it's eldest son that keeps calling us on the landline, the parents are better about using video calls.]

Anna

 

[Chippy_Tea]

If I was getting 55 Mbps I would be happy as it would be fast enough for what we use it for at the moment but I think as 4K becomes more widespread and console gaming will be replaced by online gaming more speed will be needed in the not too distant future.