Fibre Deployment Update Oct 2014

Post date: 22-Oct-2014 11:29:28

The latest information from Superfast Cymru suggests that the work upgrading Cabinet 4 and deploying the fibre broadband infrastructure to Sigingstone will not commence till early Spring 2015.

The solution to how Superfast Cymru will get the fibre based connection to Siginsgtone is not yet 100% known, however FTTrN or FTTP are a few solutions being considered.

Currently there is an active fibre optic connection at the Vale Business Park, which has been installed by Superfast Cymru from the Cowbridge exchange. This may make the work on rolling out fibre to Sigingstone easier as the infrastructure has already partly made it's way to the village.

Also earlier this week FTTPoD became available, where end users who are connected to a cabinet on the Cowbridge exchange that has been FTTC upgraded can pay for a fibre connection all the way to their property.

Properties in Llanmihangle also have FTTPoD enabled to them as the cabinet that serves them (cabinet 2) was FTTC upgraded back in May 2014 however due to distance the properties are estimated a FTTC speed between 1.7mbps and 4.5mbps.

However the FTTPoD solution is probably more suitable for business customers as the install costs can go into the £thousands.

Openreach's FTTPoD install and line rental costs can be found by clicking here

Glossary

  • FTTPoD - Fibre to the Premises on Demand, a fibre broadband solution offered by Openreach and BT Wholesale to those who are on a FTTC enabled cabinet and want to pay for a fibre connection all the way to their property. Current speeds are upto 330mbps downstream & upto 30mbps upstream, distance is irrelevant to speed achievable.

  • FTTC - Fibre to the Cabinet. Current speeds are upto 80mbps downstream & upto 20mbps upstream. Speed is dependent on the distance from Cabinet and line quality. The approximate max distance an FTTC connection will work is about 1.5/2KM from the cabinet.

  • FTTrN - Fibre to the Remote Node. This is a bit like FTTC however instead of using a DSLAM cabinet a small box is fitted either to one of the existing telegraph poles or in an underground chamber close to the properties or inside a village that is too far away to benefit from FTTC.

  • Openreach (BTplc) - The company that install's, maintains and owns the infrastructure (Fibre based & copper based) that connects your property to the Cowbridge Exchange.

    • Superfast Cymru - Superfast Cymru's aim is to boost the commercial roll-out of superfast broadband to deliver fast fibre broadband to 96% of homes and businesses in Wales by 2016. This is Wales' BDUK fibre broadband programme and is funded by European, UK Government and Welsh Government funding.