In the next few weeks we will begin a trial of Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC). The trial is being run by BT Wholesale over their 21CN network and it is our intention to offer it to the customers that can get it. Initially the trial is being run in two areas - Muswell Hill in London and Whitchurch in Wales. We will be emailing the customers on these exchanges this week to let them know about the trial. The Technology First though, I'll cover off a bit about the technology. With current ADSL and ADSL2+ technology the speed a customer can get is determined by the length of the phone line from exchange to their router. With these technologies the ADSL kit (DSLAM) is housed at the exchange. FTTC does something a little different, the DSLAM is located in the green street cabinet. For most lines this reduces the length of the copper run from what can be several miles maybe less than one mile or even a few hundred yards. The journey back to the exchange from the cabinet rather than being voice and broadband over copper is split so that the voice remains on the copper but the broadband is over fibre. FTTC also uses a different DSL technology - VDSL2. VDSL2 can offer much higher speeds than ADSL or ADSL2+. The initial trial will offer up to 40Mbps down and 2Mbps up (with an option available later in the trial for up to 5Mbps up). Like ADSL the speed will be rate adaptive based on the copper length and quality but the initial estimate is over 99% of lines should see at least 15Mbps. In practise we'll have to see of course and the trial will help determine what speeds people will see. The Trial The trial at the first two exchanges is due to begin in July. We'll be emailing the customers in those areas this week to invite them to take part if they wish. Not everyone on those exchanges will be able to take part in the initial trial unfortunately as those customers whose lines connect directly to the exchange rather than via a green street cabinet won't currently be eligable. For those that can and want to take part the service will initially a BT Installed service. We will arrange a convenient time for an engineer visit who will replace the master phone socket and provide a VDSL2 modem (we should note the modem is wired only and has a single ethernet port so a separate hub/router would be needed to use it wirelessly or with more than 1 PC). If there are any questions we would ask that they be raised in our 21CN trial forum on the Community Site for the time being as the training for the support team will be scheduled nearer to the beginning of the trial. We have begun an FAQ here and will add to it as more questions are asked. Dave Tomlinson Plusnet Network Transformation
Plusnet to Trial Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)