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[UncleUB]

Just seen the news that BT is making Sheffield one of the first cities to benefit  from 21 CN.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/business/Next-generation-broadband-milestone-close.5054286.jp

I'll not hold my breath. 

[waltergmw]

Hi UncleUB,

I think you'll find some carefully crafted words from Andrew Ferguson interesting reading:-

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/3898.html

You will sometimes get nearer the real situation if you pose the questions from a different perspective and also observe what isn't said just as much as what is !

Kind regards,
Walter

[kitz]

21CN is adsl2+ technology and BTw are gradually upgrading their exchanges for the faster speeds.  Theres a pic of the Fujitsu Geostreams that BTw are supposed to be using for 21CN on this page.

A few of the LLU ISPs already offer adsl2+ technology - such as Be or Sky (if youre prepared to pay the additional £).  They have already installed MSANs which are adsl2+ compatible into some exchanges.

Theres a couple of exchanges around here that are BTw 21CN, but my own isnt due to go until 2010.  You can find out what date your exchange is due to be 21CN enabled by putting your phone no in the adsl checker.

However, dont expect miracles, adsl2+ allows higher speeds by making higher frequencies available.  If you are on a long line.. then because of the laws of physics, it wont be able to make much use of these higher frequencies anyhow
You can find out an approx maximum adsl2+ speed by putting your linestats into the maximum adsl speed calculator.  TBH once your line is above the 55dB atten region, adsl2+ offers very little improvement.

ATM theres also only a few IPStream ISPs that are offering the 21CN speeds.  Entanet & AAISP.  Plusnet have also been putting some of their customers on adsl2+ if the exchange is 21CN enabled and if the customer requests it... on the understanding that it is on a trial basis.

[waltergmw]

Kitz et al,

We have the Be / O2 ADSL2+ service at THCN.

It has made dramatic improvements in Cranleigh itself but, as to be expected in poor old Ewhurst with the extra 3 km + line distance, it has done nothing for downstream speeds and only increased the upstream speed by about 200 to 300 kbps.

The downside everywhere is that there's now more frequency spectrum to be affected by REIN which has significant effects on throughput speeds and is difficult to trace.
I expect this is one reason O2 won't accept a transfer to their services for many in Ewhurst "due to the length of your line".
If only a FTTC solution was available NOW, how much better things would be for BT O , the ISPs involved and the users !

Incidentally if you can get the O2 service and have a mobile contract with them too, their curent broadband prices are very reasonable indeed.
It remains to be seen how long they maintain their introductory offers. I'm assuming they are very keen to grab as much customer base before BT's offering is available.

Kind regards,
Walter

[kitz]

>> It has made dramatic improvements in Cranleigh itself but, as to be expected in poor old Ewhurst with the extra 3 km + line distance

Its not really exchange related... but will be dependant on your distance from the exchange and condition of your line.
They install the same kit in all the exchanges.. but if your line is long/poor then its not going to help.   As mentioned - once youre at around 55dB then the improvements are likely to be very slim.

>> there's now more frequency spectrum to be affected by REIN which has significant effects on throughput speeds and is difficult to trace

Indeed - the higher frequencies are more susceptible to noise and unless you have a good line, then these are always going to have less bits allocated per bin.

>> It remains to be seen how long they maintain their introductory offers. I'm assuming they are very keen to grab as much customer base before BT's offering is available.

TBH I do have a few concerns about the recent 'land grabbing'..   their pricing is very cheap.. and some of the offers and incentives mean that they will be struggling to make a profit on those connections.
Some of their backhaul is already in need of upgrading yet they are still taking on 1000's of new customers.  Those 2 factors particularly the 1st one start ringing alarm bells with me.  I just hope it doesnt all go wrong.