Kitz Forum
Broadband Related => Broadband Technology => Topic started by: re0 on August 20, 2018, 06:12:41 PM
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Hi guys and gals,
I am pretty sure I am right in saying that my cabinet is one of the old "cast iron" ones that have been existence for a long time. Up until now, it has not been touched (and there was no real need with FTTC). However, with G.fast potentially just around the corner I am now wondering how Openreach will approach the situation.
There is no doubt that it will need a re-shell due to the way it is deployed in current developments. Though what I am wondering is:
- How much distruption will it cause to existing connections?
- Are there typically any complications that could lead to delays and problems?
There are already cabinets fitted with pods locally but those already had "modern" shells. Those that do have the pods fitted were on the DSLchecker as "planned" previously (before records were removed), so one could hope that it will still come to the others listed.
Regards,
re0
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They reshelled a lot of the cabs around here last year (including mine).
Memory is hazy but I think I can recall reporting on here that my SNRM was a bit spiky the day they did it but that was most likely due to the weather conditions that day. Can't recall there being any noticeable downtime. My cab took a bit longer as they also put some sort of new fibre in that branched off to another one about 20m away which has some weird configuration when it comes to the location of connected users.
The surrounding area was cordoned off for several days whilst they dug up the pavement etc, but they do most of the prep work ready, then a crane lift just comes takes the old shell out and puts the new one in. The actual 'back plane' isn't touched - or at least wasnt on mine. I actually saw my cab minus the case open to the elements on a wet and windy day. Can't find the post now... but I'm sure I commented on here about it the day they did it.
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Thank you for the response, kitz.
I have seen zero activity around my cabinet and can't see any works scheduled as of yet. I am hoping to pass one day and see a nice shiny new cabinet with a pod attached. Of course, in such a scenario I will have to keep my eyes peeled for when it becomes active as there is a high density of premises here that could be competing for 48 ports (not like people will understand what it is or necessarily want it, but I have a feeling that well over 100 premises could benefit from it). :o
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Looks like a cabinet re-shelling has popped up on roadworks.org! :fingers: G.fast coming soon hopefully, because I am not aware of any other reason to why they would do it.
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@re0 G.Fast cabinet re-shelling will not shown on roadwork.org never is.
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G.fast coming soon hopefully, because I am not aware of any other reason to why they would do it.
Hate to be a wet blanket, but as mentioned above, most of the PCP's around here were reshelled over a year ago. But no sign of (or hope for) G.fast. :'(
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@re0 G.Fast cabinet re-shelling will not shown on roadwork.org never is.
I'm sorry but I think you've got it wrong. Adding a G.fast pod won't show on roadworks.org, but a complete cabinet re-shell should since it requires a new plinth and ducting work. How do I know? A nearby cabinet was recently re-shelled (as it was the old cast iron version) and it was visible on roadworks.org stating "Reshell existing Cab with associated new plinth". There was probably also something about ducting there too but I didn't make note of it. This cabinet now has a G.fast pod fitted to it.
Hate to be a wet blanket, but as mentioned above, most of the PCP's around here were reshelled over a year ago. But no sign of (or hope for) G.fast. :'(
Perhaps I can hope for better here. As I mentioned above, a recently re-shelled cabinet has been fitted with a G.fast pod. I do not know exactly when it was fitted, but it must have been within a few days of re-shelling.
Anyway, unfortunately the cabinet in question is not my cabinet. Mine was due to be re-shelled but it seems the planning dates have been missed (though I am aware it was subject to change). Hopefully it'll get re-shelled soon and have a nice pod on it. I am a little bit worried about what sort of speeds I'll get if it becomes available since I am on a line nearing 200m and I am pretty sure there is some aluminium in the network, but the DSL checker had promising clean estimates of the full 330/50 (with only some minor deviations for the upstream).
I am aware of 3 cabinets that currently have pods, and I am aware that there are at least 2 more cabinets that should receive them based on information I have from the DSL Checker before G.fast planned references were purged. It is quite interesting to note that this is in an area that had FTTC as part of BDUK but it seems commercially viable for G.fast...?
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G.fast pod got added to my local PCP too, about 6 weeks ago. My exchange isn't on the list though, and I'm 600m from cabinet - so they can keep it!
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Neither is my exchange listed as a pilot area, though that would imply that the non-pilot phase is quite in progress.
Still think VDSL 35b would have been better overall (especially for coverage compared to G.fast), but I wish not to debate that here. ;)
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Yeah, I'm just salty they're not bothering with the FTTdp part of it. <100 from my underground box :(
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My exchange (Grays, Essex) has NEVER appeared on any of the lists BT have released for the G.FAST rollout but it's just gone live!
My street's pod was installed in Feb. & wired in March. G.FAST showed up on BT's wholesale checker in Aug. & retail started accepting orders from Sept. 3rd.
The engineer connected me yesterday & I have to say its very good, less that 100m from pod so full 330/50 speeds attained.
I even persuaded the Openreach engineer to leave me a free MT992 modem as a 'backup' for the supplied HH6XA router.
So don't take BT's lists as gospel, they've obviously not listed all the exchanges that they're upgrading.
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My exchange (Grays, Essex) has NEVER appeared on any of the lists BT have released for the G.FAST rollout but it's just gone live!
So don't take BT's lists as gospel, they've obviously not listed all the exchanges that they're upgrading.
Openreach announced areas for the pilot, not for the non-pilot roll-out; there was nothing more than a mention of their intention to cover up to 6 million premises by 2020 with G.fast that I am aware of. It seems there is very little information regarding the non-pilot roll-out areas, and even those that were involved in the pilot still apparently have pods that are not enabled.
Regardless of the fact there is ongoing work in my area, there is absolutely no reference to G.fast being in progress on the Openreach website for any cabinets no matter whether they have a pod fitted or not. There is no doubt that I will be able to see this information once it has been enabled but it would be nice to know where we are at.
The engineer connected me yesterday & I have to say its very good, less that 100m from pod so full 330/50 speeds attained.
Is that line length or straight line?
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There is no published rollout list for G.FAST.
They moved beyond the published trial areas over 6 months ago.
Many non trial areas are now live.
Funnily enough a couple exchanges in trial areas still aren't fully live.
I've still been unable to locate a Huawei MT992 on eBay.
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Me neither. Though there is at least one site which has sellers selling the MT992-10 modem; Alibaba, though I won't make any direct links or recommendations on which seller to use. Nor will I delve into the specifics of using Alibaba since it is something I am not familiar with. Though even in the best case scenario it would probably cost at least around £60 (based on a seller which accepts offers upwards of US$50) for the item and shipping it to the UK with applicable VAT on top.
Anyway, even in such a case I am not aware of whether the seller would be able to supply an appropriate power supply for use within the UK.
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There is no published rollout list for G.FAST.
They moved beyond the published trial areas over 6 months ago.
Many non trial areas are now live.
Funnily enough a couple exchanges in trial areas still aren't fully live.
I've still been unable to locate a Huawei MT992 on eBay.
See: https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/06/openreach-reveal-next-uk-areas-for-g-fast-ultrafast-broadband.html
The lists are regularly updated, the last update being 59 new exchanges announced in June 2018, only trouble is they're usually incomplete.
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The "lists" aren't regularly updated.
There has been a single set of areas published since the trial, and it isn't even half of the areas they are deploying G.Fast pods.
There isn't going to be a published complete rollout list.
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Well I saw a pilot list in Aug 2017 & the first post-trial list in Dec, so it looks like they update every 6 months or so.
But, as many people will tell you, getting the pods doesn't mean a service anytime soon.
Some pods have been idle for up to a year due to delays in upgrading the exchanges.
The Kellys Comms. engineers installing my local pod told me that my exchange was scheduled to go live in May/June, so it was over 3 months late.
My friend near Chorley reckons his local pod was installed last year but it's still not live.
indeed there's been so many delays that BT Wholesale removed all the G.FAST entries listed as 'PLANNED' from their broadband checker due to the number of enquiries.
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Works now showing on roadworks.org again for the reshell. This is about two weeks after the reshell did not occur as initially planned (granted, it was "advanced planning"). Will update as soon as I get more information.
Interestingly enough, I put through an enquiry through to Openreach using their form (enquiring about the works, "is it coming?", etc.) expecting a generic dead-end response. However, it looks like the specialist team will look into it so hopefully I will get a better insight into when to expect it. :fingers:
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I imagine the cab I'm connected to will need a re-shell before it's 'G-Fast' pod ready. I'd say 90% of the newerish cabs in my area now all have Pods, it's just the older iron ones such as mine which haven't been touched.
No sign of anything what so ever yet....I did email Openreach as you did, but I got a really random reply stating how my area isn't a trial area and I will need to keep checking as to when I can register for a trial.
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I vaguely recall you mentioning about this in a different topic. And yes, under the current amendment it will need a reshell.
The thing is, as you are probably aware, Openreach have scaled back G.fast (linky linky (https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/08/openreach-to-scale-back-rollout-of-g-fast-broadband-focus-on-fttp.html)) in favour of FTTP. 10 million premises (as a target) were set to get G.fast by 2020 but now that has been reduced to 6. The unfortunate side of it is that the target for FTTP premises by 2020 has only increased by a million; going from 2 to 3 million (of course it's a whole 1/3 more, but people will have to wait longer). It is progress in the right direction, but the reality of it is that people who would have benefited from G.fast may not receive anything faster until 2025 and beyond.
When I initially contacted Openreach via their form back in April the response I got was probably similar to yours in the respect that it mentioned it was only being trialed in areas where infrastructure was already built and that I need to contact my service provider (lol). I imagine that the key difference between then and the last enquiry I sent is that work has since commenced; pods have been fitted, cabinets have been reshelled (well, at least one that I am aware of). And perhaps because my cabinet had works scheduled it had some bearing.
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I vaguely recall you mentioning about this in a different topic. And yes, under the current amendment it will need a reshell.
The thing is, as you are probably aware, Openreach have scaled back G.fast (linky linky (https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/08/openreach-to-scale-back-rollout-of-g-fast-broadband-focus-on-fttp.html)) in favour of FTTP. 10 million premises (as a target) were set to get G.fast by 2020 but now that has been reduced to 6. The unfortunate side of it is that the target for FTTP premises by 2020 has only increased by a million; going from 2 to 3 million (of course it's a whole 1/3 more, but people will have to wait longer). It is progress in the right direction, but the reality of it is that people who would have benefited from G.fast may not receive anything faster until 2025 and beyond.
When I initially contacted Openreach via their form back in April the response I got was probably similar to yours in the respect that it mentioned it was only being trialed in areas where infrastructure was already built and that I need to contact my service provider (lol). I imagine that the key difference between then and the last enquiry I sent is that work has since commenced; pods have been fitted, cabinets have been reshelled (well, at least one that I am aware of). And perhaps because my cabinet had works scheduled it had some bearing.
Yeah, it did occur to me that maybe they don't see the need to add a pod to my PCP now their plans have been scaled back. For what it's worth my area is primarily Virgin Media and there hasn't ever been a huge uptake in FTTC ports on my cab, which has been quite fortunate I guess. And after my line problems of around 3 months ago, my modem is still locked on at the maximum it can possibly handle. Although SNRM seems to hover around 3.7-4.0 so my attainable is down.... but as long as I don't reboot it, then I'll keep my max throughput as it seems pretty error free in the main.
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Cabinet reshelled and G.fast pod has been fitted same day it seems. :)
Now we wait. :D
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Is anyone able to confirm whether the "silver lock" sort of thing is applicable to G.fast pods as it was with FTTC cabinets when trying to establish whether it is active? I mean, I can see that this pod has a some sort of silver mechanism fitted to it. Though I can't hear any noises from the ventilation.
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Is anyone able to confirm whether the "silver lock" sort of thing is applicable to G.fast pods as it was with FTTC cabinets when trying to establish whether it is active?
Unfortunately that "silver lock" concept is actually a TBB forum myth. There are also many (Huawei equipped) cabinets, live and active, with black locks.
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Unfortunately that "silver lock" concept is actually a TBB forum myth. There are also many (Huawei equipped) cabinets, live and active, with black locks.
The more you know! Now I come to think about it, I've seen a lot of cabinets with locks that are not silver (I think even my own).
I've attached a picture with the part that is "silver" on my pod circled in red. I kinda nicked the picture from OcUK forums (source page (https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/openreach-speedy-up-installing-g-fast-pod.18788834)) and edited that. As you can see, it is green on here and a lot of pictures of other pods I've seen show a green mechanism or something (in fact, I haven't been able to find one that is similar to mine).
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The more you know!
;)
I've attached a picture with the part that is "silver" on my pod circled in red. I kinda nicked the picture from OcUK forums (source page (https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/openreach-speedy-up-installing-g-fast-pod.18788834)) and edited that. As you can see, it is green on here and a lot of pictures of other pods I've seen show a green mechanism or something (in fact, I haven't been able to find one that is similar to mine).
The image you have attached is identical to all the pods that I have (physically) seen, so far. However I am willing to accept that you have seen something different.
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Okay I kinda lied but without intention! I have seen other pods locally with a silver mechanism I'm sure, but that's about it. I was wondering it implies something or perhaps it's just a different variant of the pod/mechanism.
I could take a photo, though I would need to reduce the chance of someone analysing the noise pattern from the sensor and successfully tracking me. :paperbag:
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still no g.fast in my area on the checkers (or reshells) but interestingly FTTPoD is now available. Also my adsl1 estimate has shot up from what used to be 5-6mbit now to 8mbit/sec, some possible D side rerouting?
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still no g.fast in my area on the checkers (or reshells) but interestingly FTTPoD is now available. Also my adsl1 estimate has shot up from what used to be 5-6mbit now to 8mbit/sec, some possible D side rerouting?
Perhaps FTTC has been enabled on the cabinet you are connected to? As long as the exchange is FTTPoD enabled and FTTC is enabled on your cabinet then FTTPoD should be available to order. I don't know about your cabinet or whether you have FTTC available, so I made an assumption of the scenario.
As for the ADSL estimate increase, I can't answer that. Could be that the database has been updated to reflect what is believed to be attainable. It's unlikely that the cable would be re-routed unless you were being connected to a closer/newly erected cabinet.
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FTTC has been enabled for several years now, but FTTPoD only appeared last month. I believe there is other requirements for FTTPoD availability aside from FTTC enabled services.
It is possible they using another cabinet now for ADSL, I dont think a 2mbit jump would happen without something changing as on adsl1 thats massive. I had a loop loss of 50db on adsl1, how many 50db lines would reach 8mbit? I wonder if its actually an error on the checker as errors have been known to happen from time to time. The previous adsl1 estimate before it jumped was 4.6mbit (dropped from 5-6.2 pre FTTC days). So the jump was actually more than 2mbit.
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I believe there is other requirements for FTTPoD availability aside from FTTC enabled services.
Yes, for the exchange to be enabled for FTTPoD. :) At least that I am aware of (could be more).
It is possible they using another cabinet now for ADSL, I dont think a 2mbit jump would happen without something changing as on adsl1 thats massive. I had a loop loss of 50db on adsl1, how many 50db lines would reach 8mbit? I wonder if its actually an error on the checker as errors have been known to happen from time to time. The previous adsl1 estimate before it jumped was 4.6mbit (dropped from 5-6.2 pre FTTC days). So the jump was actually more than 2mbit.
No clue, and they don't make crystal balls like they used to. ;) Did you notice the cabinet number change on the checker? Though one thing for sure is that at 50 dB loss there is absolutely no chance of reaching 8 Mbps; it'd have to be below 40 dB to even stand a chance on ADSL1.
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I have had some intel that the G.fast rollout in my area is due to be complete around Q2 2019. Obviously this means that I may not be able to order it for half a year. I don't know anything beyond this at this time for timescales.
It gets a bit complex here since native Openreach 1 Gbps FTTP is available in the same town (due to new build requirements on broadband requiring broadband speeds above a threshold that FTTC offers) but according to the DSL Checker it is not served on the local exchange. In fact, the exchange is not even in England! Interestingly enough, the local exchange is FTTPoD enabled but perhaps it's lacking the the necessary handover kit to serve 1 Gbps FTTP connections and G.fast?
Does anybody know if 10 Gbps capable handover kit is being installed in local exchanges as part of the G.fast (and even FTTP) rollout or is it likely just going bypass local exchanges like the case with the new builds as above?
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Okay, well there is certainly sound emanating from the pod now so there is power to it; there is a gentle hum. Does this imply that it is hooked up to fibre also?
I didn't listen to any other pods, but presumably they are likely at around the same stage. Though I should be careful as I risk being seen as some crazy guy, so from now on I'll have to do little treks under the cover of darkness. ;D
I don't know if anyone would be aware of whether the procedure for commissioning G.fast is somewhat the same as with FTTC? But I can't see it being enabled anytime soon anyway.
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Okay, well there is certainly sound emanating from the pod now so there is power to it; there is a gentle hum. Does this imply that it is hooked up to fibre also?
No, not necessarily so. It really depends upon the availability of those skilled to perform the required tasks.
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Thanks b*cat. I think the availability of people with the required skills may be limited since it took over half a year from when the FTTC cabinet was in place until it was activated, though I could be completely wrong. Also, I did mention somewhere that a local engineer said that they weren't trained for G.fast which may mean that engineers further afield may be put on duty until local engineers are trained for it.
Perhaps I need to chill and not become to obsessed. Though I'm not quite posting about it daily. ;D Just let me know if I become too much of a nuisance!
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Does anybody know if 10 Gbps capable handover kit is being installed in local exchanges as part of the G.fast (and even FTTP) rollout or is it likely just going bypass local exchanges like the case with the new builds as above?
Fibre kit is only installed in certain exchanges and they will support FTTC/FTTP and g.fast from those locations.. the long term plan being to close most local exchanges
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Fibre kit is only installed in certain exchanges and they will support FTTC/FTTP and g.fast from those locations.. the long term plan being to close most local exchanges
I've heard about the long-term plan to close local exchanges. Presumably it's because of the PSTN network being replaced by IP telephony and it makes no sense to have cases where small exchanges are serving a few hundred properties when a larger exchange has a presence nearby.
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I've heard about the long-term plan to close local exchanges. Presumably it's because of the PSTN network being replaced by IP telephony and it makes no sense to have cases where small exchanges are serving a few hundred properties when a larger exchange has a presence nearby.
Was speaking with a fibre manager only a few weeks ago and plans are in place to condense six (I'm sure it was this amount ?) London Exchanges into just one.
I have no idea which ones, as it is absolutely nowhere near my patch .... it was just interesting to hear his take on it all. He mentioned that we are currently running at 120% where FTTP is concerned, and that was set to steadily increase, as once one town/city becomes FTTP (in effect, a hands-off network), then the surplus engineers that used to maintain said town/city are then used to help with the next FTTP project ..... and so on, and so on .....
For the ground-troops, it unfortunately means they are slowly working their way out of a job.
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Well I spoke to an Openreach engineer today at the cabinet. Felt a bit sorry disturbing him since he said he was working on faulty ports or something (though I didn't ask him while he had his head in the cabinet).
Anyway, I asked he if knew about the G.fast pod and he wasn't sure. Perhaps this isn't his usual patch or maybe not trained with G.fast. But he said something like "it shouldn't be long because I can see everything is connected". So at the cabinet side, things are apparently fully connected so maybe we are waiting for links at the exchange?
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Are you in Rochdale, re0 ?? Have I got that right ???
If so, I stray into that patch on a regular'ish basis ... and every Cab I've ever been too has the pods attached with the hybrid cable fully connected. So I can only guess that some other geographical links are being worked on ??
As an aside .... waaaay back in the day of Fxxx, Rochdale was actually earmarked to be one of the very first to go FTTP, but, the power capacity at the Exchange was running at about 96% (if memory serves) and couldn't handle any further major equipment power-feeds, without scaling up the power supply to the building. :-\
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We have g.fast pods on attached to our PCP here, north of Bridgend.
I think the Huawei cabinet has put on weight too, i.e. it's grown a bit on one side!
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Are you in Rochdale, re0 ?? Have I got that right ???
Nowhere near! :D I didn't really disclose the location before, so it's a guessing game. Probably because I don't live in the biggest of areas and I don't need another stalker... implying I'd be interesting enough to follow ;D
If so, I stray into that patch on a regular'ish basis ... and every Cab I've ever been too has the pods attached with the hybrid cable fully connected. So I can only guess that some other geographical links are being worked on ??
About 1/3 of cabinets here have a G.fast pod on that I am aware of. A few have copper extensions that I am aware of. Not sure which pods are hooked up to power and fibre but I think mine was one of the last of the lot to be fitted, so there may be a chance that mine is behind the rest and if it is indeed hooked up fully then that is good progress.
We have g.fast pods on attached to our PCP here, north of Bridgend.
Active? When was it fitted?
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Nope, not active. They've been there a good few months at this point, though. There is absolutely no G.Fast live, but a few cabinets have got it, for sure.
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@ BS could they be the ones catering for the Square Mile? I know there a lot of compatstive providers there, but very little, if any at all, BT FTTC or FTTP.
CLBIS Bishopsgate City of London
CLFAR Faraday City of London
CLFLE Fleet City of London
CLMON Monument City of London
CLMOO Moorgate City of London
CLWOO Wood Street City of London
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Your guess is always going to be better than mine, Ren .... I have not the slightest clue ... as mooted, it was just something mentioned in a convo ??. :) :)
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March arrived and about half the pods I am aware of have been enabled and are now accepting orders. Infuriating as it is, mine is still not enabled. I am hoping that it will be within the next few weeks since most of the pods were attached within the same couple of months (though, I know quite right it means nothing).
Interestingly enough, addresses that are enabled are all showing Amber to my knowledge regardless of estimates.
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Oh God, I hate to hit my own thread up with what is essentially a non update in some regards. :-[
Still no enablement yet. Had some contact with OR, reckons only a few weeks since engineering works have now been completed. I have a feeling it will be the last to be enabled since the one down the road - despite being fitted a few months after - is already enabled.
It's sad that I will have to leave AAISP if I want G.fast once it becomes available because:
- There is no plan to sell 330/50
- The cost of £70pm for 2 TB with 160/30 speeds is a bit steep
- 160/50 (which is just a butchered 330/50 package) will cost an additional £10pm
- Min. 12 month term (understandable given what I presume is 12 month min. term from OR on G.fast, but this flexibility was a massive selling point for me on FTTC with A&A)
Looks like I will either jump on the Zen or IDNET ship - probably the former since cheaper activation, monthly cost (for 330/50, £7.81pm cheaper) and a "free" router.
How is Zen's IPv6 anyway, if someone could advise?
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There's me thinking £43 a month for unlimited 380/21 was a bit steep, £70 for less even if with AA is down right expensive in my mind.
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I understand how A&A is positioned in the market and its appeal to certain users. I think I am no longer it's target audience, at least when G.fast arrives.
I don't think 2TB is a terrible allowance, even at Ultrafast speeds I'd probably struggle to chew through more than a single TB under normal circumstances. But no 330 Mbps downstream, and with 50 Mbps upstream costing £80pm, it's £20pm more than the competition with 330/50 (well, it's not really so much competition due to different target audiences, I guess).
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I would have to agree with that too. That is a lot of money for G.Fast 160Mb.
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Slightly unrelated, but I believe my FTTC cabinet may have had the capacity increased recently as it was full and a short while after OR came out it was back to available again. Though could be pure coincidence since people may have switched to ADSLx or ceased.
I know the cabinet had 6 line cards when it was plonked into place back in 2015, which I presume would be the standard 48 port (sadly can't really tell from the photo I have). I don't see a High Density upgrade, so I imagine they can just swap out the 48 for 64 port line cards these days?
Either way, it's starting to eat away at my margins :no::
Max: Upstream rate = 27040 Kbps, Downstream rate = 80777 Kbps
Bearer: 0, Upstream rate = 19999 Kbps, Downstream rate = 79999 Kbps
Bearer: 1, Upstream rate = 0 Kbps, Downstream rate = 0 Kbps
Link Power State: L0
Mode: VDSL2 Annex B
VDSL2 Profile: Profile 17a
TPS-TC: PTM Mode(0x0)
Trellis: U:ON /D:ON
Line Status: No Defect
Training Status: Showtime
Down Up
SNR (dB): 6.4 15.6
Attn(dB): 9.3 0.0
Pwr(dBm): 13.1 -6.2
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yeah I wouldnt pay £70 a month for hybrid copper.
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Oh God, I hate to hit my own thread up with what is essentially a non update in some regards. :-[
Still no enablement yet. Had some contact with OR, reckons only a few weeks since engineering works have now been completed. I have a feeling it will be the last to be enabled since the one down the road - despite being fitted a few months after - is already enabled.
It's sad that I will have to leave AAISP if I want G.fast once it becomes available because:
- There is no plan to sell 330/50
- The cost of £70pm for 2 TB with 160/30 speeds is a bit steep
- 160/50 (which is just a butchered 330/50 package) will cost an additional £10pm
- Min. 12 month term (understandable given what I presume is 12 month min. term from OR on G.fast, but this flexibility was a massive selling point for me on FTTC with A&A)
Looks like I will either jump on the Zen or IDNET ship - probably the former since cheaper activation, monthly cost (for 330/50, £7.81pm cheaper) and a "free" router.
How is Zen's IPv6 anyway, if someone could advise?
I don't currently use IPv6 on the LAN but I did for a while and had no issues with it, other than problems with specific clients on my LAN mainly my Android phone claiming no connectivity and Xbox One changing its UUID every reboot so I couldn't set the firewall correctly due to the IP address constantly changing.
I do have it still enabled on the router though, it uses IPv4 and IPv6 for DNS lookups.
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If you have a few moments and are able to enable it on LAN, could you give this (https://ipv6-test.com/) a test? Would be much appreciated.
I get 18/20 on A&A - this is because my router is filtering ICMPv6 messages. Never really bothered to sort it since I have not noticed any issues. I could probably just add an ip6tables rule for it, but I would probably have to inform Billion to "fix" it in their firmware because I do not know if my ip6tables additions would be persistent (haven't checked).
Going back to the topic of G.fast, still not enabled. June is the best estimate I have been given, and will probably be true at this pace.
Still torn between Zen and IDNET. IDNET has QoS on the network and can give one month free if whole term paid in advance, but hefty activation fee. Zen is willing to waive the activation fee if I don't take their router (since I have 3 spare here, and would be 4 if I stopped using the 8800NL as a dedicated modem).
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Woohoo. G.fast is finally enabled on the cabinet. Clean estimates for downstream being 330 high and low with a handback of 330. :P Let's see how this alumin-... er... I mean copper can handle it.
Now... who to order with...? :-\
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handback of 330 suggests you pretty damn close to your cabinet, sub 50m?
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As the sig says, the line is about 190 meters. The clean handback is 330 Mbps!
Anyway, ordered with Zen. Maximum and Typical downstream rates estimated at 330 Mbps, with minimum speed guarantee being just a few meg under 250 Mbps. I have some doubts that the line will be capable of these speeds, but that's just the pessimism.
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re0 what is your Line attenuation (dB) in downstream for FTTC?
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re0 what is your Line attenuation (dB) in downstream for FTTC?
Typically 9.3 dB.
And for all bands:
VDSL Band Status U0 U1 U2 U3 U4 D1 D2 D3
Line Attenuation(dB): 3.9 9.6 14.1 N/A N/A 5.2 11.2 19.6
Signal Attenuation(dB): 3.9 8.9 13.0 N/A N/A 6.4 11.0 19.6
SNR Margin(dB): 15.6 15.6 15.6 N/A N/A 6.4 6.4 6.4
TX Power(dBm): -20.6 -33.7 -6.3 N/A N/A 9.8 7.5 7.2
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Typically 9.3 dB.
And for all bands:
VDSL Band Status U0 U1 U2 U3 U4 D1 D2 D3
Line Attenuation(dB): 3.9 9.6 14.1 N/A N/A 5.2 11.2 19.6
Signal Attenuation(dB): 3.9 8.9 13.0 N/A N/A 6.4 11.0 19.6
SNR Margin(dB): 15.6 15.6 15.6 N/A N/A 6.4 6.4 6.4
TX Power(dBm): -20.6 -33.7 -6.3 N/A N/A 9.8 7.5 7.2
Here is mine 11.5dB:
VDSL Band Status U0 U1 U2 U3 U4 D1 D2 D3
Line Attenuation(dB): 2.6 13.2 20.4 N/A N/A 6.8 15.8 26.2
Signal Attenuation(dB): 2.6 13.4 19.8 N/A N/A 8.9 15.7 26.2
SNR Margin(dB): 8.8 10.0 9.2 N/A N/A 6.4 6.0 6.0
TX Power(dBm): -14.7 -29.9 -0.5 N/A N/A 7.9 7.8 7.1
Don't think my g.fast will be getting more than 220/30 ?
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Attached Hlog. D3 has always been a bit wonky with my current modem (the other modem showed a more level D3).
I believe my line is about 190m length total. I think I might have posted somewhere what the engineer said it was but it was probably a year ago now - he might have said 180m.
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Where to get Hlog screenshot from?
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In my case, HG612 Modem Stats (https://kitz.co.uk/routers/hg612stats.htm). As long as your modem has Broadcom chipset, has telnet, and allows access to "adsl" commands then it should be possible to configure the application to download and graph the stats.
You just need to either edit the "HG612_stats.ini" or launch the "HG612 Stats logging GUI.exe" since from either you can specify the IP, login credentials, etc. The you can run "HG612_current_stats.exe" for the stats to be logged and graphed.
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Don't think my g.fast will be getting more than 220/30 ?
You will never really know until you actually get it activated. G.fast is so sensitive to distance, and it's using frequencies much beyond that of VDSL. With the limited knowledge I have about G.fast, I would say your presumption is probably about right.
Once your pod is enabled, look at what the DSL checker says - it should give a rough idea. Like I said above, my clean range for G.fast downstream High, Low and Handback are all 330 - but I doubt this is will be attained. I will find out in a little over two weeks.
I found a thread (here (https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Broadband/These-new-Sky-router-connection-stats/td-p/2911511)) on the Sky forums, and if you review the replies by mae-3 you'll see their VDSL attenuations were not too far off yours. Now on G.fast, going by the sig, they get 212 Mbps down and 41 Mbps up throughput. While the downstream is around the bottom of their clean estimate, I would say this is probably the closest example to what may be possible for you floating around on the immediate web.
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Here is my Hlog screenshot & cabinet 8 for my g.fast (this was taken last year before BTw removed off)
But my g.fast pod got a silver lock but expecting go live later this summer (around July 2019) and if it went live then I will ordered it via Zen Internet
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Here is my Hlog screenshot . . .
Very clean and smooth. Which tells me you have an essentially perfect line.
But my g.fast pod got a silver lock . . .
The "sliver lock" myth originates from the TBB forum.
Cabinets housing the electronics for either FTTC or G.Fast can be deployed and active with either green, black or silver locks. It really depends upon the local stock-holding for the area in question.
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Here is my Hlog screenshot
Looks like ~250m.
cabinet 8 for my g.fast (this was taken last year before BTw removed off)
When comparing the estimates for the address back when it was planned vs now, I have found that the speeds estimated are overall about 5% less. Your case may vary.
But my g.fast pod got a silver lock
I believe the silver lock thing is a fallacy. I think mine had one from day one, so take what you will from that.
but expecting go live later this summer (around July 2019)
The Ultrafast Director at Openreach should be able to confirm that for you, if you know how to get hold of them... ;)
and if it went live then I will ordered it via Zen Internet
When it is enabled, your impacted range low esimate should be your minimum guarantee (at least Zen used this in mine). If your estimates are roughly the same as they were back when it was planned then I would highly suggest going with their 160/30 package first and wait and see what the engineer's JDSU says (presuming not a self-install when it is finally enabled). Upgrading to 330/50 is just a new contract, but downgrading to 160/30 from 330/50 is a new contract + early termination charge applies within contract period.
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I'm considering getting a ZyXEL XMG3927-B50A for G.fast. There is a supplier in the UK who can provide it for a little under £200. Still on the fence on whether to get it... :-\ Perhaps I should wait until the install first since the MT992 probably will suffice, but I want to monitor my stats.
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I'm considering getting a ZyXEL XMG3927-B50A for G.fast. There is a supplier in the UK who can provide it for a little under £200. Still on the fence on whether to get it... :-\ Perhaps I should wait until the install first since the MT992 probably will suffice, but I want to monitor my stats.
Hear Hear! We all want monitor the stats but not for me. I better stop stressed out! lol Don't worry I stay with FTTC. Got email from virgin just now that my order has now cancelled.
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. . . Perhaps I should wait until the install first since the MT992 probably will suffice, but I want to monitor my stats.
The trouble is that there have been very few Huawei MT992 devices available for investigation (and none at a sensible price). Hence they are still an unknown in terms of data harvesting for circuit statistics.
There is currently one available on eBay (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Huawei-MT992-G-Fast-Modem-Ultrafast-GFast-Boxed-Complete/123753626349); an opening bid of £299-99 is requested. :o :no:
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I will get one with my install but I do not fancy fiddling with it. I might ask the engineer for a "spare" to play with. :D But the sad thing is that there is only one Ethernet port now. :( This should be the limiting factor to have access to stats and having a WAN connection concurrently, unless there is a way to make it possible for using as a router as opposed to just a modem.
Still, there is the option of the ZyXEL XMG3927-B50A! It's a lot of dosh to part with but I would imagine that, based on ZyXEL's reputation, it will be more of a decent device than the DSL-AC88 with regards stats and commands.
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As for harvesting statistics via the same interface as the link from the MT992 to the router, it really depends upon how the former has been "locked down" and how it can be unlocked. The concept of harvesting via the same interface and via a single cable has been documented by Chrysalis. It just depends upon the MT992.
There is one simple test that you could perform, please. With the MT992 powered off and without any connections to its WAN and LAN ports, press and hold the reset button. With the other hand, power on the MT992 and wait for, say, 30 seconds and then release the reset button. Give the device some "thinking time", say one minute, and then connect its LAN port to a computer whose Ethernet interface has been configured to use a static address of, say, 192.168.1.100. Now perform an nmap scan on 192.168.1.0/24. If nothing of interest is discovered, reconfigure the computer's interface to,say, 192.168.0.100 and perform an nmap scan on 192.168.0.0/24. If that also yields a negative result, try 10.0.0.100 for the computer's interface and 10.0.0.0/24 for the nmap scan.
If one of those tests returns a positive result, please then perform --
nmap -n -sV -sU -sS address_discovered
-- and share the result.
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That was sorta the plan. :) I'll probably give it a try once I am bored with my connection and don't care about some downtime, or once I replace the modem. If you don't hear back from me by the end of the month, give me a nudge. If I don't respond, I've probably OD'd on speed.
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If you don't hear back from me by the end of the month, give me a nudge. If I don't respond, I've probably OD'd on speed.
Thank you. Will do so . . .
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Still considering the ZyXEL XMG3927-B50A... gathering stats is appealing to me. Perhaps learn to understand the technology a bit better and perhaps try and code something using Python to collect/graphing stats when/if time allows. :) Though I just need to absolutely confirm this CPE allows for telnet/SSH (I have emailed Zyxel, so hopefully can confirm).
To my knowledge, the DLM defaults to 3 dB and low retransmission... but my fear is that fiddly diddling with the MT992 will affect the DLM. I don't mean to say I will have it wired up each time I restart it. :D But I have no idea of the tolerances, so I don't want to mess up the DLM if I can help it. :cat:
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I can see someone posted over TTB forum that his line are much similiar to mine with two compared dsl checker below.
His line stats found here: https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fibre/t/4618162-re-any-gfast-ultrafast-users-here.html
But I have no idea what the default set by Openreach g.fast on the line for the first activated 15dB, 12dB, 6dB or 3dB?
His dsl checker say 200/28 on range A clean but his current stats on modem getting 246/34 with downstream snr set by 12dB but was capped 160/30 by BT and my dsl checker was 211/29 on range A clean but if my line was activated could be go higher than him like 250/35 (if SNR set at 12dB)?
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Max, you might be better making a new topic if you have your own questions.
As per my previous post, 3 dB with low retransmission is default to my knowledge. I don't know if that's changed since pilot.
The estimates are not worth getting obsessed with. You will only know the true performance if you get it provisioned.
The reason why their SNR is 12 dB is because they are at the maximum rate for the product. After the upgrade, the DLM should try 3 dB and adjust parameters as necessary. There is no guarantee that it will be stable at 3 dB.
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All up and running with XMG3927-B50A. Seem to be pretty much right on the edge for 330 Mbps, but I hope vectoring will keep it fine. First on the pod, so things can only go down I suppose.
xdslctl info --stats
xdslctl: ADSL driver and PHY status
Status: Showtime
Last Retrain Reason: 0
Last initialization procedure status: 0
Max: Upstream rate = 60504 Kbps, Downstream rate = 337595 Kbps
Bearer: 0, Upstream rate = 50005 Kbps, Downstream rate = 330011 Kbps
Link Power State: L0
Mode: G.fast Annex A
TPS-TC: PTM Mode(0x0)
Trellis: U:ON /D:ON
Line Status: No Defect
Training Status: Showtime
Down Up
SNR (dB): 3.3 7.1
Attn(dB): 32.1 0.0
Pwr(dBm): 0.0 3.9
Since there is a high possibility of aluminium being present, it makes sense that the distance reading for G.fast is over 1.3x the estimated distance (plus ~20m for drop) by OR's system.
Seems OK, bit worried about Zen's routing which is adding precious milliseconds to my latency. Single-threaded downloads also seem a bit naff. :yuck: Going to see what's up with that.
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Nice, let's hope it stays nice and stable :fingers:
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Switched over to the RJ11 provided with the Zyxel (which is about a meter shorter, but also much thinner) and it made a very small difference - ever so slightly better. I wasn't expecting any real difference, but I wanted to change the cable because my other one was a bit of a squeeze behind the router so thought might as well make a small note of it.
xdslctl info --stats
xdslctl: ADSL driver and PHY status
Status: Showtime
Last Retrain Reason: 0
Last initialization procedure status: 0
Max: Upstream rate = 61552 Kbps, Downstream rate = 338781 Kbps
Bearer: 0, Upstream rate = 50005 Kbps, Downstream rate = 330011 Kbps
Link Power State: L0
Mode: G.fast Annex A
TPS-TC: PTM Mode(0x0)
Trellis: U:ON /D:ON
Line Status: No Defect
Training Status: Showtime
Down Up
SNR (dB): 3.6 7.5
Attn(dB): 31.0 0.0
Pwr(dBm): 0.0 3.9
I have also attached a "crusty" image of VDSL2 overlayed (inverted) on G.fast HLog on my line. May be of interest to some, but really the attenuation just indicates 200m (which is about right). At least it falls off quite nicely from VDSL2 spectrum.
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Zyxel XMG3927-B50A are these modem only or also come with wireless router? As I like this one because it will work with HG612 Modem Stats and Dslstats for useful g.fast full stats for future use. I suppose Zyxel XMG3927-B50A are hard to buy online.
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Zyxel XMG3927-B50A is a modem-router combo. So it's has a modem, router and wireless.
HG612 Modem Stats doesn't work with it AFAIK, since it doesn't have xdslctl coded info the program. However, DSLstats will work even if it's not designed to work with G.fast at the moment.