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Announcements => News Articles => Topic started by: gt94sss2 on January 27, 2020, 02:54:30 PM

Title: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: gt94sss2 on January 27, 2020, 02:54:30 PM
Quote
250,000 homes and businesses in more than 200 villages, market towns and rural areas set to benefit

Openreach today outlined plans to make ultrafast, ultra-reliable and future-proof broadband available in 227 market towns and villages across the UK, with building to commence within the next 14 months.

The portion of this build plan completed by March 2021 is within Openreach’s previously stated target to reach four million homes and businesses with ‘full fibre’ technology March 2021.

These new locations such as Aberdare, in South Wales, and Saxmundham, in Suffolk, are part of the company’s ambition to extend its new ‘full’ fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network outside cities.

The plans build on successful cost busting village trials launched at the tail end of last year - which have seen engineers developing a range of new tools, skills and techniques to help Openreach extend its full fibre network into areas previously considered too complex or expensive to upgrade.

This is all part of their commercial build not BDUK

More at:
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/01/openreach-add-227-rural-uk-areas-to-fttp-broadband-rollout.html
https://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/8651-openreach-announces-another-250-000-rural-premises-that-will-get-full-fibre

Official Press release: https://www.openreach.com/news/openreach-accelerates-full-fibre-build-to-harder-to-reach-market-towns-villages--rural-areas/
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Black Sheep on January 27, 2020, 07:57:26 PM
Indeed so, gt94sss2 ...... thank you for pointing that out and as such, it won't be a god-given right that all will get FTTP under this current roll-out phase.

'The Openreach press release of course has more to add, a lot of coverage is going to talk about the various new techniques such as the diamond cutter, but we covered those last year and the majority of the roll-out is going to utilise existing ducts and poles.

One key point to make is that while the roll-out is aiming for 250,000 premises across all these exchanges there is no guarantee that all premises on any individual exchange will be covered. Given that this roll-out is under a commercial umbrella it is likely that where costs vast exceed the average that a remote property may be missed. There is also the additional problems of wayleaves, which while usually a worry for those living in flats, this problem can also cover private or unadopted roads.'
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: jelv on January 28, 2020, 12:24:13 AM
Grrr...

From the list of exchanges in the ISPReview article:

Quote
Shaftesbury    Shaftesbury, Motcombe

Shaftesbury is my head exchange and Motcombe is between here and Shaftesbury!
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Bowdon on January 28, 2020, 04:44:00 PM
I welcome this list of rural places to get full FTTP. But I'm abit confused about where the non-rural areas fit in.

The list seems to be indicating that they will be prioritsing the listed rural areas up to March 2021.

Do OR envisage that the non-rural areas will be nearly completed by 2021? or are they rolling out FTTP backwards i.e. scooping up the rural areas sooner rather than traditionally later? I can see the advantage of doing that from a speed numbers view because the lower speeds will suddenly become higher speeds so the average overall speed would increase. But commercially it seems strange.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: gt94sss2 on January 28, 2020, 10:33:43 PM
Openreach have committed to passing 4 million FTTP customers by 2021 - most will be urban and they are gradually releasing the locations of their Fibre First locations.

However, I suspect its politically astute of them to include more rural areas where economics allow - especially after they have run trials showing it will be cost effective for them to do so.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: kitz on January 28, 2020, 10:50:02 PM
Yay..  and so now something has been officially announced.
This does indeed appear to be in relation to my post last week when I spotted the checker had changed.

Wow.   Something has changed.  Perhaps a new batch of towns will be officially added to the list soon?


We are indeed on that list,  as are those rural exchanges on the other side of the river where I notice they had also changed to coming soon last week.

Totally guessing here, but after checking addresses in various locations, I think we may be picking up on the tail-end for what is a rural deployment.

My head-end exchange is not listed, nor is Blackpool which I believe has recently received a substantial gov grant to utilise fibre to be laid in along the tram tracks running between here and the airport.   
In other local news Openreach has recruited 42 engineers, some of which will be located at this exchange for the roll out of 'ultrafast broadband'.   How weird when I thought the exchange was heading for the scrap heap, but now it looks like it could be rather busy over the coming year as according to the article they are specifically located at this exchange and not out of our FTTC head-end nor any Blackpool exchanges.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Chrysalis on January 28, 2020, 11:24:53 PM
Will I be the last regular on kitz to have no planned openreach ultrafast?
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: kitz on January 29, 2020, 01:01:13 AM
I doubt it Chrys.   

TBH  I never thought we would get it here and that released list does say 
"These are distinct from the Fibre Cities Programme (encompassing cities, towns & boroughs)" which I would imagine your area is more likely to come under.

g3uiss lives not that far from me, but no news for him yet.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on January 29, 2020, 02:28:50 AM
Will I be the last regular on kitz to have no planned openreach ultrafast?

Look at it this way, those of us on the list for FTTP are going to have nothing to talk about once we get it.  :lol:
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: kitz on January 29, 2020, 11:29:57 AM
Driving down the road this morning and I could not believe my eyes as this has appeared.   I double backed and pulled over just to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

I have no words.



-------------------
Update

FTTC Available from 1st February 2020      Phase VDSL Sidepod             Huawei
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: j0hn on January 29, 2020, 12:09:23 PM
Not necessarily a G.Fast pod kitz.

They use identical pods now to add capacity for VDSL2.
No way to tell from looking at them.

If there's no other local G.Fast it's almost certainly a VDSL2 pod.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: aesmith on January 29, 2020, 01:18:56 PM
Will I be the last regular on kitz to have no planned openreach ultrafast?
I think there are a few on long rural lines, although I guess it's separation of properties from each other rather than length as such that is going to be the issue.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Bowdon on January 29, 2020, 02:04:47 PM
Will I be the last regular on kitz to have no planned openreach ultrafast?

It's the same for me so far.

Though I know the big town near me is on CityFibres future plans. You should see their list to see if your town is on there.

Also I got a question, when they are passing so many premises, am I right in thinking this means they are hooking up the telephone poles/manholes, not actually physically connecting houses (until the house makes an order) ?

I found the old CityFibre list from 2018. I'll attach an image.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: kitz on January 29, 2020, 02:14:01 PM
Not necessarily a G.Fast pod kitz.

They use identical pods now to add capacity for VDSL2.
No way to tell from looking at them.

If there's no other local G.Fast it's almost certainly a VDSL2 pod.

The cab a few streets up has also had one put on.   
They added a line capacity extension to that particular cab a few months (5/6?) ago - so now it has an extension which goes to the pavement and without vents on one side.. and on the other a newly added pod with vents that looks identical to the one added to mine cab.   Will have to check some of the other local cabs next time I'm out and about.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: ads on January 29, 2020, 03:20:11 PM
Kitz send them to my town next :(
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: j0hn on January 29, 2020, 03:30:30 PM
Also I got a question, when they are passing so many premises, am I right in thinking this means they are hooking up the telephone poles/manholes, not actually physically connecting houses (until the house makes an order) ?

Correct.
Very expensive and time consuming to hook every passed property up when many may never take an FTTP service.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Black Sheep on January 29, 2020, 05:18:12 PM
Driving down the road this morning and I could not believe my eyes as this has appeared.   I double backed and pulled over just to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

I have no words.

As j0hn comments, it could be a side-pod for Tie-Pair relief ..... and ..... it is.

Just seen the job-pack and that is one very busy Cab, kitz !! (Assuming it is your own feed-cab and not just a random one within your town ??).



Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: kitz on January 29, 2020, 05:28:16 PM
Quote
Just seen the job-pack and that is one very busy Cab, kitz !!

Thank you muchly kind sir!   Yes that is my cab. 
They put one on the cab a couple of streets up too.  Openreach seem very active in this area atm. 
As to the cab being busy...  that could well be why my sync speeds have been so drastically affected by cross-talk.   
Hope they move over to FTTP asap so at least some move off the cab  (Not sure yet if I will be getting fttp due to budget and priorities)
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Black Sheep on January 29, 2020, 06:37:03 PM
Thank you muchly kind sir!   Yes that is my cab. 
They put one on the cab a couple of streets up too.  Openreach seem very active in this area atm. 
As to the cab being busy...  that could well be why my sync speeds have been so drastically affected by cross-talk.   
Hope they move over to FTTP asap so at least some move off the cab  (Not sure yet if I will be getting fttp due to budget and priorities)

Yeah .... 1400 cross-connections in your Cab, kitz.  :'(

I wonder if you applied a bit of 'spin' with the ISP(s) or even Openreach themselves, regarding a FTTP connection once the roll-out finishes ??

I'm sure a well-read site like this could be seen as a plus, with regard to advertisement/feedback from the site owner ?? My old man always used to say ... "If tha' dunt ask, tha' dunt get' ....  ;D

 
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: burakkucat on January 29, 2020, 08:57:21 PM
It's interesting to know that the pods (as shown in kitz's attached image), previously only associated with Huawei electronics (first G.Fast and latterly VDSL2), are now also being used for tie-pair relief. Perhaps it is just down to local stock-holding?
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Black Sheep on January 29, 2020, 09:01:57 PM
Side-pods have been used for quite a while for tie-pair relief, B*Cat .... can't comment on the 'makes & models' used though.  :)
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: burakkucat on January 29, 2020, 09:21:49 PM
Side-pods have been used for quite a while for tie-pair relief, B*Cat ....

Yes, agreed.  :)  I remember those that first appeared actually had two horizontal "tunnels" to link the PCP and the pod, which was "planted" four to six inches away from the PCP.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Black Sheep on January 30, 2020, 05:08:11 PM
Indeed they did.  :)
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: niemand on January 30, 2020, 05:44:54 PM
I think perhaps the point was to ask why that stand-off, or not so stand-off, pod is ventilated when it has nothing active in it?
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Black Sheep on January 30, 2020, 06:25:34 PM
I think perhaps the point was to ask why that stand-off, or not so stand-off, pod is ventilated when it has nothing active in it?

Was it .... I didn't quite get that from the musings ??

All Cabs are ventilated ..... there is a rubber seal that runs around the the door trims that is cut at certain points to allow air-flow to halt condensation .... even on the old cast-iron Cabs containing purely copper/Ali cables. 
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: burakkucat on January 30, 2020, 06:36:02 PM
Was it .... I didn't quite get that from the musings ??

Yes, that was my intent.  ;)
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Black Sheep on January 30, 2020, 07:01:23 PM
Yes, that was my intent.  ;)

Unlike yourself to be slightly cryptic, B*Cat ..... you usually ask the question direct.  ;) ;D

Hope my last post before this sheds a little light on things ??
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: niemand on January 30, 2020, 09:18:45 PM
Not really, Sir.

It has nothing active in it so why the same shell as a Huawei G.fast or VDSL DSLAM?

Just made sense to buy the shells in bulk and use them for everything?

The shell for tie pair relief on my PCP, one passing 650 premises and with at one time over 600 FTTC lines active has no obvious vents.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: burakkucat on January 30, 2020, 09:24:26 PM
Unlike yourself to be slightly cryptic, B*Cat .....

It is that time of the year, for me.  :(

To date, I have been aware of those pods (as shown in kitz's photograph), with extensive ventilation slots in the door, to contain a Huawei DSLAM either for G.Fast services or VDSL2 services. The other type of "door ventilated" pods I understand to contain a Nokia DSLAM for G.Fast services.

To see one of those pods used just for tie-pair relief make me wonder why. Could it be because of: (1) Depleted local stock holding (of the usually seen) stand-off cabinet for tie-pair relief?  (2) A directive from on high that all G.Fast deployment should cease and, as Magna Park holds many of pods designed to contain active electronics, those pods are being issued for any task that could help to reduce the said stock holding? (3) Some other conspiracy?  :-\
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on January 30, 2020, 10:04:43 PM
(3) Some other conspiracy?  :-\

Its 5G death rays!
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Black Sheep on January 31, 2020, 04:53:43 PM
Alas, I can't give an answer to your question, B*Cat ..... but utilising existing stock, is as good a shout as any in my book.

 :)
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: stevebrass on February 02, 2020, 12:53:32 PM
So my neck of the woods is on the latest list. Could be good news. I currently use VM as my DSLAM is about 1k distant and the VSDL speed maxes at 13/14mbps. And its an ECI cabinet!*

Presumably BT would be able to use what ever ducts and chambers and whatnot connect to my property so potentially I could have a real alternative to VM, with a healthy dose of competition as a result.

* for a few brief weeks GINP pushed me up to 18mbps - but it was not to be.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Black Sheep on February 02, 2020, 02:03:54 PM
So my neck of the woods is on the latest list. Could be good news. I currently use VM as my DSLAM is about 1k distant and the VSDL speed maxes at 13/14mbps. And its an ECI cabinet!*

Presumably BT would be able to use what ever ducts and chambers and whatnot connect to my property so potentially I could have a real alternative to VM, with a healthy dose of competition as a result.

* for a few brief weeks GINP pushed me up to 18mbps - but it was not to be.

Absolutely, pal.

It, of course there are factors to be taken into account in order for it to be feasible, but if you're not a single dwelling in the middle of absolutely nowhere, there's a very good chance.
 
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: niemand on February 02, 2020, 03:23:21 PM
Having VM available is actually a massive bonus here.

While there are people popping up claiming that it's ridiculous that Openreach are deploying FTTP over the top of VM coverage and they'll sell more where there's no VM, which is true they are missing a really, really simple thing.

A VM customer drawn back to Openreach = 100% new revenue. An existing Openreach customer moving from FTTC to FTTP = a (very) few quid a month more revenue.

Uptake of 60% instead of 30% means nothing when you're getting virtually nothing from the extra 30% and spent twice as much getting FTTP to them in the first place.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Chrysalis on February 02, 2020, 10:42:50 PM
Of course people seemed to disagree when I mentioned there is other factors aside from population density and availability of fast competitors.

My area, has both yet isnt in plans, so there is other factors at play, political factors will be at play for rural areas, for urban areas, subsidies offered by councils to get themselves high up the list may also be at play.

I did laugh when openreach replied to me 2 weeks before my MP told me she succeeded in getting them to rollout VDSL, and their reply was the area didnt make business sense to roll it out.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: kitz on February 05, 2020, 10:37:08 PM
The cab a few streets up has also had one put on.   
They added a line capacity extension to that particular cab a few months (5/6?) ago - so now it has an extension which goes to the pavement and without vents on one side.. and on the other a newly added pod with vents that looks identical to the one added to mine cab.   Will have to check some of the other local cabs next time I'm out and about.

Further to this I've now attached a photo below. 
You can see on the right the extension pod I thought was usually used for tie pair relief that was added a few months ago.  These pods usually go to the ground and don't have vents.    Then very recently it's gotten a vented pod on the left which hangs from the side of the PCP. 
   
So having seen this and the one on mine appear at about the same time you can see why I wondered what on earth was happening.    There are not the only 2 cabs which have recently sprung vented pods as I've noticed a few more in the area seem to have got them too.   

but utilising existing stock, is as good a shout as any in my book.

Agreed, seems about the most logical reason to assume it was reason 2 in b*cats post. 
Thanks for the info..   I guess in future we will now have to be aware that even the vented boxes may not necessarily contain electronic equipment.
I wonder if there is much of a price difference between them... probably not in the grand scheme of things.

Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: j0hn on April 04, 2020, 03:00:34 PM
Driving down the road this morning and I could not believe my eyes as this has appeared.   I double backed and pulled over just to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

I have no words.

Old thread/post but finally come across a pic of the inside of 1 of these VDSL pods, attached to this post.

Every installation I've seen of these vented pods has been for a G.Fast DSLAM or a VDSL DSLAM.

This particular pod in the picture is placed on a PCP with an ECI DSLAM.

Looks to be a Huawei DSLAM in the pod, giving capacity upgrades options for ECI cabinets now.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: burakkucat on April 04, 2020, 05:50:21 PM
Looks to be a Huawei DSLAM in the pod, . . .

I can confirm that the electronics is of Huawei manufacture but I am currently unable to identify the actual model.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: kitz on April 05, 2020, 07:14:04 PM
Thanks for the photo.  :flower: 
That looks remarkably like a MA5616 chassis.   I can see the Huawei logo on the fan tray but cant make out any of the writing underneath. 
Just one thing I'm unsure about - whilst that looks like it has MA5616 components, the fan tray is usually placed on the left of the control board, whereas that is on the right. 


-------
ETA 
I just did a search to see which DSLAMs can use the same MA5616 fan unit and then came up with this  SmartAX MA5818 (https://support.huawei.com/enterprise/en/access-network/smartax-ma5818-pid-8967969)   ;D
Nice!!!   If that's what it is, now I have a model no I can find out more info.   It has multi-board support - VDSL2, Vectoring and G.fast.    :)  Link to video (https://support.huawei.com/enterprise/en/doc/EDOC1100084160)
 

It wasn't linked from their list of dslams, and I only found it by messing around by 'building a dslam' with the part no's which I'd found for the fan tray which is in the 5616
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: kitz on June 12, 2020, 07:55:51 AM
Yay..  and so now something has been officially announced.
This does indeed appear to be in relation to my post last week when I spotted the checker had changed.
 

We are indeed on that list,  as are those rural exchanges on the other side of the river where I notice they had also changed to coming soon last week.


Got woken at 06:50 this morning by my blink system which had picked up someone in a hi-vis jacket down the side of my house.
Looked out of the window to see a Lightsource (https://www.lightsourceuk.net/) van at the end of the drive and another guy working at the junction box.
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: Ronski on June 12, 2020, 10:20:36 AM
Nice one, FTTP coming your way then  ;D
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: kitz on June 12, 2020, 10:54:13 AM
looks like it  :)   
Speaking to one of them though said i was the first house in the street who they'd managed to pull a feed through for as the other 4 houses which run from the same JB as mine were blocked..  as were all the houses that ran off a JB higher up.    He said they werent having that much  luck either with those lower down the street so far either and had so far found only one more which wasnt.   They are now working towards the end of  the road so looks like there are some down there which they are able to pull through.   The JB is right outside my house and so glad they were able to pull through as I have imprinted concrete over and above where i assume the ducting runs. 
Title: Re: Openreach announces another 250,000 rural premises to get FTTP
Post by: burakkucat on June 12, 2020, 04:11:40 PM
So the next thing to ponder is whether "Kitz Towers" will have a Nokia or a Huawei ONT installed, when the time is ripe?  :)