Kitz Forum
Broadband Related => FTTP Rollout => Topic started by: bogof on June 13, 2021, 03:19:36 PM
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FTTP has relatively recently been installed in the area - Norwich City Centre - I've counted a few hundred ports on CBTs on walls and poles, with more arriving as time goes by.
I was in there like a shot getting connected up, and loving my 900/115 Zen connection. I'm in a private courtyard that luckily got connected in the process, with an underground 8 port CBT in a new chamber.
A bit surprisingly to me though, I'm yet to see a single connection to any of the new CBTs. Not one. Admittedly, we have pretty good VDSL - most get 80/20 - and there is Virgin Cable in the area too (though I couldn't get due to courtyard location). One street down from me has G.Fast, which has just been overbuilt for many premises with FTTP. But still, I'd have thought at least some would have signed up.
On that basis, although I'm immensely pleased for myself to have the service, I can't help but think it's been a waste of OR's time. Perhaps their hope is they pull back some high-speed customers from Virgin (not really sure that will fly though, I get the feeling that for most, telephony is a secondary reason to have Virgin). Or maybe stop migration to altnets like Cityfibre, who are supposed to be coming to town.
Whichever way, I feel a bit sorry for folk who are struggling in a not-spot. While I'm sure the installations here were comparatively easy, there have still been many man teams out for many days and evenings in the last year. Given the lack of it seems interest from locals in the service, I'm not sure it wouldn't have been better invested elsewhere.
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Most people are mid-way through contracts with existing suppliers and weren't watching FTTP progress.
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I also ordered OpenReach FTTP straight away and didn't see much take up on my street/development to start with.
We had Virgin enable the area about 9-10 months before OpenReach became available so everyone who cared about speed had already joined Virgin.
Previously much of the street got around 40Mb on FTTC.
Nearly a year later and with lots of posts about the subject on the local Facebook group, take up is looking pretty strong.
Talktalk and Sky are also now available on FTTP on our exchange where previously they were not. That's helped take up.
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Most people are mid-way through contracts with existing suppliers and weren't watching FTTP progress.
Makes sense, though I think most suppliers would allow an upgrade subject to a new contract?
Then again, in the "lack of joined up thinking" stakes; EE - who provided my VDSL line - haven't bothered any sort of marketing to me on the subject of the availability of FTTP. That seems like a proper own-goal.
I also ordered OpenReach FTTP straight away and didn't see much take up on my street/development to start with.
We had Virgin enable the area about 9-10 months before OpenReach became available so everyone who cared about speed had already joined Virgin.
Previously much of the street got around 40Mb on FTTC.
Nearly a year later and with lots of posts about the subject on the local Facebook group, take up is looking pretty strong.
Talktalk and Sky are also now available on FTTP on our exchange where previously they were not. That's helped take up.
Will be interesting to see how it progresses. It's nice that you can very easily see what the takeup is at a glance.
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Do TalkTalk and Sky recontract you on FTTP or do you stay on FTTC as long as you want?
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Do TalkTalk and Sky recontract you on FTTP or do you stay on FTTC as long as you want?
You need to order it and take a new contract.
Talktalk don't even sell the FTTC speeds on FTTP. It's 160Mb or 500Mb only.
Their FTTP also comes with no phone.
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Given the lack of it seems interest from locals in the service, I'm not sure it wouldn't have been better invested elsewhere.
Apart from the reasons others have given (lack of knowledge, mid-contract etc), OR need to do the buildout in order to close the old exchanges and at some stage BT and the other large ISPs will simply offer free upgrades to FTTP.
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The email zen sent me they promised the FTTC would be a short term contract and when FTTP is done at my address they would quickly commence the upgrade, I plan to phone them to get more details as they may have an idea how soon they will get to my street, so might take them up on their offer.
FTTC for me is starting to feel like ADSL used to feel, games how long they take to download, as well as even uploads now, as I am uploading more and more videos to social media. Plus the constant tinkering with download shaping which wont be needed at all on 900/900 FTTP.
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You need to order it and take a new contract.
Talktalk don't even sell the FTTC speeds on FTTP. It's 160Mb or 500Mb only.
Their FTTP also comes with no phone.
What do BT do? I imagine with time ISPs will want to get customers onto FTTP and will entice them much as they did with FTTC
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Literally just received the latest 'Internal use only' communique, that touches upon the FTTP figures. Both build and take-up.
Let's just say it's gaining legs, and CP incentives have been agreed and signed up for with major players. ;)
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Do they need to have FTTP in place everywhere to close exchanges? Surely FTTC without analogue voice allows closure (as the fibre will be going to the same place as FTTP - or so I understood). Don't the FTTC cabs already go to the right class of exchange? I guess it's just old "exchange only" lines that have to be replaced with something, which I don't think any of the deployment around here is replacing.
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Do they need to have FTTP in place everywhere to close exchanges? Surely FTTC without analogue voice allows closure (as the fibre will be going to the same place as FTTP - or so I understood).
Yes, but having FTTP will allow them to decommission their copper network which is where a lot of the cost savings will come from.
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I think a lot of the reluctance of FTTP is down to the lack of advertising by the ISP's.
They don't want to undercut their own copper products so they seem to be doing everything to merge FTTP along side FTTC. Many people today think FTTC is full fibre. That's what my neighbour thought when he went with Sky (he ended up cancelling Sky and going to VM within a couple of week).
I think a combination of new builds, the increasing number of properties able to order FTTP, and the approaching end of life of copper will see a jump in FTTP take up.
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.... the approaching end of life of copper
Copper phone lines will be around for many more years. There seems to be an assumption that the decision to replace the PSTN analog voice service with VOIP means all the copper will be ripped out which is not what will happen because not everyone has fibre, phone services will be provided using VOIP on FTTC and ADSL services which means copper lines will still be used.
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This morning I went for a bit of a walk around the area and spotted a couple more underground fed CSPs like mine, so I guess it's slowly picking up.
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I've been wondering too when more people on my road/area will take up FTTP, especially as many of my neighbours are similar sized families, and the kind of 20-30mbit FTTC really can get stretched of an evening! Seen a couple of flyers through the door recently bigging up that superfast speeds of 150mbps are available, so maybe that'll change soon.
Or I could go tell them.. but I'm kinda happy being the only port in use on my CBT :)
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I think a lot of the reluctance of FTTP is down to the lack of advertising by the ISP's.
They don't want to undercut their own copper products so they seem to be doing everything to merge FTTP along side FTTC. Many people today think FTTC is full fibre. That's what my neighbour thought when he went with Sky (he ended up cancelling Sky and going to VM within a couple of week).
I think a combination of new builds, the increasing number of properties able to order FTTP, and the approaching end of life of copper will see a jump in FTTP take up.
There is ISPs making decent margins on the voice products, I dont know how most are handling it, are they still requiring voice lines to be ordered or just the FTTP by itself? as you said I think its a bit awkward for them.
I have also noticed a reluctance of websites to show pricing for FTTP unless you give them a postcode its available.
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There is ISPs making decent margins on the voice products, I dont know how most are handling it, are they still requiring voice lines to be ordered or just the FTTP by itself? as you said I think its a bit awkward for them.
I have also noticed a reluctance of websites to show pricing for FTTP unless you give them a postcode its available.
I hadn't though about this, perhaps the landline offerings - where many people take bundles they barely use - are a bit of a cash cow.
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I think a lot of the reluctance of FTTP is down to the lack of advertising by the ISP's.
They don't want to undercut their own copper products so they seem to be doing everything to merge FTTP along side FTTC. Many people today think FTTC is full fibre. That's what my neighbour thought when he went with Sky (he ended up cancelling Sky and going to VM within a couple of week).
I think a combination of new builds, the increasing number of properties able to order FTTP, and the approaching end of life of copper will see a jump in FTTP take up.
I agree, despite registering with Openreach I never did get an email to say that FTP was enabled. They couold do more to advertise availability. For me it was more of a case of seeing the work progress around my area and then contacting my ISP as soon as the OR checker showed its live. There are a few people connected where I live. I suspect like me they were fed up with the speed attainable via vdsl and signed up as soon as it was live.