Announcements > News Articles
B4RN Help Expand 1Gbps FTTH Broadband to Rural Cheshire UK
waltergmw:
Here is an interesting B4RN article
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-5470407/The-farmers-wife-set-super-fast-broadband-rural-families.html
The picture of Chris Conder is real as she will have just completed the fibre splice so it's NOT just a "photo opportunity".
I Know because I've been her assistant occasionally.
niemand:
Chris has done amazingly and is to be saluted, just don't tell her I said that. :D
waltergmw:
Firstly I must declare an interest in B4RN as I’m their first and millionth shareholder all the way from Surrey.
I hope I can help a bit by commenting on the above posts in order.
I should add that the B4RN design is the simplest solution relying on fibre splices done by those who have been trained. They are not encumbered by a very large workforce who have mainly been involved, and are obliged to continue, with crimping twisted pair wires.
The b4rn design starts in a distribution cabinet with each fibre cable terminated into patch tray(s). Cables radiate from a cabinet and often reduce in fibre counts as the fibres are consumed BUT there are always individual fibre bundles left to feed the next cabinet often in an adjacent parish. As the cable nears the remote cabinet the fibre count is increased to supply those nearer the second cabinet. Along a distribution cable “bullet” joints are installed in chambers where individual’s twin fibres radiate to every property nearby, whether or not the resident has selected a b4rn service. If a route is just feeding an “island” of properties then a spur cable is used but dual-diverse routed fibre cables are used wherever possible connecting the cabinets in a large set of rings. (This approach is not followed by the major Telcos for distribution cabinets.)
Some residents elect to just install the fibre as it can have a massive positive effect on the house price and allows a near instantaneous service to be provided perhaps when their existing contract has expired or when the twisted pair service goes AWOL.
The fibre pair enters the required building through a gas block (blocking methane and radon etc.) and a 5 mm tube direct into a wall mounted termination unit. The Gigabit router is then slid on to the wall unit thus completing the service.
For those who can look at Facebook the following video (with rather too much music IMHO) is an interesting revue from the Clapham North Yorkshire team:-
(function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, "script", "facebook-jssdk"));
--- End quote ---
https://www.facebook.com/claphamhyperfast/videos/2116345488602330/
Bowden 6 March
One reason for the Incumbent’s reluctance is they want to preserve the return on investment of their current infrastructure.
I don’t think planning permissions are a serious concern for any supplier.
Another reason for B4RN’s success is that their entire network is designed as a completely new higher-reliability** underground symmetric solution using soft dig mainly over private land. I.e. every Parish deployment is a point-to-point network and includes sufficient core fibres to expand almost limitlessly into the next Parishes without the need for new backhaul routes that the incumbent has to add due to their shared GPON design.
** Every cabinet and battery supply is continuously monitored to maintain the highest possible service availability. The traffic on every fibre link is recorded and additional DWDM# wavelengths are added as soon as the peak load exceeds 50%. (# Dense Wavelength Digital Multiplexing providing 40 * 10 Gbps channels.) Battery charge levels (and power outages) are monitored and standby generators are easily connected before brown-out conditions arise. (For those that are not aware major Telcos are unable to cover individual cabinet’s battery discharge due to the logistics involved with far greater numbers.)
C6em reply 1
B4RN encourage volunteers as they have (probably) been the ones contributing their investment** into B4RN. Furthermore B4RN won’t blow the fibre before a new distribution cabinet (if required) AND complete tube route(s) have been installed by the villagers themselves.
** Unlike some of the larger Telcos B4RN will eventually repay every investor but, unsurprisingly, it is likely to take many years due to the astonishing rate of expansion
j0hn reply 2
The local farmer volunteers are rewarded with a payment IN B4RN SHARES at a rate of £1.50 per m installed provided at least 1 km has been dug in.
Bowden reply 3
Overhead and underground fibre designs are available but b4rn chose underground as that’s far less prone to storm damage and allows additional spurs to be added later quite easily from the nearest chamber. It also avoids the need for all the overhand equipment and staff safety training, higher insurance etc.
OR attempt to reduce costs by utilising their existing poles and ducts etc. just as an add-on.
Ignitionnet reply 6
Prof Barry Forde and Chris Conder have both been recognised with MBE awards which are richly deserved but they will both freely admit that their quite remarkable achievements are only possible due to the immense volunteer workforce they have very actively encouraged as well as now about 25 paid staff covering an area the size of the M25 with nearly 5,000 live properties in all sorts of terrain from peat bogs, alluvial mud, boulder clay, limestone pavements etc. etc.
burakkucat:
Thank you for that insider-view of the B4RN mode of installation and service workings. :)
If there are any subsequent queries regarding "things B4RN", I trust we may look to you for clarification? :-\
gt94sss2:
Walter,
I know you are a keen supporter of B4RN and naturally wish to promote them/their progress but can I suggest you concentrate on actual progress by B4RN rather than trying to make comparisons against other networks which come across as cheap attempts at PR. I'm not saying what B4RN do or don't but several of the statements above about other networks potential concerns, network design, battery/power monitoring etc. are incorrect or misleading imho which distract from the progress/results that B4RN are actually achieving.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version