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Author Topic: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map  (Read 66375 times)

UncleUB

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #15 on: September 11, 2010, 04:04:35 PM »

Quote
Do telephone lines go from one pole to another pole until they reach the exchange?
OR
Do telephone lines sometimes get taken from a pole - to - Underground .. at some point?

Hi Zoe  :)

Looking at the wooden pole across our road,the top of the pole feeds a few house,there is then a cable that runs down the pole(the bottom 8 feet or so is protected by steel sheathing) and goes underground.

I know it goes under the pavement because it has been cut twice..once by the street lamp people and once by the gas main people. :no:
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Zoe

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #16 on: September 11, 2010, 04:37:55 PM »

Thanks UncleUB ;)

You wouldn't happen to know if the Green Cabs that have FTTC are always shiny and new?
OR
Does Openreach sometimes use the old ones?

I've found another green telephone box about 3 minutes walk down the road .. But it's another oldish looking one.

Zoe

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waltergmw

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #17 on: September 11, 2010, 05:27:21 PM »

Hi Zoe,

Are you sitting comfortably ? Then I'll begin...

It's impossible to say precisely how your line is routed to the exchange without talking to a local Openreach engineer.
However there are several quite distinct methods that are employed.
Both have E-side cables usually (but not exclusively) routed via underground cables to the exchange.

In areas such as yours the D side cable is routed either in ducts, or worse still buried directly in the ground, to a point near your house.
At that point the cable is brought up the pole usually to a joint sleeve and then to a distribution box at the top, where individual two pair drop cables are looped across to the houses.
If there are more lines further on you will see another cable leaving the joint sleeve and going back underground along to the next pole.

Sometimes, and particularly in more rural areas, the cable will come above ground to the same type of joint sleeve and distribution box, but then the ongoing cable is daisy-chained above ground along to the next pole(s).
In other areas the same methods are used but every cable is run in ducts or in the ground all the way to your house.
In blocks of flats a large cable enters the building and smaller cables are distributed usually in a service shaft to individual apartments.

Other arrangements can be used; one such method is for a group of small drop cables to be all looped overhead, sometimes in parallel with the larger D side cable(s), along one or more spans before they go off to individual houses.
This method is used to reduce the number of joint sleeves as each joint is a potential source of unreliability especially when human intervention is necessary !

This might sound complicated but if you look at the poles and joint pits you can guess how the routes are connected.
If you are that keen you can PM me with an e-mail address and I'll send you pictures of our local horror stories !

Where FTTC is installed, link cables connect the new cabinets to the existing cabinets so the broadband signal is injected at that point rather than at the exchange.
I believe that most BT FTTC use a "shared metallic path facility" so the broadband signal is Teed in to the phone line but BT wholesale also offer a "Full Metallic Path Facility" so that other Communications Providers can have the E side pair totally disconnected at that point. This latter method is similar to the full LLU that providers such as TalkTalk use in the exchange.

Kind regards,
Walter
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CurlyWhirly

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #18 on: September 11, 2010, 05:35:02 PM »

waltergmw, I'm just curious if you are a BT Openreach engineer as you seem to know a lot about telephone lines  :)
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Mike

UncleUB

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #19 on: September 11, 2010, 05:38:45 PM »

Thanks UncleUB ;)

You wouldn't happen to know if the Green Cabs that have FTTC are always shiny and new?
OR
Does Openreach sometimes use the old ones?

I've found another green telephone box about 3 minutes walk down the road .. But it's another oldish looking one.

Zoe



Hi Zoe  :)

I think you can pick any colour you want.They have a colour swatch(I think patterned ones are extra) ::)  :D

Sorry. ;D

Tbh the pictures I have seen via the internet look quite a bit taller than the normal ones.
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silversurfer44

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #20 on: September 11, 2010, 05:46:33 PM »

@CurlyWhirly I bet WalterGMW had a £1 for everytime he answers that question. I have asked it myself somewhere.  :)
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waltergmw

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #21 on: September 11, 2010, 05:50:28 PM »

@ CurlyWhirly,

I am a retired telemetry communications engineer but I've never been a BT one.
However with this rather strange hobby of mine, I now know quite a few BT engineers who are mostly very fine fellows as well as some equally fine girls.

@ Zoe,

As the equipment required in a FTTC is quite different from the passive green cabinets which are just glorified junction boxes, all FTTC cabinets on BT supplied lines are new ones.
Some NTL (AKA Virgin Media) fibre to the cabinet solutions date back to the eighties I think but their arrangements are quite different using co-axial cables for broadband and TV with quite separate twisted pair phone lines.

Thank you SS but I'm still as poor as a church mouse !

Kind regards,
Walter
« Last Edit: September 11, 2010, 05:53:56 PM by waltergmw »
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Zoe

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #22 on: September 11, 2010, 06:27:15 PM »

Hi waltergmw    :)


Thanks For The Info  ;)

It's all so complicated... Don't think I'm ever going to figure out the exact route that our phone line takes to the exchange.

However!
My teenage son has pointed out something very interesting.
He's pretty sure that at least one Green Cab is missing from our area.
Google made the maps of my area last year ( 2009 )
And...
My son says that he's sure he's seen a second Green Cab just down the road, close to where the one in the picture below lives.
Both my son and mum...
Say they often see Openreach vans, When my mum takes my son to school in the mornings.
In Fact! .. They saw one the very first day my son went back to school after the holidays.

So!  :police:
It looks like Openreach is highly active in my area and New Green Cabs are starting to pop up.


Thanks!

Zoe

[attachment deleted by admin]
« Last Edit: September 11, 2010, 06:51:50 PM by Zoe »
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waltergmw

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #23 on: September 11, 2010, 07:26:33 PM »

Hi Zoe,

FTTC are easily distinguished as they will be within 100 m cable distance of the original green cabinets, are substantially larger and have lots of ventilation slots in them as they consume power which ends up as heat.

Before they go live you will see larger BT vans pulling and terminating the fibre cable in them.

Kind regards,
Walter
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Zoe

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #24 on: September 11, 2010, 09:12:44 PM »

Hi Walter :)


I've now done a serious amount of Virtual Walking around my area via Google Street Maps :D
I've found quite a few of the old type green cabs during my journey today.
So! - If Nowt Else...
In a few years when Google has updated the Street Maps.
I should easily be able to find the new Green FTTC Cabs in my area  ;)

Thanks!

Zoe
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geep

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #25 on: September 11, 2010, 11:02:55 PM »

My exchange is scheduled for FTTC in Dec 2010.
Today I noticed a couple of BT spray painted markers on the pavement by the grass verge. One said "X BT < 130m" and the other "X BT > 140m". I paced from the second one and after about 170 steps arrived at the green BT cabinet.

Might write to BT to offer to host a FTTC cabinet in my front garden. Anybody know who to write to?

Cheers,
Peter
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waltergmw

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #26 on: September 11, 2010, 11:35:31 PM »

Hi Geep,

Do remember that BT Openreach staff will have to visit the cabinet many times and may need to park several vans there for extended periods.
The cabinets need fibre and twisted pair ducts as well as a power cable.

In addition I doubt if BT would want to go through wayleave procedures which they must do if their equipment is on private land.

Kind regards,
Walter
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Zoe

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #27 on: September 12, 2010, 01:52:36 PM »

Hi geep   :)

Quote
after about 170 steps arrived at the green BT cabinet.

You should take a Photo of it - & - Post it so we can all see exactly what we should be looking out for  ;)

During the next 2 years...
Can see this becoming a great little adventure for us all .. :police: .. Hunt For The FTTC Green Cabs .. :lol:


Zoe
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waltergmw

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #28 on: September 12, 2010, 02:14:08 PM »

@ Zoe,

Whilst I realise you've said your bit with tongue in cheek, given that smart phones with GPS facilities have apps such as Locate Me**,
it would be an excellent idea to record all FTTCs and PCPs in a Kitz or possibly SamKnows database so that we are no longer constrained by "regulatory compliance".

EDIT - I understand some data is already being entered in the Samknows web site but at present I have only found a general statement that BT's FTTC are enabled at a particular exchange.
I gather that not all PCPs within an exchange area would be provided.
Also I have not yet found other FTTC suppliers mentioned.

This data will be vital to compliment the existing services in order to be able to estimate expected line speeds to individuals' houses.

** http://appshopper.com/navigation/locateme-uk

Kind regards,
Walter
« Last Edit: September 13, 2010, 09:00:31 AM by waltergmw »
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Zoe

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Re: ADSL24 / BT Wholesale FTTC Map
« Reply #29 on: September 13, 2010, 05:56:22 PM »

Hi  :)


Will have to wait until I've seen them for myself - or - My son takes some pictures for me.
But...
Looks like he was right about there being at least one FTTC Green Cab just a minutes walk down the road from our house. ( Maybe 3 Cabs )
Half way between our house - & - The old green BT box that I took a Google Street Maps snap of the other day  8)

Just down the road from where I live... There's a Pub!
Google Street Maps of our area are from... 2009
The only green box that's currently showing up outside the pub on the 2009 G.S. Maps is a Recycle Bin.
However...
My son checked today on the way home from school - & - There is 3 new large green boxes on the pavement outside of the Pub. ( Not Recycle Bin )
So...
We Shall See!  ;)


Zoe

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Estimated Download Speed 39Mbps to 40Mbps.
Minimum Guaranteed Speed 35Mbps
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