Thanks for the reply Roseway but at the moment it seems BT will be the only ISP offering fibre at my exchange (SWKGH). I am currently with Sky and they can't give me any info on this.
As for my question I think Razpag covers it
Can't be bothered giving an in-depth explanation, suffice to say that yes, the new Fibre Cabs are to be installed within 100mtrs of the original Cabs.
The connection method is exactly the same as with ADSL, it's just the DSLAM is now in the Fibre Cab. So, the PSTN will be on the E-side in the old Cab, this will then be connected to a link cable that goes to the new Cab which is pre-connected to the DSLAM.
The return leg is also pre-connected in the new Cab to a link cable going back to the old Cab. So, the Dial tone and the Broadband signal now both appear in the old Cab and just require wiring up to the D-side going on to the EU's premises.
Hard to explain really, but in simple terme the engineer just needs to work in the old Cab as all the work in the new Cab is pre-connected to the link cables.
Reminds me of similar introductions to an old series calles 'SOAP' for those over 40 yrs of age. 
I take it from this that the old wiring is still in place and in use for voice and therefore also for adsl and if I want fibre then the two are connected otherwise its same old same old with my adsl coonnection.
Hi Maturecheese,
Don't know if you have stumbled across my thread, but I was with BT Retail for Broadband and have switched to PlusNet's Value Fibre package (line rental et al) (let me know if you want a referral!). Bald_Eagle1's thread is the main one I suspect you've been reading. As you may well gather from that, FTTC is a new technology, and as such none of the ISPs seem to understand it to the same depth they do with ADSL services. I think if you wait a bit, more ISPs will start offering FTTC for your line.
I think you've got the idea. The pair running from the cabinet to the exchange (known as the E-side) will only be used for your phone service. It has effectively reduced the distance from your house to the DSLAM (which used to be at the exchange), as it is connecting to the new cabinet's DSLAM.
My D-side cabling had a broken wire within the PCP cabinet, which was likely causing a High Resistance fault, which was fixed when the OR engineer set up the VDSL package (he spotted it, which didn't happen before). So I suspect that, combined with him cleaning up the wiring outside my house, and me cleaning up the internal wiring, were I to switch back to ADSL, I would expect to get somewhere in the region of ~2.5Mbps (as predicted), rather than the 330Kbps I was getting before.
So I guess if you think that there is a fault on the D-side of your line, which gets fixed when they install your service, you may well see a faster speed using ADSL. Of course if there is a fault then you could try and get it fixed regardless of switching to VDSL! I was just one of those people who assumed that all I could get was a crummy connection, especially since BT sent out an engineer who found nothing wrong a couple of years back.
Hope this makes sense!
Limbo
Ps I think VDSL is used more widely elsewhere- in Germany and the USA, I think.
