BT Prep UK Fibre-to-the-Remote-Node FTTRN Broadband Trial in North Yorkshire - ISPreview UK
The Superfast North Yorkshire project in England, which last week touted extra funding to help reach their 100% coverage target for BTs fibre broadband (FTTC/P) network (here), now looks set to become the first UK county to trial the operators latest Fibre-to-the-Remote-Node (FTTRD) technology for even faster speeds.
Most people probably havent heard of FTTRN before and indeed its not a popular acronym for the technology being proposed, which holds more than a passing similarity to the Fibre-To-The-Distribution-Point (FTTdp) approach that weve reported on before. Ofcom wants BT to conduct a trial of FTTdp before the end of its 3-year Fixed Telecoms Market Review period and FTTRN might well be their answer.
According to SNYs latest update document, which was spotted via way of a post on Thinkbroadband, BTs proposed trial would deliver speeds of above 25Mbps (Megabits per second) to 5,000 premises in the market town and civil parish area of Leyburn (Richmondshire).
In this update the FTTRN solution is described as being a variant of Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) but using small cabinets that can be attached to telegraph poles etc. (you can explain FTTdp in a similar way). In theory this could, depending upon how its deployed, also shorten the run of copper cable between homes and the remote node to improve speeds (assuming they do take the fibre optic cable all the way to the node but they might not).
One other significant bonus extracted from the latest update is that we now have a better idea of how many premises in North Yorkshires roll-out plan will actually be able to receive superfast (25Mbps+) download speeds (4.2.1 below).
SNY Status Update FTTRN Trial Plans
4.2 BT Proposal
4.2.1 Following lengthy negotiations with BT since October 2013, BT have now proposed that they will connect a further 17,700 premises delivering 11,100 premises above 25Mbs. For the Intervention Area this will see 97% (188,404) of premises connected to fibre broadband with 83% (161,044) above 25Mbs; this is equivalent to 89% in the combined IA and commercial areas. Because this additional spend with BT effectively reduces the cost to BT of fulfilling their USC obligation BT has released £2m (of the £5m referred to in paragraph 3.1.4 above) to augment the additional funding of £8m.
4.2.2 BT have indicated that within this funding envelope a further 5000 premises may be uplifted to above 25Mbs using Fibre to the Remote Node (FTTRN). FTTRN is a variant of Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) but using small cabinets that can be attached to telegraph poles etc. This approach enables fibre to go deeper into rural areas, on a more cost effective basis, than otherwise would be the case using FTTC or FTTP. BT is still developing the FTTRN product in anticipation of it solving their problem of getting fibre based broadband into more deeply rural areas.
4.2.3 If the FTTRN technology can be successfully deployed in North Yorkshire the further 5000 premises referred to would increase the above 25mbs coverage to 85% (166,044 premises) in the Intervention Area and 90% in the combined IA and commercial areas.
4.2.4 Because the FTTRN proposal is not substantive at this stage BT will, before 30 September 2014, confirm the number of premises that will receive above 25mbs from FTTRN/FTTC/FTTP under Phase 2.
4.2.5 SFNY will then have the option of either accepting the revised number of premises, or continuing the roll out of Phase 2 using FTTC/FTTP.
4.2.6 If SFNY choose to stop, no further payment is made to BT under the Phase 2 change request, and all other contractual obligations with respect to Phase 1 remain in place (including the USC obligation for properties with < 2mbs and the use of satellite technology being limited to 3895 premises)
4.2.7 Before 30 September 2014, BT will also confirm the additional number of >25mbs, and fibre connected, premises that could be reached, using the USC £3m, were SFNY to remove the cap on satellite provision for those not receiving 2mbs.
Its noted that at this stage the council has not made any firm plans for the deployment of FTTRN, outside of the initial trial (assuming they green light that too), because they dont yet know whether FTTRN technology [is] effective.
Naturally the use of FTTRN would attract a cost but it appears as if the scheme has found a way to handle it within the existing budget and serving 5,000 premises for the given amount (4.2.1/2 above) doesnt seem too shabby, although its not cheap. Once it was known whether FTTRN technology works, it could then be consolidated into the Phase 3 planning, proposed council officer John Moore.
As weve said before, BT currently has no plans to roll-out a national Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) style network due to the lengthy timescales and high costs involved. But the idea of shortening their runs of existing copper cable via FTTdp / FTTRN technology and then using Vectored FTTC or G.fast (aka FTTC2) to boost speeds is often seen as more attractive (no need to dig up your garden for it etc.),
However a complex web of nodes might also make BTs network harder to maintain and even FTTRN / G.fast can still attract a sizeable deployment cost (albeit not the £20bn £30bn needed for FTTH). But then thats why you conduct real-world trials, to find the answers to such questions.
In theory a G.fast and FTTRN/dp combination could make mass market speeds of around 250Mbps plausible but its too early to say what BTs approach will be and for now theyll probably stick to FTTCs headline rate of up to 80Mbps.
Quote:
The Superfast North Yorkshire project in England, which last week touted extra funding to help reach their 100% coverage target for BTs fibre broadband (FTTC/P) network (here), now looks set to become the first UK county to trial the operators latest Fibre-to-the-Remote-Node (FTTRD) technology for even faster speeds.
Most people probably havent heard of FTTRN before and indeed its not a popular acronym for the technology being proposed, which holds more than a passing similarity to the Fibre-To-The-Distribution-Point (FTTdp) approach that weve reported on before. Ofcom wants BT to conduct a trial of FTTdp before the end of its 3-year Fixed Telecoms Market Review period and FTTRN might well be their answer.
According to SNYs latest update document, which was spotted via way of a post on Thinkbroadband, BTs proposed trial would deliver speeds of above 25Mbps (Megabits per second) to 5,000 premises in the market town and civil parish area of Leyburn (Richmondshire).
In this update the FTTRN solution is described as being a variant of Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) but using small cabinets that can be attached to telegraph poles etc. (you can explain FTTdp in a similar way). In theory this could, depending upon how its deployed, also shorten the run of copper cable between homes and the remote node to improve speeds (assuming they do take the fibre optic cable all the way to the node but they might not).
One other significant bonus extracted from the latest update is that we now have a better idea of how many premises in North Yorkshires roll-out plan will actually be able to receive superfast (25Mbps+) download speeds (4.2.1 below).
SNY Status Update FTTRN Trial Plans
4.2 BT Proposal
4.2.1 Following lengthy negotiations with BT since October 2013, BT have now proposed that they will connect a further 17,700 premises delivering 11,100 premises above 25Mbs. For the Intervention Area this will see 97% (188,404) of premises connected to fibre broadband with 83% (161,044) above 25Mbs; this is equivalent to 89% in the combined IA and commercial areas. Because this additional spend with BT effectively reduces the cost to BT of fulfilling their USC obligation BT has released £2m (of the £5m referred to in paragraph 3.1.4 above) to augment the additional funding of £8m.
4.2.2 BT have indicated that within this funding envelope a further 5000 premises may be uplifted to above 25Mbs using Fibre to the Remote Node (FTTRN). FTTRN is a variant of Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) but using small cabinets that can be attached to telegraph poles etc. This approach enables fibre to go deeper into rural areas, on a more cost effective basis, than otherwise would be the case using FTTC or FTTP. BT is still developing the FTTRN product in anticipation of it solving their problem of getting fibre based broadband into more deeply rural areas.
4.2.3 If the FTTRN technology can be successfully deployed in North Yorkshire the further 5000 premises referred to would increase the above 25mbs coverage to 85% (166,044 premises) in the Intervention Area and 90% in the combined IA and commercial areas.
4.2.4 Because the FTTRN proposal is not substantive at this stage BT will, before 30 September 2014, confirm the number of premises that will receive above 25mbs from FTTRN/FTTC/FTTP under Phase 2.
4.2.5 SFNY will then have the option of either accepting the revised number of premises, or continuing the roll out of Phase 2 using FTTC/FTTP.
4.2.6 If SFNY choose to stop, no further payment is made to BT under the Phase 2 change request, and all other contractual obligations with respect to Phase 1 remain in place (including the USC obligation for properties with < 2mbs and the use of satellite technology being limited to 3895 premises)
4.2.7 Before 30 September 2014, BT will also confirm the additional number of >25mbs, and fibre connected, premises that could be reached, using the USC £3m, were SFNY to remove the cap on satellite provision for those not receiving 2mbs.
Its noted that at this stage the council has not made any firm plans for the deployment of FTTRN, outside of the initial trial (assuming they green light that too), because they dont yet know whether FTTRN technology [is] effective.
Naturally the use of FTTRN would attract a cost but it appears as if the scheme has found a way to handle it within the existing budget and serving 5,000 premises for the given amount (4.2.1/2 above) doesnt seem too shabby, although its not cheap. Once it was known whether FTTRN technology works, it could then be consolidated into the Phase 3 planning, proposed council officer John Moore.
As weve said before, BT currently has no plans to roll-out a national Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) style network due to the lengthy timescales and high costs involved. But the idea of shortening their runs of existing copper cable via FTTdp / FTTRN technology and then using Vectored FTTC or G.fast (aka FTTC2) to boost speeds is often seen as more attractive (no need to dig up your garden for it etc.),
However a complex web of nodes might also make BTs network harder to maintain and even FTTRN / G.fast can still attract a sizeable deployment cost (albeit not the £20bn £30bn needed for FTTH). But then thats why you conduct real-world trials, to find the answers to such questions.
In theory a G.fast and FTTRN/dp combination could make mass market speeds of around 250Mbps plausible but its too early to say what BTs approach will be and for now theyll probably stick to FTTCs headline rate of up to 80Mbps.