Fibre to the Cabinet is a part fibre, part copper infrastructure. It’s capable of delivering download speeds of up to 40Mb and upload speeds of up to 10Mb.
BT is overlaying part of its copper network with fibre – the part that runs from the local telephone exchange to Openreach’s street cabinets. A single fibre can carry great deal more information than copper wiring and do so in a far shorter space of time with minimal loss of signal power.
Even though the final link with Fibre to the Cabinet is still copper (i.e. from the Openreach street cabinet to homes and offices), the distance is comparatively short; typically no more than two or three hundred metres, and often much less, meaning any speed lost because of copper is substantially reduced.
BT are also replacing the electronics at exchange with miniaturised cards and installing them in our street cabinets. Putting it another way, Fibre to the Cabinet is moving the exchange much closer to the doorstep.
Where and when is it being rolled out?
The speed of rollout of Fibre to the Cabinet (40% of homes in Britain by 2012) is due to the fact that there’s no need to replace the copper pairs running from customer premises to Openreach street cabinets.
The technology was piloted at Whitchurch near Cardiff and in Muswell Hill, North London, where BT have already passed 30,000 homes. BT are in the process of enabling a further 27 exchanges, covering 500,000 homes all over the country. They should come online by January 2010.
BT are currently consulting with industry on another 500,000 homes. BT anticipate that they should be connected by March 2010. It is from these building blocks that Fibre to the Cabinet is being rolled out across the country.
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