[FTTP] - it's got naff all to do with the phone line, so thinking ahead...

[#1]

Hi,
First of all, thanks Dave for this:  http://community.plus.net/fttp_faq/ which answers most of my questions - but thinking long term:
After the trial, when PN are running a commercial FTTH setup, will Plusnet advise a range of standards compliant ONTs depending on customer preference / use case, or will customers have to stick with a specific ONT?
Every house I've ever lived in has had the phone line fed into a BT master socket located somewhere that made it ruddy awkward for data. These locations include: a narrow hallway, a porch without any power sockets, an upstairs bedroom with only one mains socket, a cellar with a socket on the lighting ring main, the attic, and most recently behind the kitchen door, where there's nowhere to put an ADSL router and again no mains socket...I think a lot of the design constraints for ADSL were related to this, and that's why so many people have long phone extension runs going through the house and why most SoHo ADSL devices are pretty limited in what they can do.
.
As the FAQ says, FTTH finally allows us to move away from that, and stick the fibre endpoint in the front room or office, near plenty of sockets, where it actually makes the most sense - and that means the devices themselves can become far more versatile. We're seeing signs of that already. Example:
http://www.technicolor.com/en/hi/digital-home/mediaaccess/fiber/technicolor-tg1700
What you'd get if you bought one today: 2 USB ports (printer, storage), jacks for phone and fax, CATV overlay on GPON support (for the media services alluded to in the FAQ).
What you could in 3 years' time - all that plus: built in NAS storage, 802.11ac, HomePlug support, full domestic VOIP PBX, H.323 directory gatekeeper/MCU/proxy, WSUS proxy server...
I personally long for the day when the entire copper run between my house and the exchange becomes totally, utterly redundant and my Plusnet portal will allow me to register additional extension numbers for VOIP handsets around the house, our smart telly will be used for incoming HD video calls and we'll be able to just ping someone on a computer upstairs to join us on the video call.
Cheers

[#2]

Hi,
At the moment Openreach are going to be selecting the ONT, they've got 2 different models a Huawei and an ECI one depending on which exchange you're on. Because FTTP has to be engineer installed because properties don't have fibre run to them (FTTC technically could be self install) I don't see the choice of ONT changing any time soon.
Openreach have designed the FTTP service so that a single ONT can provide 4 independent data services and a voice service. We're looking at what to do with the voice service at the moment. The way the charging to us works is that we get a discount on the FTTP data service if we provide you with a copper voice service. Once FTTP voice (FVA - fibre voice access) launches then we'll have a period before that discount runs out, when it does we can either pay for an FTTP data only service (cheapest), an FTTP data service with FVA (only slightly more expensive) or an FTTP data service with copper voice (a lot more expensive).
As I say, we're still looking at FVA but once we've made the decision on what we're going to do the copper will become redundant for people with FTTP as the voice would be provided over the fibre either via the voice ports or as a VoIP service via your broadband (or both). We've been looking at some VoIP routers too on the FTTP trial to see how things compare.
It's still early days really but we're definitely looking at things like VoIP and that ultimate box that does everything may well be the secret to FTTP.

[#3]

Interesting - Openreach themselves seem to be a tad more positive about the technical benefits of ATA over FTTP (which the Technicolor box already provides). I read something last year about security holes in the ON
http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/super-fastfibreaccess/fibrevoiceaccess/fibrevoiceacces...
I did notice a thread on thinkbroadband was started this week by someone who was supplied with the ECI ONT but has bought a Huwaei HG612 from eBay and is comparing the two - could be worth keeping an eye on.

[#4]

Hi again
Just another bump: I was looking at this as a possible candidate for the endpoint if I ever get the option for FTTH:
http://www.billion.com/product/gpon/bipac9800vn-Fiber-Wireless-N-VoIP-Router.html
FTTH router with built-in IP PBX and two FXS ports so you can connect your existing analogue phone, but no FXO to connect to the analogue line. As said upthread though, if I had FTTH I'd have thought the logical thing to do would be to do away with the analogue line completely and just have PlusNet route calls to the standard BT number, to the IP phone number.

[#5]

So is there any update on an FVA (Fibre Voice Access product).  I've had FTTP now since 2010, so haven't used my copper line for ADSL since then.  A VoIP provider e.g. Vonage would give me unlimited calls to UK landlines for £5.99 a month, and cheaper rates on other calls (and "free" calls from my mobile to my landline). Far better value than my existing line rental and call rates  I can even switch my existing landline number to them.  However whilst I am on the trial (which has gone on far longer than originally envisaged) I have been told I still need to keep my copper line.
Gary