When will Plusnet offer FTTP?

[#1]

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@RealAleMadrid wrote:

@Townman  Many locations that can get FTTC have had FTTP infrastructure built so now have the choice. On the other hand some newer estates have only FTTP and no copper at all, and some rural areas with no FTTC or too far from the cabinet have had FTTP available for years.

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Some areas (like mine) still only have sub-USO level ADSL2+ available - despite the local village with 80Mbps FTTC now having FTTP built so they have the choice while others just outside the village still have none.

Simple economics mean it is more profitable to build FTTP to areas that were profitable for FTTC, rather than extend superfast coverage to areas where FTTC was too expensive.

[#2]

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@corringham wrote: Simple economics mean it is more profitable to build FTTP to areas that were profitable for FTTC, rather than extend superfast coverage to areas where FTTC was too expensive

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That was the whole point of the Gigabit Voucher Scheme (currently being revamped - for good or bad?) to get FTTP where FTTC just didn't really reach.

I was lucky being near the cabinet but the village is in two halves (one cabinet serving both halves) and as such, a fair number just didn't bother getting FTTC, as their speeds weren't much better than ADSL. Now more than just a few round here now have the FTTP option (1Gb/s up and down available), even those residing a good 2 miles outside the village proper. And it will grow as they have put boxes on every pole as they went along. But without that scheme I seriously doubt if we would have got FTTP for many years to come.

[#3]

The Uswitch interview (above) with Plusnet's marketing manager is interesting, especially as in another forum Plusnet staff cannot or will not confirm the existence of a new router. As for FTTP, it's now available in my street and if Plusnet don't offer a decent FTTP package by August, when my current contract ends, I'll be leaving (after many years).

It will be interesting to see what happens with BT's various brands. But for Plusnet customers the uncertainty is also unsettling.

[#4]

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@corringham wrote:

Simple economics mean it is more profitable to build FTTP to areas that were profitable for FTTC, rather than extend superfast coverage to areas where FTTC was too expensive

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I'm not sure any more that this is true.  New copper cable is both more costly and more difficult to deploy than fibre, so it depends on other infrastructure direct and indirect costs to make a sound decision.

Our village is a classic!  Small village (47 houses and farmyards); low take up on phones mid last century so only 1 50 pair cable to the cabinet; along comes t'internet and demand soars for connection.  Cable now aged and 20%+ 'faulty' pairs, so what next says Mr.BT?  Shall we go for FTTC or this new fangled FTTP..........  followed by much navel inspection.  Resulting in  .... wait for it!   "We'll put in a new 50 pr telephony cable and replace the old ADSL kit with ADSL/2  As a temporary solution?

There is good news though. A further two years of larger scale area planning has resulted in most of the locality now having 900 Mb  FTTP available.  Relatively quick (3 Month installation) with little disruption - 'blown' fibre to the village then neat modular units added to the telegraph poles.

[#5]

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@MauriceC wrote:

A further two years of larger scale area planning has resulted in most of the locality now having 900 Mb  FTTP available..

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But that was really a case of forced maintenance rather than investment in FTTP to replace a working ADSL solution.

Without such forced decisions, almost all companies are preferring to build in denser urban areas than sparse rural areas.

For example, Gigaclear make a big thing of building rural FTTP. They won contracts from Fastershire to build networks in my area, and yet since winning those contracts they have decide to build commercially in local built up areas and have started making those live - leaving those of us in the Fastershire contracted areas with sub-USO broadband waiting...

[#6]

Really hope they do roll out FTTP soon.

I've just spent the last few years trying to get OpenReach to fix a botched rollout of theirs. They upgraded the neighbouring buildings at the same time, but missed ours (probably bunked off early). They finally returned this month and upgraded the building to FTTP... which PlusNet helpfully doesn't support, so I'm stuck with ~800 Kbps (down from 2.5 Mbps due to a fault reported last year).

[#7]

No FTTP?

Looks like I'm leaving in July then, and I've been a customer for 14 years....

[#8]

@Lorian 

Look at post #53 on this thread.

Apparently FTTP is coming to PlusNet this year (along with a new router) but the interview didn't specify a date.

What may throw a spanner in the works is the "chip" shortage. Not been mentioned yet in the context of routers but it could well hit home later.

Brian

[#9]

I just read post 53 and noticed Calvert's repeated use of the word 'simplify'.

Of course we all know what it means. Stripping back services to the bare minimum and offered at the best price we can get.

The demise of Plusnet's TV service bears this out. I wonder what's next in line to be simplified.

[#10]

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@Mook wrote:

The demise of Plusnet's TV service bears this out. I wonder what's next in line to be simplified.

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Support??  Ooops, sorry, that's already happened - there's only three staff on it now.

[#11]

It is all very well PN ( or anyone else) offering FTTP but you have to be plumbed in to get it! The liklihood of it happening to me with a cabinet about as far away as possible is remote, A good friend of mine was on 256k in a group of eight houses and had a three year battle to get it improved. He phoned me last week to say he was now synched at 146Mbs.  Proving that persistence pays and leaving me very envious!

The point I am making is that for manyy FTTP is an illusion and there are no rules as to who gets it and who does not. Hey ho.....

[#12]

One thing worth remembering is that fttp used to be deemed as a premium service offering very high speeds.

Now fttp is basically what full fibre runs on.
So “up to 38meg” now is a real 30+ meg service when it runs as full speed over fttp instead of copper.

The term fttp vs full fibre seems to be used differently sometimes when they are all one now as fttp is no longer just over 100meg.

Most will eventually get it, but sporadically it seems.

[#13]

@TeeGee As you say, you have to have the FTTC infrastructure available in your location, which many seem to forget. Here in Sheffield, it is available in one locality only (as a BT installed service), although new builds seem to get it as standard if the FTTC cabinet is close enough to run the cables to them. In my case, being on the far SW boundary, we are not even on the 'available by 2025' plans. No issue for me personally - for what I need, ADSL just suffices, although I am moving ISP soon, and will be taking a 40/10 FTTC service - merely because the ADSL offering from them is the same price and I may as well move into the 21st century.😉

[#14]

FTTP doesn't rely on FTTC or DSLAMS - at least not what they building installing here -  I am miles from no where and the FTTC cab is 1.5 miles away and the exchange is about 2.5 miles. FTTC is terrible here.

The new FTTP service looks like its running over a 48 core single mode Fibre running directly from a near by pole off to the exchange. i'm expecting them to fit CBT(s )on the pole, which they havent yet.

it wasnt supposed to be going in, no fanfare they just turned up and did it over a few days. wholesale of course still says says FTTP not available - but openreach fibre check says "we are building ultrafast in you area" i

where are the "by 2025" build plans? be interesting so see if there is any mention...

[#15]

fttp / full fibre was installed to our location 3-4 years ago, cable left sticking out for 18 months, connected up about 18 months ago...Only showed as available late last year.

So even after it's laid, it's very slow to show up, maybe that process will speed up now though with higher take up.