Eircom eFibre VDSL/FTTC rollout – plans to reach 1.6m premises by mid 2016

lucernarian

TheChizler wrote: »

It's these for anyone who isn't sure. None are on street view as that hasn't updated since 2009 I think.

Where in Drogheda is that? Is it on the fibre rollout map?

enigmatical

The Ayatolla wrote: »

Nothing in Churchfield, Cork for Fibre yet, even though it was promised for Easter. I remember eating my eggs a good while back :P

Churchfield is launched for over two weeks!
Check your address on www.eircom.ie/fibre ignore the map! They're not updating it properly but the address checker usually works.

If you're not near a cab, you may not be able to get it. That exchange covers a lot of semi-rural outskirts too.

If you're closer to town you could also be on another exchange, eg Wellington Road or Cork Central.

There's still no sign of Wellington Rd turning up on the address checker. It must be nearly ready by now though?

TechnoFreek

A little white sticker with a barcode and some digits has gone up on the cabinet in my estate.

Mean anything?

naughto

TechnoFreek wrote: »

A little white sticker with a barcode and some digits has gone up on the cabinet in my estate.

Mean anything?

it means the fairys where out last night

bk

enigmatical wrote: »

From what I've read on line, on eircom's own site and stuff, there are no VDSL2 services being installed in any exchange building. They're all cabinets. So, even if you're very close to the exchange building, you'll still be connected to one of those small green cabinets.

Makes sense, I'm sure the very long term plan (10 to 20 years) is to decommission the exchange buildings and sell them, making Eircom money.

These cabinets are actually very advanced and are capable of also running ADSL, phone (POTS) and Fibre To The Home services, making exchanges completely redundant in the long term.

crawler wrote: »

On repeaters - there is no free lunch -as I said, physics takes all the fun out of it - I'm not a fan of repeaters - additional point of failure, cause cross talk in bundled cables, break etc etc

I'm hoping that when the initial VDSL rollout ends and they have hit all areas to can sustain 300 line cabs, that they might start to look at using those (I assuming cheaper) mini 32/64 line VDSL boxes that can be mounted on poles etc. to fill in the gaps.

Really ADSL repeaters should only be used in the absolutely most rural, one off houses areas like Mayo. And even then fixed wireless would be better.

Cork981

The Ayatolla wrote: »

Nothing in Churchfield, Cork for Fibre yet, even though it was promised for Easter. I remember eating my eggs a good while back :P

Churchfield went live last monday.

I'm on the cab by the top of the hill pub.

The address checker has being updated but the map is still to be updated.

TheChizler

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

Where in Drogheda is that? Is it on the fibre rollout map?

By DIFE. Yep, stole it from the map.

enigmatical

bk wrote: »

Makes sense, I'm sure the very long term plan (10 to 20 years) is to decommission the exchange buildings and sell them, making Eircom money.

These cabinets are actually very advanced and are capable of also running ADSL, phone (POTS) and Fibre To The Home services, making exchanges completely redundant in the long term.

.

Actually, they'd still be needed. All the fibres go back to the exchange where they go into an optical distribution frame and in to an aggregation node of some sort and then that data is fed back into the core network.

They'll still need the building.

Also if FTTC ultimately launches even more gear would be needed to handle all the fibre lines feeding into the network.

The exchange buildings aren't exactly massive either. Some of the older ones might be fairly big, because they originally were built to house electromechanical exchanges which were very big. A lot are fairly tiny. Some 'exchanges' are even just large outside cabinets themselves.

A modern digital exchange is just a bunch of cards on a few racks. You're talking maybe the size of a couple of fridge freezers.

There's a lot of stuff still needed even if you're no longer directly connected to that building anymore. Those routers, switches, etc have to go somewhere.

Also all the ducts go back to them, so it would be fairly pointless to get rid of them.

They're also not getting rid of the PSTN network in the near future. It'll just gradually move towards most lines being provided using VoIP like upc do. At present voice is still from the exchange unless you go for Fibre only

bk

enigmatical wrote: »

Actually, they'd still be needed. All the fibres go back to the exchange where they go into an optical distribution frame and in to an aggregation node of some sort and then that data is fed back into the core network.

The fibres gear takes up a fraction of the space compared to the old analogue gear.

Many exchanges in the cities are quite large and they are the ones that sit on the most potentially valuable land.

Any deal to sell an exchange would include an agreement with a builder to keep some space for fibre gear.

TechnoFreek

naughto wrote: »

it means the fairys where out last night

Sweet!

VampiricPadraig

Still waiting here in Monaghan *tapping the foot*

enigmatical

bk wrote: »

The fibres gear takes up a fraction of the space compared to the old analogue gear.

Many exchanges in the cities are quite large and they are the ones that sit on the most potentially valuable land.

Any deal to sell an exchange would include an agreement with a builder to keep some space for fibre gear.

Even newer digital POTS gear is small though. The bigger buildings have been largely empty for a long time in many cases.

There hasn't been any true analogue gear in quite a long time. Some of the old digital gear is bulky though. Good old 80s tech!

smemon

VampiricPadraig wrote: »

Still waiting here in Monaghan *tapping the foot*

Don't worry, the eircom map says we'll get it in May or June :pac:

bealtine

bk wrote: »

Makes sense, I'm sure the very long term plan (10 to 20 years) is to decommission the exchange buildings and sell them, making Eircom money.

I can see outlying exchanges being abandoned and sold off ok, there's no real need for lots of tiny exchanges when the cabinets can all be fed from a main exchange. Currently eircom say they can run fibre out to 20kms from an exchange in the future (with different optics they could possibly go to 50kms)

enigmatical

bealtine wrote: »

I can see outlying exchanges being abandoned and sold off ok, there's no real need for lots of tiny exchanges when the cabinets can all be fed from a main exchange. Currently eircom say they can run fibre out to 20kms from an exchange in the future (with different optics they could possibly go to 50kms)

They could potentially do away with a lot of long runs of copper wiring, but the local exchanges are still pretty useful locations.

With fibre, the lines all still have to come back to a point anyway and the more fibre that rolls out the more optical equipment you're going to need in those exchanges.

The value of the buildings is negligible as they're not very big and they're often located in not the most sought-after locations. The property boom / mad apartment building spree is also long, long over now too.

There are a few exceptions in Dublin, Cork etc where the buildings are way bigger than the exchange equipment will ever be because they were designed for ancient electromechanical exchanges.

Many of the big buildings are also not in very sought-after locations and typically contain a lot more than an exchange i.e offices, engineering stores, call centres for various operator services etc etc.

Ireland also skipped a generation of technology and in a lot of outlying areas we went straight from operators plugging cables into boards to fully digital exchanges. So, the buildings are quite small / compact as the digital exchanges (even in the 80s) were relatively neat compared to what went before them.
So, in outlying areas there isn't really a whole lot of space in those exchange buildings and they certainly wouldn't be worth selling off.

A good % of 'exchanges' are basically cabinets anyway. Some of the newer small ones have no building at all. They're just street cabs, much like the VDSL gear, just bulkier.

...

Also, the current product offering is overlaid on the existing network, it's not replacing it.

The VDSL2 'fibre' cabinet is basically connected onto our incoming line from the exchange with a jumper cable. So, your data is coming from the cabinet, but if you've opted to retain voice services you've still got a line back to the POTS exchange.

If you opt for broadband only, you would only have a line to the cabinet and you could provide your own voice services if you wanted using VoIP. I think Digiweb and Magnet are already using VoIP from the router instead of a dial tone from the exchange.

But, there's a long time to go yet before they start completely shutting down the PSTN/POTS network.

...

Even in the past few years, the technology has changed. For example in the UK, they were originally going to provide POTS service from the cabinet (and do in some areas) but then seem to have rolled back to doing what we're doing i.e. just providing data from the cabinet. I suppose the logic is that POTS is becoming quite rapidly irrelevant as cheap, reliable VoIP gateways can be installed in your home or with IP phones.

You can also integrate the legacy voice exchanges into the IP network too, and still provide dial tones to customers who still want them. That's already happening in other countries and I would assume eircom are doing likewise.

Telecommunications companies like eircom need to make the leap from being 'a phone company that does broadband' to 'a broadband company that also does phone on the side'

swoofer

A nice explanation. I am interested in VOIP purely because I make so few calls, I have the fibre but was obliged to retain the phone for other half. Am I right that if I opted for fibre only and then wanted voip, then the modem would have to be configured for voip? or is it easier than that?

Johnboy1951

GBCULLEN wrote: »

A nice explanation. I am interested in VOIP purely because I make so few calls, I have the fibre but was obliged to retain the phone for other half. Am I right that if I opted for fibre only and then wanted voip, then the modem would have to be configured for voip? or is it easier than that?

If the modem/router has the function built in then it is an easy set up ..... just enter the required info for your chosen VOIP supplier (and there are thousands to choose from).

Most (?) VOIP suppliers will also facilitate you in transferring your existing landline number so callers still ring the same number.

red_bairn

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

If the modem/router has the function built in then it is an easy set up ..... just enter the required info for your chosen VOIP supplier (and there are thousands to choose from).

Most (?) VOIP suppliers will also facilitate you in transferring your existing landline number so callers still ring the same number.

Hmm, we've a VoIP service with Eircom already. I think the phones and a device were sent out a few years back but I don't remember the paps needing to configure the modem.

Is it possible to have our voice number used for VoIP instead? We've two numbers for the house. I think the only reason my dad hasn't got rid of the old phone is due to the old number (which would be known by all family members, friends, bill related items etc).

enigmatical

red_bairn wrote: »

Hmm, we've a VoIP service with Eircom already. I think the phones and a device were sent out a few years back but I don't remember the paps needing to configure the modem.

Is it possible to have our voice number used for VoIP instead? We've two numbers for the house. I think the only reason my dad hasn't got rid of the old phone is due to the old number (which would be known by all family members, friends, bill related items etc).

You can port your number to VoIP services like Blueface in exactly the same way as you can port your number to UPC.

You just fill in a form and return it to the VoIP provider, and after a few days your number's reassigned to the VoIP service instead of the landline.

The only thing is that eircom probably use the landline number to identify the DSL line too, so even if there's no voice, it may still be associated with the number. So, I don't know if they'd free it up to move.

You'd need to run that past a VoIP provider to discuss what the options are, but it's 100% technically possible. I'm just not sure what would happen to your broadband line if you ported the number. Normally the line's ceased. I'm sure they could reactivate it with a new number for you though.

We had 2 lines coming into the house for years and I moved the 2nd line to Blueface.
It costs me €9.99/month and that includes unlimited calls to the Ireland and Britain.

You can either get a VoIP phone that plugs directly into an ethernet port and has no need for dial tones at all, or you can get an 'ATA' (analogue terminal adaptor) which is box that plugs into any ethernet port on your broadband router. That provides a dial tone to your phones.

VoIP's great though! It has loads of nice features.
It's just vastly more flexible than an analogue phone line.

With Blueface for example, you can have several VoIP phones around your house (or even at other locations on the same account) and they'll behave like a very sophisticated office phone system.

Like, for example, I've been out of the country and just took my landline with me and plugged it into the broadband and I'd an Irish phone in Spain! No roaming charges, people calling me about work stuff didn't even know I wasn't in Ireland !

If you've a business that needs a number in another country or even if you've relatives abroad who are too cheap to ring you, you can even add overseas numbers to your line so that you can be called on a number like in London or New York or whatever you need.

You can also configure endless different options via their website that control how your calls are handled.

Like if you ring my landline, it will simultaneously ring all the phones in the house, if there's no answer, the call is sent to my mobile and if that doesn't answer after 15 seconds it goes to my HulloMail visual voicemail. So, I get a voice message pop up on an app on my mobile and an email delivered to my email account with an attached mp3 file with the message.

There's also no 'line'. So, if say two people in the house are using two different phones, they all just work.

Also, VoIP will generally give you *better* sound quality than an analogue landline. There's no long line, and it's digital end-to-end. But it can also support various higher bandwidth protocols that give you sound closer to FM stereo than a phone line on certain VoIP to VoIP calls.

All in all, it's a MASSIVE improvement over analogue POTS.

enigmatical

GBCULLEN wrote: »

A nice explanation. I am interested in VOIP purely because I make so few calls, I have the fibre but was obliged to retain the phone for other half. Am I right that if I opted for fibre only and then wanted voip, then the modem would have to be configured for voip? or is it easier than that?

The modems being issued by all the fibre suppliers have built-in VoIP gear in them, but eircom in particular isn't using it and the software's locked down so you can't configure it yourself. I assume they're planning some kind of a VoIP product in the near future if they're issuing modems with that functionality built in. I think it's the same with Vodafone.

Digiweb and Magnet appear to be actually using it already though.

If you're interested in getting a VoIP line - just check out an Irish VoIP supplier and they'll sort you with all the equipment you need. You don't need to get it from the same people as provide your broadband.

The most straight forward way is just get a VoIP-enabled cordless phone. You can either get one yourself and configure it or, get one from the supplier. In some cases e.g. Blueface those phones are locked down to their network though, but it does avoid having to configure them yourself and they are subsidised somewhat.

But, you can do either way.

Or, you can get an ATA to connect your existing phones (this provides a dial tone for you).

iMuse

How many houses (lines) can a VDSL cab serve?

enigmatical

iMuse wrote: »

How many houses (lines) can a VDSL cab serve?

Something like 160 (I think?) -- It's mentioned somewhere back up this thread.

red_bairn

enigmatical wrote: »

Something like 160 (I think?) -- It's mentioned somewhere back up this thread.

192

ctlsleh

hi,
does anybody know the relationship between line attenuation and noise margin and what would be considered good?Im about 700metres from the cabinet and get 9.5dB of attenuation and 13.3dB of noise margin on my line (ADSL2)......both downstream.....im upgrading to fibre, so based on these rates and distance, im assuming there is no additional value in signing up for the 70Mb package and that ill get exactly the same throughput if on the 50Mb package.....? My local cabinet is the local exchange, unfortunately there isnt a cabinet any closer.....
Appreciate comments and advice......

swoofer

who are you with?

enigmatical

There's no VDSL2 at the exchange anywhere as far as I'm aware, so you'll be connected to a cabinet. It could be somewhere you can't spot like down a side street or something.

The line stats for your ADSL line aren't really much use for predicting what you might get on FTTC.

They'll also correct any major noise issues on your line and put your internal wiring behind a filter. So the SNR could be significantly different too.

You could always sign up for 50mbits and then if the stats are better than you think you could always upgrade to 70?

ctlsleh

GBCULLEN wrote: »

who are you with?

I was with VF, I'm coming back to eircom......im on the ROKA exchange, there isnt a closer cabinet, ive checked multiple times

ctlsleh

enigmatical wrote: »

There's no VDSL2 at the exchange anywhere as far as I'm aware, so you'll be connected to a cabinet. It could be somewhere you can't spot like down a side street or something.

The line stats for your ADSL line aren't really much use for predicting what you might get on FTTC.

They'll also correct any major noise issues on your line and put your internal wiring behind a filter. So the SNR could be significantly different too.

You could always sign up for 50mbits and then if the stats are better than you think you could always upgrade to 70?

The cabinet (new green type) is located beside an older exchange (ALU large white box and old green box) there isnt a closer cabinet, ive checked multiple times......thanks, Ill try to get the engineer to provision both and test them when he comes to install the router

enigmatical

Bear in mind that the maps on the thread here are just being updated by members of the public..

There could be a cabinet out of view somewhere.

It could also be further away from the exchange. Remember it doesn't matter how close you or the cabinet are to the exchange. All that matters is how far you are away from the cabinet. So you could be looking for something in the opposite direction to the exchange.

If you're more than a km or so from a cabinet they also won't sell it to you.

It won't be worse than ADSL2+ anyway as they won't connect you is it is.

The crew doing the installation will sort it. Sometimes it can involve a good bit of work on the wiring outside.

Not much more you can figure out tbh.


Lines can also take some rather unusual routes and not the most direct path back to the exchange.

ctlsleh

enigmatical wrote: »

Bear in mind that the maps on the thread here are just being updated by members of the public..

There could be a cabinet out of view somewhere.

It could also be further away from the exchange. Remember it doesn't matter how close you or the cabinet are to the exchange. All that matters is how far you are away from the cabinet. So you could be looking for something in the opposite direction to the exchange.

If you're more than a km or so from a cabinet they also won't sell it to you.

Understood, Im definitely about 700 m away and they accepted the order, I also checked with one of the eircom guys on the eircom forum and he confirmed I was on that cab and that it has been commissioned.......