ESB Strike/Blackout and Eircom e-Fibre cabinets

Barry Flannery

Hi,

I have recently gotten Eircom eFibre in my residential estate. I am wondering about how the eircom network will react to a power outage in my local area. I know that many of the green eFibre VDSL cabinets are powered from the nearest ESB minipillar. I am trying to figure out the potential impact of the looming ESB strikes.

I have backup power generators and battery banks in my house to power my IT infrastructure (I also run a IT related business from home) but I am wondering whether this is pointless as the eFibre network will go dark at the utility level.

I know that in the past my landline phone was powered over the line so this would not go dark in the event of a power blackout. However, it is my understanding now that my copper telephone line terminates in the green VDSL cabinet. If these go down will I lose my phone line entirely?

Basically I am trying to understand the resilience of the modern IT grid. Traditionally the exchanges and network infrastructure had massive battery backups but this is obviously not the case anymore with the eFibre exchanges.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Barry

fat-tony

Are you talking about the VDSL cabinets when you refer to green eFibre exchanges?

Your telephone line (copper) runs all the way back to the actual eircom exchange and has battery backup so it should continue to function (although in my house I have DECT phones and the basestation will go out in the event of a blackout).

As regards the DSLAMs in the VDSL cabinet, the photos I saw of the cabinets showed a 48v battery backup supply, so perhaps they will continue to function for a time. I don't know if the actual backbone kit in the exchanges has battery backup, but one would imagine it does

Barry Flannery

Sorry yes I was referring to the green VDSL cabinets on my local estate. You mentioned that they had a 48V battery - is this just a UPS type battery which would only last about 10-15 minutes before shutting down?

My understanding is that my phone line (copper) now terminates at the VDSL cabinet and the line back to the Eircom exchange (from the VDSL cabinet) is now fibre so I assume that if the VDSL cabinet loses power then I also lose my landline connection to the Eircom exchange?

bk

No, your landline connection should continue to work.

At the cab, your line is "split", data going to the cab, while voice continues to go back to the exchange over copper.

ED E

bk wrote: »

No, your landline connection should continue to work.

At the cab, your line is "split", data going to the cab, while voice continues to go back to the exchange over copper.

Why not include an AXE in the cab and free up all that old copper for recycling. Space?

bigpaddy2004

Doesn't look like that's going to be an issue now anyway as the strike has just been averted.

bk

ED E wrote: »

Why not include an AXE in the cab and free up all that old copper for recycling. Space?

I guess that the extra cost of doing that wasn't worth it as they are likely going to switch to an all IP network in a few years anyway and it will free up all the old copper then.

fat-tony

Barry Flannery wrote: »

... My understanding is that my phone line (copper) now terminates at the VDSL cabinet and the line back to the Eircom exchange (from the VDSL cabinet) is now fibre so I assume that if the VDSL cabinet loses power then I also lose my landline connection to the Eircom exchange?

As BK stated, your line is divided at the cabinet and VDSL data takes a separate path to the exchange over fibre, while voice traffic continues over copper.
How switching to IP results in the removal of copper lines I don't know, unless replaced by optical fibre to the home.

bk

fat-tony wrote: »

How switching to IP results in the removal of copper lines I don't know, unless replaced by optical fibre to the home.

At the moment you have copper lines that run from your home to the local VDSL cabinet and then both fibre cable and copper cables that run from the VDSL cab to the exchange.

Once all lines are connected to a VDSL cab and they go all IP network, then they can decommission (remove and sell the copper or just not maintain it any more) the copper cable between the cabs and the exchange.

Bog Standard User

esb strike called off.

fat-tony

bk wrote: »

At the moment you have copper lines that run from your home to the local VDSL cabinet and then both fibre cable and copper cables that run from the VDSL cab to the exchange.

Once all lines are connected to a VDSL cab and they go all IP network, then they can decommission (remove and sell the copper or just not maintain it any more) the copper cable between the cabs and the exchange.

I'm not saying it will not happen ever, but eircom will need to cram a lot more gear into those VDSL cabinets to support the remaining analogue telephone handsets and sundry alarm diallers. I understood from reading elsewhere in this thread and others that those VDSL cabs have a capacity limit of 192 connections. So either the gear gets more compact (possible over time) or they will need to commission more and more cabs.
@BogStandardUser - duly noted as of post at 20:13 last night.
This thread is derailed at this stage