UK prepares for faster broadband (apparently)
- Thread starter neoboy
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can any network/ISP experts here perhaps give a rundown of what costs so much in upgrading broading for it to cost so much? Is the main cost the digging up of roads to lay loads of cables? or is the actual equipment (the fibre and all the routers/switches to handle it) more expensive?
Upgrading broadband would be so much cheaping in my opinion if companies like VM choose to lay fibre in new housing areas, during early development along with phone lines. If they lay the fibre before the houses are complete they wont have to dig up any roads to lay the cables later on.
Upgrading broadband would be so much cheaping in my opinion if companies like VM choose to lay fibre in new housing areas, during early development along with phone lines. If they lay the fibre before the houses are complete they wont have to dig up any roads to lay the cables later on.
It's not really practical in a lot of areas, as you need sewers with at least a certain diameter, and excess capacity (if you put too many cables in one that isn't wide enough you end up in the smelly stuff), and would still require roadworks/digging up for some parts of it, so it might be ok in some areas but certainly not on a national level.
What really needs to happen is for a new network of comms ducting to be laid, preferably with large enough pipes/ducts to allow for current BB needs, and easy upgrading in the future (rather than a half hearted attempt at stuffing it into existing pipes etc that weren't intended for it).
Something along the lines of what the cable companies did, but on a national scale, of near national scale (IIRC some rural areas are never going to be practical to do, unless paid for directly by the government as they would cost many times as much per person that even small towns).
Looks like Bournemouth is one of those places where it is suitable.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/08/bournemouth_fibre_city/
Sounds like it's fibre-to-the-door as well at a cheaper cost than what BT will do fibre-to-the-cabinet.
Can't they just do a mix of sewer cabling and traditional methods where necessary?
It would be nice for a future-proofed method but
1) It will cost a fortune and it will be us who pay (either through tax or higher broadband charges)
2) It still probably won't be implemented properly so the network companies can make money "fixing" it later.
It could also be done overground in places like electricity pylons.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/08/bournemouth_fibre_city/
Sounds like it's fibre-to-the-door as well at a cheaper cost than what BT will do fibre-to-the-cabinet.
Can't they just do a mix of sewer cabling and traditional methods where necessary?
It would be nice for a future-proofed method but
1) It will cost a fortune and it will be us who pay (either through tax or higher broadband charges)
2) It still probably won't be implemented properly so the network companies can make money "fixing" it later.
It could also be done overground in places like electricity pylons.
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I'm sure they're already taking the cheapest option...
Whoda thunk it, the middle of a city is semi-ideal for running ducting through its sewers.
As Werewolf said, proper ducting is the way to go - you can't indefinitely stick more ducting in sewers, some sewers are already way past capacity (or just don't have room for ducting in the first place) and there needs to be somewhere to put the kit too.
Pylons don't go everywhere, and if you haven't noticed fibre + ducting is pretty heavy...
As Werewolf said, proper ducting is the way to go - you can't indefinitely stick more ducting in sewers, some sewers are already way past capacity (or just don't have room for ducting in the first place) and there needs to be somewhere to put the kit too.
Pylons don't go everywhere, and if you haven't noticed fibre + ducting is pretty heavy...