What is Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)?
FTTC stands for “Fibre to the Cabinet”. The ‘cabinet’ in “FTTC” refers to the roadside cabinets you see dotted around the UK (usually small green boxes). FTTC works in a similar way to the ADSL as it is also delivered over the telephone network. However, due to the lower resistance found in Fibre Optic lines (compared to copper lines) the connection between your local cabinet and the rest of the Internet is considerably faster. FTTC still uses a copper telephone line to connect your premises so there will be some, yet minimal, slowdown.
As this is still a relatively new technology it has not yet received nationwide coverage. FTTC may not be available to all customers but Telco providers are investing heavily to make this more available.
What speed can I expect from fibre broadband? (FTTC)
The speed of your connection will vary depending on the distance to the fibre cabinet that serves your premises. On average however OIS expects to see speeds up to 78Mbps download and 18Mbps upload.
Who is this service type ideal for?
FTTC services can be suitable for many organizations. Small to medium sized businesses and hotels will all benefit from a FTTC connection. However organisations that require good upload and download speeds may require further investment as FTTC is still an asymmetric connection, meaning that the upload speed is far poorer than the download speed. This can be overcome by investing in a FTTP service or using the OIS bonding technology both of which will improve download and upload speeds.