Is this a g.fast Pod?

[SpongePower]

I have noticed what look like new g.fast pods appear next to some of the cabinets in  town and I was quite excited at the idea of faster internet since my house is quite heave on usage ( luckily we get 80/20 ). Recently the cabinet that servers me got two addictions a pod on the copper cabinet but it doesn't look like any of the other g.fast ones and a small attachment was made to the right side of the fibre cabinet. Shortly after that I had a line disconnect over night which lasted half an hour and when it came back my line speed was the same but my line stats had changed quite a bit. So I'm curious if all this has some thing to do with g.fast? hopefully 🙂

[aam]

Both are just for increasing capacity. The pod on the main cabinet to increase the copper capacity and the extension on the FTTC cabinet to add more ports. 

Also Openreach have suspended the deployment of G.fast for the foreseeable future with preference for FTTP instead. 

[SpongePower]

Ah I  thought it was too good to be true. Is this a g.fast pod? I went to the other side of town and noticed more additions to the other cabinets through town and it looks a lot more like a g.fast pod from pictures I've seen of them. Is this a g.fast pod? 

Apologies for the AWFUL photo I had to cut and zoom the picture in so much to be able to upload it to the forum. 

[aam]

Yep, that’s a G.Fast pod. 

[Starwire]

Not necessarily, Openreach have been using them to increase Capacity for VDSL as it’s quicker and cheaper than installing new Standalone RDSLAMS.

Theres loads round my way that are for VDSL and not G.Fast.

As someone mentioned Openreach have suspended the G.Fast Roll Out in favour of FTTP until April 2021 and to be honest I can’t even see them continuing with G.Fast after that, or at least not on the scale of 10 Million they’d originally set out to so.

[SpongePower]

That's unfortunate I was really hoping for better broadband coming to my area. I'm close to the cabinet and get 80/20 but my house is very heavy usage so an upgrade in speed would have been welcome 🙂

[j0hn83]

As already mentioned the G.Fast rollout is stopped for the foreseeable future.

Any of the vented pods like in your blurry image are likely to be VDSL Sidepods.

The codelook website can tell you if it's a VDSL Sidepod but it isn't always up to date.

OpenReach have also started deploying Subtended Head-Ends (mini_OLTs) in identical pods.

I've attached an image of a Nokia S.H.E

So that's now G.Fast, VDSL and FTTP equipment all in identical pods.

The vast majority being deployed at the moment are VDSL Sidepods.

 

[pippincp]

How do you explain the fact that FTTP is not supplied from a cabinet but from an aggregation node? There is also the fact that no more G.Fast pods are being fitted until end April next year earliest.

BTW that looks like a G.Fast pod. I'm sure @Starwire will confirm or deny.

[j0hn83]

Subtended Head-Ends (mini OLTs) are a relatively new deployment method OpenReach are using particularly in rural areas.

They use a spare fibre from the FTTC cabinet to provide FTTP from a mini OLT within the pod.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/09/a-look-at-openreachs-compact-fttp-broadband-ont-and-mi...

That article is actually a year old.

Here's an article from a month ago describing the same thing.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/08/openreach-updates-on-rural-fttp-pilot-progress-in-okeh...

Using a Subtended Head-End can increase the range they can deploy FTTP.

They can support up to 1024 FTTP lines I believe.

[pippincp]

OK, I'll grant you the OLT but that would not entail a pod to be added to the cabinet just for that. I'm certain @Starwire  will either correct me or otherwise.