Fibre to the Cabinet

Ethernet
Data Sheet
4net Technologies Data Sheet – FTTC Ethernet

What is FTTC Ethernet?

Demand for faster, more reliable and more
importantly, cost effective broadband access is on
the increase. FTTC Ethernet is a new lower cost
alternative to Wholesale Ethernet that uses the BT
Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) access technology to
connect customer sites to the Wholesale Ethernet
Switch in the BT Exchange

National
Street Premises
Ethernet Network Exchange FTTC Copper
Cabinet

Product Detail
FTTC offers significantly reduced lead times and lower A ‘Stable’ profile is applied to the FTTC Ethernet
rental costs compared to traditional optical Ethernet connection meaning that the line is managed for
circuits and EFM. It is currently available from a limited stability in preference to performance.
number of telephone exchanges, with additional
exchanges being enabled regularly.

BT Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) access technology Key Benefits

is used between the street cabinet and telephone
exchange. VDSL2 technology is then used to achieve
high downstream speeds over a single copper pair
from the street cabinet to the premises. Unlike EFM,
multiple copper pairs are not required which is
beneficial for geographical areas where there is a
shortage of copper pairs.
Whilst FTTC itself is an asymmetric technology
(meaning that downstream speeds are typically higher
than upstream), FTTC Ethernet is packaged as a
symmetric service. The symmetric speed of the
connection is limited to a maximum of the upstream
speed of the circuit, and the actual circuit bandwidth is
determined by the amount of Ethernet bandwidth
ordered. This effectively limits the speed of the
connection even if the FTTC tail can achieve a higher
speed.
FTTC Ethernet requires a PSTN phone line to either be
available at the premises at the time of order, or to be
purchased as part of the order.
FTTC Ethernet is supplied with a VDSL2 router which
is installed at the customer premises by Openreach.
The VDSL2 router contains 2 10/100 Base-T Ethernet
ports that support only data connections. A leased
line router must be connected to the VDSL2 modem in
order to make use of the service.
–– Enjoy higher quality voice and video calls over
the internet
–– In-house voice and data networks can be
integrated, improving information sharing,
collaboration and customer service
–– Employees can work remotely, reducing office
space, reducing travel time and costs and
improving efficiency
–– Carry out bandwidth-hungry tasks
simultaneously
–– Higher capacity for rich media, large complex
files and online business processes
–– Upload or download data rapidly even when
several users are on the same connection
–– Employees and customers can send and receive
large files easily
–– Utilise more cloud computing resources,
reducing hardware costs
–– Voice enable your web site to give customers the
option of accessing information by phone rather
than just the computer
–– Future proof your business – FTTC allows your
business to cope with the demand for video and
content

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4net Technologies Data Sheet – FTTC Ethernet

What are the key differences between FTTC

broadband and FTTC Ethernet?
–– FTTC Ethernet is backhauled over the BT National
Ethernet network instead of the WBC network. This
means that the traffic is separated from broadband
traffic offering better prioritisation and a more
reliable circuit.
–– FTTC Ethernet uses guaranteed bandwidth,
whereas FTTC broadband shares WBC band
width between users.
–– FTTC Ethernet is symmetric (downstream and
upstream speeds are the same), whereas FTTC
broadband can have a downstream speed that is
higher than the upstream speed.
–– FTTC Ethernet is offered with a different SLA to
FTTC broadband.

What are the key differences between FTTC

Ethernet and Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM)?
–– EFM involves copper all the way from the
exchange to the customer’s premises. FTTC
Ethernet uses fibre from the exchange to the street
cabinet and then copper from the cabinet to
your customer’s premises. FTTC Ethernet there
fore requires a shorter length of copper, which is
beneficial as signal degrades on copper lines over
longer distances.
–– Whilst EFM requires multiple copper pairs, FTTC
Ethernet only requires one copper pair. This is
beneficial in some locations where there is a
shortage of copper pairs.

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4net’s powerful combination of service
excellence and technical expertise makes
us the partner of choice for organisations
who want to transform the way they
communicate with customers, staff and
stakeholders, reduce costs and gain
competitive advantage.

Our contact centre, unified communications,

managed services and telephony solutions
are designed to address today’s complex
business challenges, helping you to respond
to your customer and staff requirements.

From simple IP Telephony Solutions to

Virtual Contact Centres, from Unified
Communications to Cloud Services, we
partner with best in class vendors such as
Avaya, Cisco and Shoretel to deliver a
solutions portfolio that will address
today’s changing workplace and build
tomorrow’s future, making 4net the preferred
communications partner for many
businesses across the globe.

4net Technologies Ltd, 3 Scholar Green Road, Cobra Court, Manchester M32 0TR

0333 323 0700 | www.4net-technologies.co.uk