FTTP - anyone reaping the benefits?
Discussion
For the last 20 years, I've habitually plumped for the fastest internet connection available to the property. Currently this means an 80/20 VDSL2 (i.e. FTTC) connection, but at some point in the next 2 years it looks like FTTP will become available.
I'm struggling to justify the cost of an upgraded package to myself for the first time ever! Disney Plus has a max bitrate of about 20Mbps, for my home working I rarely deal with files larger than 10MB or so, I don't have any needs for super low-latency either. I sometimes stream in the other direction for watching media from a hotel or checking the CCTV, but it's never more than a few Mbps.
I'll probably upgrade anyway, but really "just because" rather than for any tangible (to me) benefit.
So, for anyone who has gone for a super-duper gigabit-class connection, do you have any use cases that make use of or even stretch the connection, or was it a case of just getting the best thing going?
I'm struggling to justify the cost of an upgraded package to myself for the first time ever! Disney Plus has a max bitrate of about 20Mbps, for my home working I rarely deal with files larger than 10MB or so, I don't have any needs for super low-latency either. I sometimes stream in the other direction for watching media from a hotel or checking the CCTV, but it's never more than a few Mbps.
I'll probably upgrade anyway, but really "just because" rather than for any tangible (to me) benefit.
So, for anyone who has gone for a super-duper gigabit-class connection, do you have any use cases that make use of or even stretch the connection, or was it a case of just getting the best thing going?
I upgraded from FTTC 75/16 to FTTP 480/37. For me it was actually cheaper for FTTP, mostly due to line rental and landline that I didn't use.
I don't stretch it, no. Partly because some of my ethernet runs are very long and only connect to my gig switch at 100Mb/s anyway.
I expected Sky to download movies super quick, but that is throttled so no real change there either.
Pros: the upload speed hike was the most useful as I use plex to stream media when away from home. Chunky downloads like OS upgrades obviously benefit. Working from home/teams calls seem a bit more stable but obviously don't tax it that much.
But given the cost it was a no-brainer. And if you have wife and kids watching netflix etc it's nice to have the headroom
.
I don't stretch it, no. Partly because some of my ethernet runs are very long and only connect to my gig switch at 100Mb/s anyway.
I expected Sky to download movies super quick, but that is throttled so no real change there either.
Pros: the upload speed hike was the most useful as I use plex to stream media when away from home. Chunky downloads like OS upgrades obviously benefit. Working from home/teams calls seem a bit more stable but obviously don't tax it that much.
But given the cost it was a no-brainer. And if you have wife and kids watching netflix etc it's nice to have the headroom
.Edited by FarmyardPants on Tuesday 6th September 12:25
I will buy fttp when i move house (soon) and I will keep the same bandwidth requirements.
The benefits are (as always) latency and reliability.
I learned how to efficiently use internet links when 33k modems were the biz. Cache lots, run local DNS, don't store things in the cloud. Be efficient with your bandwidth (saves the space for gaming, innit)
The benefits are (as always) latency and reliability.
I learned how to efficiently use internet links when 33k modems were the biz. Cache lots, run local DNS, don't store things in the cloud. Be efficient with your bandwidth (saves the space for gaming, innit)
Edited by gavsdavs on Wednesday 7th September 08:34
FarmyardPants said:
I don't stretch it, no. Partly because some of my ethernet runs are very long and only connect to my gig switch at 100Mb/s anyway.
If you'd see a benefit from those runs connecting at gigabit, it would be worth looking more closely. Both 100Mbit and Gigabit have the same 100M maximum cable length limitation, so it may be due to something like a cable termination issue.
I'm due to go from an 80/20 package (more like 48 down) to a 100Mb FTTP connection on Thursday.
First time I've ever not gone straight for the highest speed. I figure getting twice as fast a connection that's hopefully stable unlike the FTTC connection which is up and down all the time for less than half the price will keep me happy for a few months.
First time I've ever not gone straight for the highest speed. I figure getting twice as fast a connection that's hopefully stable unlike the FTTC connection which is up and down all the time for less than half the price will keep me happy for a few months.
I switched to Sky's 500Mb FTTP a few months ago, got it cheap as part of the TV package so cost the same as my previous FTTC + line rental. Can't say I maximize its potential each and every day but much like my 500bhp car, it's nice to have the extra headroom when you need it.
I torrented the latest HotD episode yesterday, 3GB in under 2 mins. And before someone reports me, it's something that I could watch on Sky anyway but I refuse to watch adverts on a paid service, and their sound quality is crap.
I torrented the latest HotD episode yesterday, 3GB in under 2 mins. And before someone reports me, it's something that I could watch on Sky anyway but I refuse to watch adverts on a paid service, and their sound quality is crap.
I upgraded last week from 80/20 FTTC to Full Fibre 100, but the speed offered is 150 (30 upload).
Fibre was £2/mth cheaper than copper - £32/mth for broadband and phone.
In practice can't tell any diffeernce in broadband. Wifi seems better coverage from the Smart Hub - I'm hoping to be able to get rid of the AP currently needed for the back of the house.
The phone, however, hasn't worked for incoming calls since it was switched over - apparently the port failed and could take two weeks to sort out. Callers just hear a ring tone so think we're not answering - BT say they can't divert incoming calls to another number.
It's a right pain as our mobile service is iffy so we generally give the landline number out.
I'm also dismayed by the installation - it's overhead and I asked for it to come into the house on the opposite side to the copper line, and come in on the 1st floor, which was no problem. However the installer insisted the splice box still had to be at ground level so the cable (a hybrid fibre / copper cable) goes down to the ground then another one goes back to 1st floor.
I've since learned that there's an internal version of the splice box available and the cable should be fibre only, so a single cable. Therefore it could have just gone from overhead straight into the room.
She drilled through the wall from the inside with such force that she blasted half the face off a brick and, as it's 1st floor, it's very noticeable. I recovered some chunks of brick - they went right across the garage roof - and glued them back on.
Fibre was £2/mth cheaper than copper - £32/mth for broadband and phone.
In practice can't tell any diffeernce in broadband. Wifi seems better coverage from the Smart Hub - I'm hoping to be able to get rid of the AP currently needed for the back of the house.
The phone, however, hasn't worked for incoming calls since it was switched over - apparently the port failed and could take two weeks to sort out. Callers just hear a ring tone so think we're not answering - BT say they can't divert incoming calls to another number.
It's a right pain as our mobile service is iffy so we generally give the landline number out.
I'm also dismayed by the installation - it's overhead and I asked for it to come into the house on the opposite side to the copper line, and come in on the 1st floor, which was no problem. However the installer insisted the splice box still had to be at ground level so the cable (a hybrid fibre / copper cable) goes down to the ground then another one goes back to 1st floor.
I've since learned that there's an internal version of the splice box available and the cable should be fibre only, so a single cable. Therefore it could have just gone from overhead straight into the room.
She drilled through the wall from the inside with such force that she blasted half the face off a brick and, as it's 1st floor, it's very noticeable. I recovered some chunks of brick - they went right across the garage roof - and glued them back on.
xeny said:
FarmyardPants said:
I don't stretch it, no. Partly because some of my ethernet runs are very long and only connect to my gig switch at 100Mb/s anyway.
If you'd see a benefit from those runs connecting at gigabit, it would be worth looking more closely. Both 100Mbit and Gigabit have the same 100M maximum cable length limitation, so it may be due to something like a cable termination issue.I have just moved house where I had BT 900mb to a place where the quickest I could get was 36mb. It hasn't made the slightest bit of difference to me, I WFH a little and my wife and I watch Amazon/Netflix etc each night. I don't game and my kids are 3 and 1 so the most it gets used would be Peppa Pig and Netflix at the same time.
I assume when kids are older and maybe there's a Playstation in the mix and multiple streaming going on at the same time it might stretch it but no difference in how quickly Sky stuff downloads or streaming stuff starts that I have noticed atm.
I assume when kids are older and maybe there's a Playstation in the mix and multiple streaming going on at the same time it might stretch it but no difference in how quickly Sky stuff downloads or streaming stuff starts that I have noticed atm.
I’ve dropped local backups on a symmetric fibre connection. Backs up to the cloud just as fast.
I’ve dropped planning evenings for big updates. Easy enough to do multi gig updates over a cup of tea now. Between all my devices, these are really quite common.
I tried 1gbps, but settled on 500mbps because that is about the max throughput the wifi card in my Macbook Pro can handle.
Although I recognise there are diminishing returns, I think the more speed the better and there is no such thing as overkill with the current limits of fttp and wifi connectivity, if your equipment can handle the speeds.
Sure if 500mbps was 200 quid vs 50 mbps at 30 quid you’d think twice but the price differential per month isn’t very much with my ISP. The max 1gbps tier is 35 quid a month, hardly a kings ransom. Just makes it a no brainer to get the fastest connection you can practically use.
I’ve dropped planning evenings for big updates. Easy enough to do multi gig updates over a cup of tea now. Between all my devices, these are really quite common.
I tried 1gbps, but settled on 500mbps because that is about the max throughput the wifi card in my Macbook Pro can handle.
Although I recognise there are diminishing returns, I think the more speed the better and there is no such thing as overkill with the current limits of fttp and wifi connectivity, if your equipment can handle the speeds.
Sure if 500mbps was 200 quid vs 50 mbps at 30 quid you’d think twice but the price differential per month isn’t very much with my ISP. The max 1gbps tier is 35 quid a month, hardly a kings ransom. Just makes it a no brainer to get the fastest connection you can practically use.
Edited by wyson on Tuesday 6th September 18:00
I've been putting up with all sorts of crap over the last decade whilst everyone else gets fibre.
I've had VDSL of various quality, multiple 4G and now 5G, fixed wireless, Starlink. In my last house I had 4 connections load balanced, none of which I could fully depend upon but combined allowed me to do what I needed to do.
I moved to a new place in February and immediately ordered a leased line (1Gbps symmetric) which I'm still waiting for, should be October. I'm making do with a 55Mbps VDSL connection and EE 5G off a nearby mast.
Meanwhile there are two other FTTP schemes likely to deploy in this area next year so I should have some backup options.
The big things for me will be service availability, especially with a leased line. Service levels with non-fibre products are so intermittent.
And also upstream bandwidth - I'll store everything I work with in the cloud and be able to upload/sync as much as I wish. As well as cloud services I have my own servers in a colo so I'll have line speed connectivity to them and be able to treat them as an extension of my home network effectively.
It's been a long wait but really can't wait to be able to transform the way I do things.
I've had VDSL of various quality, multiple 4G and now 5G, fixed wireless, Starlink. In my last house I had 4 connections load balanced, none of which I could fully depend upon but combined allowed me to do what I needed to do.
I moved to a new place in February and immediately ordered a leased line (1Gbps symmetric) which I'm still waiting for, should be October. I'm making do with a 55Mbps VDSL connection and EE 5G off a nearby mast.
Meanwhile there are two other FTTP schemes likely to deploy in this area next year so I should have some backup options.
The big things for me will be service availability, especially with a leased line. Service levels with non-fibre products are so intermittent.
And also upstream bandwidth - I'll store everything I work with in the cloud and be able to upload/sync as much as I wish. As well as cloud services I have my own servers in a colo so I'll have line speed connectivity to them and be able to treat them as an extension of my home network effectively.
It's been a long wait but really can't wait to be able to transform the way I do things.
Ok, a couple of people have mentioned off-site backup; that's something I tried years back on a cable connection and never even managed the first backup!!! Could be worth considering, as my current solution is a ZFS FreeNAS in the house and a big bunch of HDDs in an outbuilding... I had been contemplating a TrueNAS in the other building (I'm shortly going to be linking it to the home network) with nightly backups as a "semi off-site" solution but maybe I should consider fully off-site.
ETA Ooh crumbs, £120/mo for a 30TB Google drive!!! I'll do the man maths before I start building the redundant server!
ETA Ooh crumbs, £120/mo for a 30TB Google drive!!! I'll do the man maths before I start building the redundant server!
Edited by donkmeister on Tuesday 6th September 20:36
donkmeister said:
Ok, a couple of people have mentioned off-site backup; that's something I tried years back on a cable connection and never even managed the first backup!!! Could be worth considering, as my current solution is a ZFS FreeNAS in the house and a big bunch of HDDs in an outbuilding... I had been contemplating a TrueNAS in the other building (I'm shortly going to be linking it to the home network) with nightly backups as a "semi off-site" solution but maybe I should consider fully off-site.
ETA Ooh crumbs, £120/mo for a 30TB Google drive!!! I'll do the man maths before I start building the redundant server!
Have you compared that to backblaze?ETA Ooh crumbs, £120/mo for a 30TB Google drive!!! I'll do the man maths before I start building the redundant server!
Edited by donkmeister on Tuesday 6th September 20:36
gavsdavs said:
The benefits are (as always) latency and reliability.
^^^ This...As soon as FTTP became available for me, I switched to it. The latency & bandwidth are handy for the work I do but strangely the main reason for my switch was the protection from lightening strikes!! (My house is in an exposed, costal location & Home Hubs were starting to become a consumable item.
)M
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