How does Full Fibre Broadband work?

Data Travels in the form of light

Fibre-optic cables utilise the fact that data can travel in the form of light. Light travels down a fibre optic cable by bouncing off the walls of the cable repeatedly. Each light particle (photon) bounces down the pipe with continued internal mirror-like reflection. Cladding around the outside of the cable ensures that data bounces off the walls rather than leaking like traditional legacy copper wire does. As a result, very little of the signal is lost providing greater stability of connection and access to faster speeds.

Inside of a Fibre Optic Cable

Fibre optic cables are made up of incredibly thin strands of glass or plastic known as optical fibres. Each optical fibre in thinner than a strand of human hair. Optical fibres carry light signals down them in what are called modes. A mode is the path that a light beam follows down the fibre. With Single Mode fibre the light beam travels straight through the centre of the fibre. With Multi-mode fibre light bounces off the sides of the cladding. Single Mode fibre is most commonly utilised to deliver connectivity over large distances.

Benefits of Fibre Optic over Legacy Copper

Fibre-optic cables are far less susceptible to interference than legacy copper as they do not conduct electrical currents making them resistant to fire, electromagnetic interference, lightning and radio signals. Copper cables (used to deliver ADSL and part of FTTC) are designed to conduct electricity and as a result they are vulnerable to interference from power lines, lightning, and signal scrambling. As a result, the stability offered by Full Fibre is far superior to that of ADSL and Standard Fibre.

The Cityfibre Network- The journey from Exchange to your Premises

CityFibre FEX

Fibre Exchanges

The CityFibre network is built upon a network of fibre exchanges, sometimes referred to as FEX’s. Each CityFibre Exchange is around the size of a shipping container and each facility powers around 60,000 connections with room for expansion. Each FEX is aligned to Data Centre Tier 2/3 specifications and houses 12 equipment racks. Resilience is at the heart of the CityFibre network and as a result each exchange is served by 2 physically diverse fibres, complementing the ring-based topology used for the core infrastructure build.
Primary Node

Primary Nodes

The FEX connects Full Fibre optical cables to the Primary Nodes. These are arranged in groups of 480 properties and are hidden away underground.
Secondary Node

Secondary Nodes

Secondary nodes are found in the form of street cabinets, or equipment mounted on the top of an existing aerial pole. Secondary nodes bring the connection from the Primary Node to the street on which your premises is located.
Toby Box

Toby Box

Toby boxes are found in the pavement near your premises, or on a nearby pole as a drop wire. Toby boxes bring the connection from the Secondary Node to outside of your premises. When a network is built, this is where the connection stops until the customer signs up to connect their premises into the network.
Wall Box

Wall Box

Connection is taken from the Toby Box on the pavement to a Wall Box on the outside of your premises. This is installed when you sign up to a CityFibre network provider, such as CloudConnX. The Wall Box then connects to an Optical Network Termination (ONT) box inside of your premises, which in turn connects into the router. This process brings fibre optic connectivity all the way into your premises. You will need 2 power sockets, 1 to power the ONT and 1 to power your router. 

What sets CityFibre apart from other networks?

CityFibre is the UK’s largest open access fibre only operator, with services live in cities, towns and villages across the country. CityFibre’s network is purpose built and independent from any other infrastructure providers. These two factors help to make it more agile and resilient than other networks. In addition, the CityFibre network is built on a ring-based architecture. This puts the network in a different league from those reliant on hub and spoke architecture and single fibre server exchanges. 

With Cityfibre, symmetrical gigabit connectivity is served to premises by over 2,000 fibre inputs and two optical distribution frames that pass traffic through the FEX racks and cabinets, offering maximum uptime with minimal latency and packet loss.

I already have Fibre (FTTC), why do I need Full Fibre (FTTP)?

Full Fibre (FTTP) broadband utilises fibre optic cabling to deliver Internet all the way from the local exchange into your premises. Standard Fibre (FTTC) on the other hand only uses fibre optic cabling to deliver Internet from the local exchange to your nearest street cabinet. The rest of the journey from your local street cabinet to inside your premises is carried by legacy copper cabling, which is vulnerable to interference from power lines, weather, and signal scrambling. As a result, the stability offered by Full Fibre is far superior to that of Standard Fibre. Full Fibre is capable of delivering speeds of up to 1Gbit/s (1000Mbit/s). Standard Fibre speeds max out at 76Mbit/s. 
Diagram comparing full fibre and standard fibre

How do I know whether I currently have a Full Fibre (FTTP) or Standard Fibre (FTTC) connection?

To find out whether your business is running on standard fibre or Full Fibre, check where your broadband router plugs in. If it is plugged into a telephone socket then you're probably running on a legacy copper connection (standard fibre) and won't currently be enjoying the ultrafast speeds that Full Fibre can offer.
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