BT’s “FTTC” is Apparently no Different from AT&T’s Limiting FTTN Approach

Implications: George Bernard Shaw remarked: “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” 2. The source article defines BT’s use of FTTC as fiber to the curb. 3. However, in references to the announcement, BT is mainly talking about fibre to the cabinet/node – a much more conservative broadband strategy than perhaps intimated in the Light Reading piece.

Analysis:  Acronyms in the telecom industry can often be ambiguous.  And sometimes there are differences depending on geography.  While some references over the years can be found to “fibre to the kerb,” involving the BT network, evidently, there is little distinction made with “fibre to the cabinet in general – up to 5,000 feet from the premises (capable of serving several hundred customers) -- the same as FTTN.  In fact, when FTTC has been referenced in UK publications in connection to this BT announcement, it almost always referred to fibre to the cabinet.  And so, the industry analyst in the Light Reading article referring to BT’s plans “as “cautious’” -- is not kidding.  

In contrast, FTTC in the U.S. has a very distinctive meaning in which the remote terminal is a smaller cabinet placed on an actual curb (1,000 feet or less from the prem), traditionally serving eight to twelve customers – and hence, a lot more bandwidth potentially transported to each sub.  If BT truly meant to a kerb, it would probably be called FTTK.  The distinction is important because AT&T will be shifting to FTTC, if not directly to the premises, because such a long copper strand on FTTN makes video delivery, especially HD, a hardship in a good number of cases.