UFB Overhead Install

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schmoogol

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Topic # 111395 1-Nov-2012 17:16

Finally got around to getting my 30/10 UFB installed at a rented property in Dunedin with Snap!. I haven’t seen any other posts of overhead installations or much about Dunedin UFB so thought I might share a few photos.

The installation still took the entire day but obviously didn’t require any trenching to be done beforehand. I was out for most of the installation so only have some photos of the finished product.

This is a photo of the fibre overhead from the street. It emerges from the white box on the power pole. These have been installed on all of the poles in the street. I am unsure whether one box can feed more than one house.

This photo shows the fibre anchored at the corner of the house. It runs externally over the roof and down the wall.

Photos of the fibre coming down the wall to the ETP.

No centralised networking in the house so the ONT was placed behind the TV.

I ended up using my own WRT160N router running TomatoUSB instead of spending money on a FritzBox. In case anyone else is interested, put this in under Administration/Scripts/INIT to enable vlan tagging:

nvram set vlan10hwname=et0
nvram set vlan10ports=“0t 5”
nvram set wan_ifnameX=vlan10
nvram commit

(Note: “0t 5” may vary depending on your router. This site should help you find which ports for your router http://infodepot.wikia.com/wiki/Cisco-Linksys)

And finally some speedtest.net results.

First, my old ADSL connection:

And now the UFB:

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Reply # 710541 1-Nov-2012 17:50

Good little wirte up and nice photos.
I just can't beleive they actually want to willingly put this brand new amazing network up on poles. It is just so so backwards. The power company's and Telecom/Chours have been chipping away at getting the copper network underground yet suddenly they decide it is ok to put fiber on the poles. They look ugly enough already with power cables and the copper on them. Why add a whole other set?!

SATTV

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Reply # 710563 1-Nov-2012 18:18

I am more than happy for overhead cables, they dont look ugly to me, at least I would be able to get decent internet rather than the morse code speeds we get on our ADSL2+ connection.
I am 2.6km from the lynfield exchange ( Chorus tech told me ) and the best we can get is 3.5M download.
Behind us they are on a whisper cabinet and get 20M+ downloads but I am not allowed to connect to that.
Bring on overhead cables I say, it is because of the likes of John Banks who said that overhead cables "freeked me out " we are stuck with pathetic internet speeds.
If we had overhead cables suburbs could be fibred up in a fraction of the times and we could get decent internet and decent services, it can be put underground later when cables are taken off the poles and into the ground.

I know enough to be dangerous

chevrolux

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Reply # 710584 1-Nov-2012 19:30

While I use the aesthetics as a reason for not liking OH cable it isn't the main reason. Overhead cable takes alot more maintaining due to the fact it is very exposed. I realise the fiber will be a bit more resilient than the old copper but the same problems will still exist. Trees, strong winds, cars v pole (happens more than you think), high trucks, the list goes on. It is an inferior way of running cable.

If we had overhead cables suburbs could be fibred up in a fraction of the times and we could get decent internet and decent services, it can be put underground later when cables are taken off the poles and into the ground.

It can take just as long to get aerial cable up as underground. It might be a touch 'cleaner' in terms of breaking up footpaths but the way they are doing it they have to splice the fiber at each pole whereas underground the only splicing happens at the FAT's at the end of each street. And why on earth would they bother building it on poles if they intended to underground? that is flat out stupid just purely due to the fact you would have to rebuild the entire network in that area.

linw

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Reply # 710653 1-Nov-2012 21:10

The mind boggles about the uproar that would be caused by whole streets being cut off by going from pole to underground!

InstallerUFB

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Reply # 710692 1-Nov-2012 21:47

chevrolux: It can take just as long to get aerial cable up as underground. It might be a touch 'cleaner' in terms of breaking up footpaths but the way they are doing it they have to splice the fiber at each pole whereas underground the only splicing happens at the FAT's at the end of each street. And why on earth would they bother building it on poles if they intended to underground? that is flat out stupid just purely due to the fact you would have to rebuild the entire network in that area.

The constuction of the network down the street generaly is undergrounded but in areas were there is existing overhead copper services, and a new service lead would not violate property rights, it is cheaper for the fibre network companys to run the house supply overhead instead of trench or drill a service pipe in and then install the microduct or fixed fibre through it. Either way splicing is done at a FAT for Fixed or fibre is blown all the way from the Cabinets so splicing is not done up on the poles.

SATTV

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Reply # 710708 1-Nov-2012 22:01

If we had fiber over the power poles installed 10 years ago when Telstra planned to do it we would be a hell of a lot better off now than we are, sure we might have had a drunken idiot or two but on the whole we would survive. knowing my luck we will be at the very end of the project if at all, I am just sick of being so close but yet so far away, I go to customers in the woodhill forreset that have faster internet than me.

I know enough to be dangerous

Zeon

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Reply # 710711 1-Nov-2012 22:10

SATTV: If we had fiber over the power poles installed 10 years ago when Telstra planned to do it we would be a hell of a lot better off now than we are, sure we might have had a drunken idiot or two but on the whole we would survive. knowing my luck we will be at the very end of the project if at all, I am just sick of being so close but yet so far away, I go to customers in the woodhill forreset that have faster internet than me.

Firstly Telstra isn't fibre but Coax and it is installed in parts of Auckland. Secondly from what we see in Wellington and Christchuch that it isn't hugely different. Also it wouldn't be open access like copper so structural separation of Telecom has done more for price/compeition than competition from Telstra would have.

Lorenceo

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Reply # 710728 1-Nov-2012 22:23

What sort of PSUs do the Chorus ONTs have? Is it just a basic 12v switching PSU, or does it have some provision for providing battery backup, similar to those used in Australia?
The ONT itself looks very similar, if not exactly the same as the ones used in AUS.

schmoogol

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Reply # 711066 2-Nov-2012 17:42

Lorenceo: What sort of PSUs do the Chorus ONTs have? Is it just a basic 12v switching PSU, or does it have some provision for providing battery backup, similar to those used in Australia?
The ONT itself looks very similar, if not exactly the same as the ones used in AUS.

Mine has come with just a 12V switching PSU, as you say. Didn't have anything mentioned to me regarding UPS by the Chorus tech.

InstallerUFB

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Reply # 711142 2-Nov-2012 20:34

schmoogol:
Lorenceo: What sort of PSUs do the Chorus ONTs have? Is it just a basic 12v switching PSU, or does it have some provision for providing battery backup, similar to those used in Australia?
The ONT itself looks very similar, if not exactly the same as the ones used in AUS.

Mine has come with just a 12V switching PSU, as you say. Didn't have anything mentioned to me regarding UPS by the Chorus tech.

The information we have been supplied from Chorus is that at this stage they are not looking to supply UPS for ONTs and it will be up the end user or the service providers to supply and support

sbiddle

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Reply # 711143 2-Nov-2012 20:48

InstallerUFB:
schmoogol:
Lorenceo: What sort of PSUs do the Chorus ONTs have? Is it just a basic 12v switching PSU, or does it have some provision for providing battery backup, similar to those used in Australia?
The ONT itself looks very similar, if not exactly the same as the ones used in AUS.

Mine has come with just a 12V switching PSU, as you say. Didn't have anything mentioned to me regarding UPS by the Chorus tech.

The information we have been supplied from Chorus is that at this stage they are not looking to supply UPS for ONTs and it will be up the end user or the service providers to supply and support

UPS's are listed on the Chorus price list under optional extras.

IMHO not supplying a UPS was significant failing of the UFB program - but with nobody wanting to take responsibility it's perfectly understandable how the situtation has arisen.

richms

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Reply # 711156 2-Nov-2012 21:52

What input connector is on the ONT? I am guessing you could stick it across a float charged SLA battery since it will be fully regulated internally?

Richard rich.ms

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Reply # 711161 2-Nov-2012 22:04

richms: What input connector is on the ONT? I am guessing you could stick it across a float charged SLA battery since it will be fully regulated internally?

In Chorus's case the ONT and the power supply remain their property and any modification or alteration would be a violation of the service supply agreements - so a UPS before the power supply unit would be the only option

richms

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Reply # 711165 2-Nov-2012 22:11

InstallerUFB:
In Chorus's case the ONT and the power supply remain their property and any modification or alteration would be a violation of the service supply agreements - so a UPS before the power supply unit would be the only option

That seems very wasteful since you then have an inefficient inverter operating during power failure and also the normally quite high "standby" power wastage of a UPS - one of mine pulls 32 watts just keeping itself on and charged.

Richard rich.ms

froob

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Reply # 711279 3-Nov-2012 11:21

schmoogol: This photo shows the fibre anchored at the corner of the house. It runs externally over the roof and down the wall.

I'm interested to know whether this is standard Chorus practice for an overhead install, or whether they would generally bring the fibre through the facia below the gutter and into the ceiling space, like copper telephone wires in many houses do.

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