FTTC Fibre To The Cabinet – GEA
Overview
What is GEA – FTTC?
GEA stands for generic ethernet access. Similar to EFM this is a cost efficient business IP access technology. FTTC stands for fibre to the cabinet, the medium by which the local cabinet is connected to the local exchange.
How are the reductions in cost achieved?
GEA – FTTC utilises the copper network used for phone lines in the first mile. Copper is used to connect the premises to the nearest access cabinet. The GEA circuit then hops onto fibre to the local exchange. This is where the carrier’s network POP (point of presence) is located. The GEA FTTC circuit then routes its traffic over the ethernet network.
Cost savings are achieved by using copper and fibre as transport to the carrier’s core network.
What is the speed capability of GEA over FTTC?
Although the GEA service provides significant cost savings, it does limit the maximum throughput to 20Mb upload and download.
The upload and download speeds are the same, they are symmetrical. The bandwidth speed is offered at 2Mb, 5Mb, 10Mb, 15Mb and 20Mb.
Is generic ethernet access resilient?
GEA over FTTC uses several copper pairs. This means if one copper pair fails the service will continue. Albeit at a lower operating speed. The service is not provided over diverse ducting. This means if the duct is cut the service will fail.
Where is GEA available?
GEA is available to over 85% of UK businesses. You can check if your business can receive generic ethernet access using the LeasedLines.org checker.
How fast can GEA be installed?
GEA has rapid installation times of as little as 18 days. This is primarily due to the use of copper as the first mile access medium.
GEA over FTTC OFFERS BUSINESSES RESILIENCY, FAST INSTALLS, COST EFFICIENCIES
GEA over FTTC leased lines are for some businesses an ideal combination of speed and reliability. The first mile is provided over twisted copper pairs. This has several benefits. Firstly resilience, in the form of multiple copper circuits. Secondly cost, as copper can be used to your customer premises negating the need for fibre installation fees. Thirdly, speed as lead times for GEA over FTTC can be much quicker without the need to install fibre cable.
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GEA over FTTC Benefits
- If remote users are accessing HQ hosted applications and content. They can download and access these much faster.
- FTP and other remote web services have a far higher performance.
- It is quick to send and upload large files, CAD technical drawings, graphic designs etc
If you have a requirement for more static IP addresses then this can usually be accommodated. A justification for IP addresses is usually required.
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FTTC FAQs
IPv4 addresses are now in short supply and ISP’s are becoming more and more protective of their allocations.
In the past businesses would just order large blocks of IPs, in case they needed them. Because there were so many, they were just given out. This has caused a large redundancy problem, and IP’s are now in short supply.
With NAT (Network Address Translation) and PAT (Port Address Translation) there is less of a need for organisations to order/require large blocks of IPs. The determining factors for IP allocation to different devices and services have changed.
When you request a certain block request size, many ISP’s will be quite demanding on what you want them for. They will investigate the equipment/services you want to allocate them to, and whether you have considered NAT/PAT to get round the need for a large block of IPs.