Quote:
Originally Posted by ausastronomer
It's worth remembering that Fibre to the Node (FTTN) has the capability to run at download speeds well in excess of 100mbps.
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IF you are on a very short length of good-quality copper wire from the node.
The problem is that FTTN is being deployed with typical lengths of copper from the Node to the Premises of a couple of hundred metres (quite a bit more in many cases), and the copper is of varying quality. (Most of it has been in the ground for decades.) This very definitely limits the peak theoretical speeds to 100 Mbps or less - MUCH less if the copper is corroded.
Every time NBNco talks about another lab test showing fantastic speeds on FTTN or HFC technology, you need to remember that it is exactly that - a laboratory test, using a single uncontended connection of brand new copper cable. They haven't achieved those sorts of speeds anywhere "in the wild", with a contended node supporting hundreds of houses using existing legacy-Telstra copper phone lines, which is how the NBN FTTN is being deployed.
If you're on FTTN and you can get something close to 100 Mbps, count yourself very lucky, because you have won "node lotto" - you are close to the node, and your copper wire is in good condition. If you are hoping for an upgrade to gigabit speeds in the near future - dream on, it ain't gonna happen until they replace that "last mile" with proper FTTP. (And this would mean a LOT more work than just pulling a couple of hundred metres of fibre from the Node to your house, because it's a completely different network architecture.)