NGA006/12 Notification of launch of GEA-FTTC 80/20 product variant on 10th April 2012

12/03/2012    For Information

For all Communication Providers

Openreach is pleased to confirm its intention to launch an 80/20 Mbit/s product bandwidth variant into the GEA over FTTC product portfolio, effective 10th April 2012.

This new product variant exploits the faster VDSL speeds made possible by changes rolled-out to the Access Network Frequency Plan (ANFP) at the end of 2011 and can be ordered nationally, wherever GEA over FTTC service is available.

Full details of the 80/20 product variant can be found in the GEA over FTTC product description.

Pricing for the GEA-FTTC 80/20 product variant can be found in Section 5.2.1 of the Openreach price list.  Special launch offers are available as detailed in section 8.4.11 of the Openreach price list.  (ACCN OR270 refers).

We can also confirm that the 80/20 trial will end on 10^th April 2012.

What does the 80/20 product variant do for me?

Make your GEA over FTTC services generate more revenue for you by differentiating between your end users on shorter, faster lines and those on longer, lower speed ones by ordering the product variant that best meets the characteristics of their line and the service that you want to support.

Or, don’t worry at all about matching speed estimates against a specific product variant.  Order our new 80/20 product variant and we’ll automatically give your end users the fastest speed their line is capable of supporting (up to 80Mbit/s downstream and up to 20Mbit/s upstream).

With our 80/20 product variant, you get a prioritisation rate that gives your end users double the network capacity during peak periods compared to end users on our 40/2 and 40/10 variants. 

What are the special launch offers?

We have introduced a large-scale volume offer which provides an 80/20 rental discount and 80/20 connection charge rebate over a two or three year period, depending on the contractual commitment made by eligible CPs.  The offer applies to FTTC and could, in future, apply to an FTTP 80/20 product variant, if one is introduced.

CPs can find the special offer agreement in the Superfast Fibre Access contracts section of the Openreach portal and can contact their Sales and Relationship Manager for further information relating to the volume discount scheme.

What do I have to do to consume the GEA-FTTC 80/20 product variant?

Communication Providers (CPs) who have already established on the GEA-FTTC product should have everything they need to begin consuming this product variant from Openreach.  CPs who have not yet completed GEA-FTTC product establishment should speak to the customer establishment team for more details.  The product is available both through the Openreach Portal and B2B Gateway interfaces.

Is there a minimum speed the line must support to have the 80/20 product variant?

There is no speed limitation for you to consider when placing an order for any of the GEA over FTTC product variants.  You may order any product variant on any line that has a predicted speed of 2Mbit/s or more downstream, and 128kbit/s or more, upstream.  GEA over FTTC is not available on lines predicted to receive less than 2Mbit/s downstream.

What speed will lines with the 80/20 product variant receive when the network is congested?

Openreach has implemented a downstream Prioritisation Rate (PR) for each of our downstream product bandwidth variants.  In the event of network congestion, we will decrease line speeds momentarily to reduce the congestion as follows:

Product bandwidth variant purchased	Prioritisation rate
Up to 40Mbit/s	15Mbit/s
Up to 80Mbit/s	30Mbit/s

 

More details can be found in Section 3.8.4 of the GEA over FTTC product description.

What if I need to raise a fault on an 80/20 line?

We are changing the test thresholds within our GEA service test that we use to accept faults.  From 19th March 2012 there will be no need to wait until your line speed has dropped below a specific fault threshold rate.  Openreach provides a full fault diagnostic process that picks up the major causes of speed issues.  Any found on an end user’s line will be picked up by our test systems and we’ll accept a fault for investigation. For further details see Section 3.9 of the GEA over FTTC product description.

What if the speed predicted for an 80/20 line does not live up to expectations?

An end user may cease their GEA over FTTC service within 90 days of installation if the line does not achieve at least 50% of the speed predicted at the point of sale.  We will provide a refund of the standard connection, rental and cease charges and no early termination charge will apply.  This refund will only be provided if we were given the opportunity, either at installation, or through a fault investigation, to correct any line conditions which might have caused the performance issue.  This policy applies to all GEA over FTTC lines and more information can be found in section 3.10.1 of the GEA over FTTC product description.

JM

The contents of this briefing are accurate at the time of writing and are subject to change.

If you wish to discuss the information contained within this brief, please contact your Sales and Relationship Manager.

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