Comment Article
ITAnalysis – The fragility of the digital home
High speed broadband, the digitisation of media
and convergence of telephony and IT have made
the smart digital home a real possibility. But
whether it’s a universal media gateway, free
video calls to the other side of the planet,
unlimited music downloads or multiplayer online
gaming that takes its occupants’ fancy, the
services delivered to the digital home will today
most likely depend on 3 strands of copper.
These wires make the final ‘mile’ connection
between either the telephone exchange, or if
there is the halfway house of fibre to the cabinet
in the street (FTTC), from that cabinet to the
house. Although many may have co-axial cable
from a cable company, some a wireless or
satellite link, and a lucky few optical fibre to the
premises/home (FTTP/FTTH), the majority of
homes in the UK still rely on legacy copper
telephone wires for their digital connection. Not
only that, but once inside the premises the
telephony legacy often continues with badly
wired extension sockets and a mish-mash of old
connectors.
The fortunate few may have a recently built or
renovated house that has telephone sockets and
Ethernet data outlets distributed around the
rooms. However anecdotal evidence suggests
that most builders and the electricians who often
provide both the external cabling and wire up
telephone and data points are not really geared
up to deal with the fidelity requirements of
digital information delivery over those copper
wires.
IEE wiring regulations focus on the avoidance of
electric shocks rather than bandwidth
degradation, and although a telephone company
makes the final connection, it will only really be
concerned about the basic telephone service to
the premises, not what else it is used for or what
happens inside.
In the UK there has been a change in the point
at which BT, via its last mile connection arm,
Openreach, touches that domestic wiring. At
one time a square white master socket inside the
© 2009 Quocirca Ltd http://www.quocirca.com
By Rob Bamforth, Principal Analyst, Quocirca Ltd
house was the last point of BT responsibility, and
consumers could connect to the front of this,
using extension wiring and a splitter/filter to
separate broadband and phone. Any problems
with internal wiring could be assessed and
dismissed as such by BT by plugging a basic
phone into the test socket in that master point
and disconnecting all other internal wiring.
Recently connected or newly built houses may
now have an external grey Openreach
rectangular connection box outside their house,
where the BT responsibility ends. This is then
wired into the house (with three strands of a six
strand cable) to a secondary internal ‘master’
point, or if the house is smartly wired, to a patch
panel for distribution, and perhaps separation
into telephone and data.
The problem with this setup is that while BT’s
responsibility ends at the external box, there is
no way to test to that point without using
specialist equipment, i.e. the householder can’t
just plug in a basic phone to test their own
incoming line, and any failure in broadband
service is very difficult to check without a call to
the ISP (or for some, by checking their
website…..).
So when a fault occurs and a multimedia
experience delivered over broadband – VoIP
telephony, video, gaming, browsing, email,
catchup TV - appears to stop working, who does
the householder blame; BT, the telephony
provider or the broadband internet service
provider – who may all be different companies?
Or is it perhaps the fault of the builder,
electrician, service provider or media company?
How can the consumer distinguish between a
break in a wire, a noisy data signal, some
network equipment, a transmission failure, an
edge device or faulty wiring, short of employing
a data communications specialist to assess their
network?
When the service stops, somebody needs to
detect why and fix it, otherwise consumers will
stop paying. Often the former monopolistic
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 Comment Article
incumbent carrier for example, BT in the UK, will
be the first port of call, but it may not be its
fault, and it is unlikely to do the diagnosis for
free. There are symbiotic relationships between
those involved in providing the ‘plumbing’ and
those who supply the services. However
consumers may end up blaming the wrong
brand, so it is in the wider industry interest to
take ownership of more of what happens at the
customer premises. So far, few seem willing to
step up to the mark.
Those planning to or currently offering value
added services to digital consumers will need to
bring more than just billing for content to their
customer relationships as failures anywhere
down the line might tarnish everybody’s
reputation. Knowledgeable and forensic
diagnostic support will become even more
necessary and the companies that can deliver it,
be they ‘plumbers’, service providers or builders
will be the ones that build customer loyalty.

Even with a home where Wi-Fi is used for all

internal data connections, the router or the
broadband modem it sits on the back of will
most likely still rely on the incoming three
strands of copper.

About Quocirca
Quocirca is a primary research and analysis company specialising in the business impact of information technology
and communications (ITC). With world-wide, native language reach, Quocirca provides in-depth insights into the
views of buyers and influencers in large, mid-sized and small organisations. Its analyst team is made up of real-
world practitioners with first hand experience of ITC delivery who continuously research and track the industry
and its real usage in the markets.

Through researching perceptions, Quocirca uncovers the real hurdles to technology adoption – the personal and
political aspects of an organisation’s environment and the pressures of the need for demonstrable business value in
any implementation. This capability to uncover and report back on the end-user perceptions in the market enables
Quocirca to advise on the realities of technology adoption, not the promises.

Quocirca research is always pragmatic, business orientated and conducted in the context of the bigger picture. ITC
has the ability to transform businesses and the processes that drive them, but often fails to do so. Quocirca’s
mission is to help organisations improve their success rate in process enablement through better levels of
understanding and the adoption of the correct technologies at the correct time.

Quocirca has a pro-active primary research programme, regularly surveying users, purchasers and resellers of ITC
products and services on emerging, evolving and maturing technologies. Over time, Quocirca has built a picture of
long term investment trends, providing invaluable information for the whole of the ITC community.

Quocirca works with global and local providers of ITC products and services to help them deliver on the promise
that ITC holds for business. Quocirca’s clients include Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, O2, T-Mobile, HP, Xerox, EMC,
Symantec and Cisco, along with other large and medium sized vendors, service providers and more specialist
firms.

Details of Quocirca’s work and the services it offers can be found at

http://www.quocirca.com

© 2009 Quocirca Ltd http://www.quocirca.com +44 118 948 3360