Before we had broadband, your provider had to have modems that you needed to dial into.
Broadband uses a different kind of modem, which at the exchange is called a DSLAM or Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexor and a router at the customer’s site.
Fibre broadband in most cases is called FTTC or Fibre To The Cabinet, which means that the traditional copper cables from your property are routed to a new fibre cabinet and your old copper cables that used to go to the exchange are ripped out and recycled.
FTTP (Fibre To The Premises) is also available to businesses that need a faster fibre connection, and in that case fibre runs directly to the premises from the cabinet. However the cost is prohibitive at the current time for domestic and small businesses to use. The government has plans to implement this to all UK premises by 2033.
