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DACS and Broadband

Why do we have DACS?
For almost as long as telephones have been a common feature in homes and offices, telecommunication companies have regularly been faced with a situation where demand in a particular street or area exceeds the number of physical copper pairs available from the pole to the exchange. Until the early 1980s, this situation was often dealt with by providing shared or 'party' lines, which were connected to multiple customers. This raised privacy problems since any subscriber connected to the line could listen to (or indeed, interrupt) another subscriber's call. With advances in the size, price, and reliability of electronic equipment, it eventually became possible to provide two normal subscriber lines over one copper pair, eliminating the need for party lines. The modern technology based digital systems that perform this task are known in Britain by the generic name 'DACS'. DACS works by digitising the analogue signal and sending the combined digital information for both lines over the same copper pair between the exchange and the pole. The cost of the DACS equipment is significantly less than the cost of installing additional copper pairs. DSL broadband internet connections cannot work on a DACS line, as they rely on a copper pair running all the way to the telephone exchange.

What is DACS?
The DACS system consists of three main parts: 1. The exchange unit (EU), which connects multiple pairs of analogue lines to their corresponding single digital lines. 2. The copper pair between the Exchange and the Remote Unit, carrying the digital signal between the exchange unit and the remote unit. 3. The remote unit (RU), which connects two analogue customer lines to one digital copper pair. The RUs are usually to be found on poles within a few hundred metres of the subscriber's homes or business. Occasionally they can be located within the customers premises.

Author : Andy Wiseman

Issue : Draft 1

What happens when DACS is encountered?

Upon submission of a broadband order, Openreach automated tools check for any recorded DACS on the customers line. If a DACS is identified on the line, Openreach will notify the CP by use of an appropriate KCI message. DSL will not work on a DACS line and the DACS unit will need to be taken out (sometimes referred to as a De-Share, or a De-DACS). The only way this can be done is by providing an additional dedicated copper pair all the way from the exchange to the End User. The fact that a DACS unit was installed in the first instance means that there is a good likelihood there will be severe line plant shortage issues in that locality, so it is possible for example that the EU lives in an area where the network is sparse, congested or possibly a long way from the exchange where it is costly to provide additional copper lines. Because of this, delays to the provision process on a DACS De-Share can often be lengthy and the solutions are frequently complex and costly. Once a DACS is identified, the routing systems will try to automatically identify any spare useable copper lineplant in the near vicinity (e.g. stopped or ceased lines that may be reuseable, or maybe a faulty pair that could be brought up to the required standard). If a suitable line is identified, then an engineer will be sent out to try and prove the pair from the exchange to the customer (ie test that its electrical characteristics are capable of carrying DSL services). If this is possible then the work will be issued to a field engineer as a simple Pair Divert activity. If a suitable copper line cannot be identified, then the job will need to pass to a planner to look for the best alternative solution to provide service. This may involve : Network Survey : ie a planner or field engineer needs to visit the site to ascertain what alternative routes / options are available and possible obstacles to delivery. Wayleaves : A Wayleave is the written consent from the owner/occupier of private land permitting BT to install, inspect, maintain, adjust or repair its equipment (poles / Duct / Cables etc). Under the terms of the Telecommunications Act 1984 this is a legal requirement. This can often invoke a lengthy delay and sometimes there can be multiple wayleaves from multiple end users required. Typical examples would be where we require new poles or to dig in underground cable across a farmers field, or perhaps utilise other utilities poles to carry our aerial cable. Obtaining wayleaves is usually done by a process of negotiation and can often involve a protracted commercial debate around payment. Test Rodding : This is the action of testing underground duct space by pushing rods along the duct to check that the ducts are not blocked / collapsed and are capable of accepting additional cables of the required size. Ductwork; The process of installing additional underground duct to allow further cabling work to be carried out.

Author : Andy Wiseman

Issue : Draft 1

Cabling & Jointing : Provision of new cables and subsequently jointing them together / to existing cables to form a continuous link between the exchange and the End User. Poling : Provision of new poles or replacement of faulty existing poles in order to carry aerial cable. Excess Charge authorisation : This could either be customer chargeable costs, or costs down to Openreach to internally authorise depending on the costing of the additional work and which part of the network the work has to be carried out upon. Traffic Management : This could include road works guarding , temporary traffic light, closing off roads completely with diversions, carrying out the work on specific days. This is usually down to the local council / highways authorities to sanction the work.

The KCI2 will not be sent until the planner has planned the entire job and obtained the necessary wayleave permissions to carry out the work. At this stage, the planner will input all the job details into a planning tool which will estimate a delivery date by which the circuit will be provided. This is known as the Lineplant Availability Date (LAD) . Some of these activities require either Openreach direct labour and/or 3rd party contractors in order to execute the work. Each of these activities may attract a delay. The review periodicity should be set to take into account the nature of the delay and the normal resolution timescale to address the problem. Once the Lineplant Availability Date has been calculated, the KCI2 message will be sent, the Openreach Contractual Delivery Date (CDD) will be set, and an appointment will be arranged if necessary. The CDD will be used as the Openreach commitment date. Once set, this cannot be changed. The SMC will periodically review all delayed orders and will send the appropriate delay messages to the CP. Each of these delay codes will attract an appropriate review periodicity. Additional progress notes can be found on the Order Tracker within the Openreach Portal. The following is a list of commonly used terms / acronyms / abbreviations that should help interpret the notes within the tracker and aid understanding.

Author : Andy Wiseman

Issue : Draft 1

Definitions to assist with Order Tracker Notes

KCI1:Sent by Openreach to acknowledge receipt of an order KCI2:Sent by Openreach to commit to a delivery date KCI3: Sent by openreach to signify the order has been completed CDD : Contractual delivery date. The committed date that Openreach have given to completing the order by. LAD: Lineplant Availability Date. The date by which the Openreach circuit is forecast to be delivered. DCR : Date Change Request. When a problem occurs on a job that means the committed date can no longer be met, the responsible party submits a Date Change Request which should appear on the job notes. NB : The Contractual Delivery Date cannot be changed and once committed, will remain the same. RBD : Required by Date : An internal Openreach commitment to have part of the work completed by a given date.

CARO : This refers to the Openreach records office who get involved when the records appear to be incorrect or when any clarification is required on the routing. PLANDO : This indicates that a simple pair divert activity is required. PST : Planning Service Teams. Centralised planning teams that look after all activities in the planning queues. Complex Planning : Complex is a term used when the solution is not a simple pair divert. This generally means additional cabling and jointing will be required. Second Stage : This is a term used when the solution is not a simple pair divert activity. This generally means that additional cabling and jointing will be required. Survey: Engineering visit to clarify routing issues / pair divert or additional cabling and jointing. Pair Divert: Rearrangement of existing network Wayleaves : Obtaining permission from landowner to route cable over private property. Test Rodding: Checking existing duct for stoppages and required duct space Duct: Breakdown to repair broken duct or new additional duct space Cabling & Jointing: New cabling work in existing duct. By Direct Labour or Contract. Poling: Includes additional poling work or obtaining hoist to work on d-pole Excess Charge authorisation: Obtaining authorisation for cabling, jointing or duct work over and above fixed value. Traffic Management: Includes traffic lights, traffic notices, road works guarding. Gully Sucking / De-Silting : This is where mud and silt get into the duct space and prevent additional cable being installed in the duct. De-silting is the process of cleaning out the duct. The Gully sucker is the equipment used to carry out the cleaning. D-Poles : These are faulty poles which are deemed to be unsafe to climb or to carry out any additional work on the cables they carry until the pole has been replaced. MDF : Main distribution frame. This refers to the main distribution point in the exchange that joins the exchange lines to the external network copper. DP ; Distribution Point CAB : Cabinet. This is a junction point within the network that allows engineers access to test and re-route copper lines.
Author : Andy Wiseman Issue : Draft 1

PCP : Primary connection point. This is another word for a Cabinet. POI : Point of Intervention. A/C : Aerial Cable EU : DACS Exchange Unit RU : DACS Remote Unit UG : Underground WB900 : an analogue radio frequency based system that did not support even low speed data communications. Installed from the early 1980s. Now obsolete and rarely encountered. Unrecorded DACS : The DACS was not recorded on Openreach systems and will not have been discovered until a field engineering visit. A55 : This is a type of engineering drawing that can be submitted by a Field Engineer to give a planner a clearer indication of what the problem is / what further work is required and what the site currently looks like. ROSE : is the automated routing tool that Openreach use to route customer orders across the copper network.

Author : Andy Wiseman

Issue : Draft 1