ONT as Gateway?

[nitro7]

joined recently. at matagal na rin akong nakabase sa ibang bansa - mula noong bago pa lumaganap ang broadband access.

anyway, marami akong napapansin na request/tanong kung paano magkaroon ng admin access sa RSP-provided routers. para sa fibre connections, napapansin ko na yung ONT mismo ang (1) ginagamit na ring router, at (2) by default locked ng provider ang admin access.

ganito ba ang usual deployment ng FTTH? ONT as gateway? lahat ng provider ganito? parang masyadong limiting 'ata para sa consumer ito.

 

[🤖]

Ang paggamit ng ONT bilang gateway ay isang karaniwang deployment sa mga FTTH (Fiber-to-the-Home) network. Ang ONT (Optical Network Terminal) ay isang device na nagco-convert ng optical signal mula sa fiber optic cable patungo sa electrical signal na maunawaan ng mga devices sa bahay.

Minsan, ang ONT ay may built-in router functionality na nagbibigay-daan sa pagbibigay ng internet connection sa mga devices sa loob ng bahay. Ito ay tinatawag na "ONT as gateway" configuration. Sa ganitong setup, ang ONT ang nagbibigay ng network address translation (NAT) at iba pang network functions na karaniwang ginagawa ng isang router.

Kadalasan, ang mga ISP (Internet Service Provider) ay naglalagay ng mga security restrictions o locks sa admin access ng ONT upang mapanatili ang network security at maiwasan ang hindi awtorisadong pagbabago sa mga settings. Ito ay isang paraan ng ISP upang tiyakin na ang kanilang network ay ligtas mula sa posibleng panganib.

Ngunit, para sa mga consumers na nais magkaroon ng full control sa kanilang network, maaaring humiling ng admin access mula sa ISP. May ilang ISP na nagbibigay ng option para i-unlock ang admin access ng ONT para sa mga advanced users na nais mag-customize ng kanilang network settings.

Sa pangkalahatan, ang paggamit ng ONT bilang gateway at ang pag-limit ng admin access ay karaniwan sa mga FTTH deployments. Ngunit, may mga paraan para ma-access ang admin settings depende sa patakaran ng ISP. Maaari kang makipag-ugnayan sa iyong ISP para sa karagdagang impormasyon at upang malaman kung mayroon silang mga options para sa advanced network customization.

 

[Soul Calibre]

Noong nasa AT&T pa ako nagtratrabaho, talagang sa ONT naka-connect ang internet nila, and yes, locked ang admin access. As far as I can remember, may federal law na nagsasaad nun kasi ang ONT is directly connected sa ibang fiber optic cables sa ibang mga tahanan. And besides, kapag magkarron ng admin access ang isang ONT-connected modem, there's a chance na ma-bypass ang speed limit na nakukuha ng subscribers.

 

[nitro7]

Noong nasa AT&T pa ako nagtratrabaho, talagang sa ONT naka-connect ang internet nila, and yes, locked ang admin access. As far as I can remember, may federal law na nagsasaad nun kasi ang ONT is directly connected sa ibang fiber optic cables sa ibang mga tahanan. And besides, kapag magkarron ng admin access ang isang ONT-connected modem, there's a chance na ma-bypass ang speed limit na nakukuha ng subscribers.

thanks. so kaya pala andaming "request admin access".

dito nga ako nahihiwagaan. kung plain Layer 2 media converter ang functionality ng ONT, wala sanang problema. end-users don't get to mess with the L2 network - hanggang router lang sila. the router, either galing sa provider o sarili ng user, will simply connect to the provider's network, usually via PPPoE o IPoE. bandwidth is provisioned at the provider side naman, depende sa plan.

overall, it's great to see the Philippines catching up on technology, and even being ahead of other countries.

as a comparison... ONT as the home gateway was deployed here for maybe a couple of years - specifically for "hyperfibre" services above gigabit. the plans are 2up/2down gbps, 4/4 gbps, hanggang 8/8 gbps sa residential users. it didn't last long for a bunch of reasons:

• power users want to use their own routers ()
• ONTs could be installed in the basement, then patched to the rest of the house, making WiFi from the ONT useless
• ONTs could be installed in a less than ideal place in the house. there was a requirement for it to be attached to a fixed wall, and this location could be at the wrong spot and at risk of being covered by furniture, drapes, etc.

so basically, the ONT remains owned by the LFCs (Local Fibre Companies). homeowners aren't even allowed to relocate the to a different part of the house. also note the LFCs are separate entities from the RSPs (Residential Services Provider). ang kagandahan nito ay madaling lumipat sa ibang provider, and a lot of people actually do it based on which provider has the best price or on-going promo.

salamat sa pagsagot. gives me a better idea of how things are deployed there. i work for a company trading on wireless backhaul, at meron na ring access products. meron din kaming installed base sa pilipinas, and i occasionally help provide solutions, or answers to customer queries (from providers rather than consumers).

 

[Soul Calibre]

thanks. so kaya pala andaming "request admin access".

dito nga ako nahihiwagaan. kung plain Layer 2 media converter ang functionality ng ONT, wala sanang problema. end-users don't get to mess with the L2 network - hanggang router lang sila. the router, either galing sa provider o sarili ng user, will simply connect to the provider's network, usually via PPPoE o IPoE. bandwidth is provisioned at the provider side naman, depende sa plan.

overall, it's great to see the Philippines catching up on technology, and even being ahead of other countries.

as a comparison... ONT as the home gateway was deployed here for maybe a couple of years - specifically for "hyperfibre" services above gigabit. the plans are 2up/2down gbps, 4/4 gbps, hanggang 8/8 gbps sa residential users. it didn't last long for a bunch of reasons:

• power users want to use their own routers ()
• ONTs could be installed in the basement, then patched to the rest of the house, making WiFi from the ONT useless
• ONTs could be installed in a less than ideal place in the house. there was a requirement for it to be attached to a fixed wall, and this location could be at the wrong spot and at risk of being covered by furniture, drapes, etc.

so basically, the ONT remains owned by the LFCs (Local Fibre Companies). homeowners aren't even allowed to relocate the to a different part of the house. also note the LFCs are separate entities from the RSPs (Residential Services Provider). ang kagandahan nito ay madaling lumipat sa ibang provider, and a lot of people actually do it based on which provider has the best price or on-going promo.

salamat sa pagsagot. gives me a better idea of how things are deployed there. i work for a company trading on wireless backhaul, at meron na ring access products. meron din kaming installed base sa pilipinas, and i occasionally help provide solutions, or answers to customer queries (from providers rather than consumers).

Sugapa kasi mga ISP dito sa Pinas kaya marami ang nagre-request ng admin access. Aside from speed limit, they might be able to remove the restrictions preventing them to access certain websites. Take note that some providers, even if a user has their most expensive plan, they somehow still manage to throttle the speed to give way to other users. Generally speaking, it's not so bad because the purpose is to make sure that everyone has access to the internet... the downside is that those who pay more don't usually get what they are exactly paying for.

I agree with you. Sa ibang bansa ay mataas ang speed capacity ng internet. Though fiber lines are connected, mabagal pa rin dito sa Pinas. ISPs are definitely doing something to eff the speed off.

Yan ang hindi kagandahan sa ONT... karamihan talaga ay sa basement nakalagay para hindi nakakalikot. Sa ibang bansa, madalas ang gamit nila ay mesh instead of extenders.

 

[nitro7]

Sugapa kasi mga ISP dito sa Pinas kaya marami ang nagre-request ng admin access. Aside from speed limit, they might be able to remove the restrictions preventing them to access certain websites. Take note that some providers, even if a user has their most expensive plan, they somehow still manage to throttle the speed to give way to other users. Generally speaking, it's not so bad because the purpose is to make sure that everyone has access to the internet... the downside is that those who pay more don't usually get what they are exactly paying for.

I agree with you. Sa ibang bansa ay mataas ang speed capacity ng internet. Though fiber lines are connected, mabagal pa rin dito sa Pinas. ISPs are definitely doing something to eff the speed off.

Yan ang hindi kagandahan sa ONT... karamihan talaga ay sa basement nakalagay para hindi nakakalikot. Sa ibang bansa, madalas ang gamit nila ay mesh instead of extenders.

must be a real pain if you're not getting the bandwidth you're paying for. at the end of the day, this is likely limited by the technology deployed, network design, and ultimately the budget to execute this. i get the impression na marami ang connected via fixed wireless, 4G/5G, links. this is so much more prone to congestion at points closer to the user (cell sites). fibre should be much better (from a technology standpoint), but again dadaan din sa interconnections. at some point there could be a bottleneck depende sa investment level.

this makes me wonder what the design provision is for each household. i'll sniff around and try to find out. although, even if i find out i'm not sure if it can be made public.

bit of a shame for the consumer, but it is a business.

the philippines had 533 Tbps (design capacity) interconnections back in 2021. this would/should have increased by another 204 Tbps (design) by 2022. there are a few more planned in the near future. of course design capacity and what's actually in use are 2 different things. then there's the infrastructure required to serve that capacity to the end-users.

not an easy thing, and i feel their pain. some of them are our customers. mabagal kasi ang ROI ng network upgrades. dagdag mo pa ang ongoing maintenance nito. at di naman 'yung telco ang kumikita ng malaki (compared with their investment). mas malaki kita nung endpoint ng consumer na gumagamit ng network - ito na 'yung mga google, facebook, tiktok, etc.

 

[Soul Calibre]

must be a real pain if you're not getting the bandwidth you're paying for. at the end of the day, this is likely limited by the technology deployed, network design, and ultimately the budget to execute this. i get the impression na marami ang connected via fixed wireless, 4G/5G, links. this is so much more prone to congestion at points closer to the user (cell sites). fibre should be much better (from a technology standpoint), but again dadaan din sa interconnections. at some point there could be a bottleneck depende sa investment level.

this makes me wonder what the design provision is for each household. i'll sniff around and try to find out. although, even if i find out i'm not sure if it can be made public.

bit of a shame for the consumer, but it is a business.

the philippines had 533 Tbps (design capacity) interconnections back in 2021. this would/should have increased by another 204 Tbps (design) by 2022. there are a few more planned in the near future. of course design capacity and what's actually in use are 2 different things. then there's the infrastructure required to serve that capacity to the end-users.

not an easy thing, and i feel their pain. some of them are our customers. mabagal kasi ang ROI ng network upgrades. dagdag mo pa ang ongoing maintenance nito. at di naman 'yung telco ang kumikita ng malaki (compared with their investment). mas malaki kita nung endpoint ng consumer na gumagamit ng network - ito na 'yung mga google, facebook, tiktok, etc.

It's really unfair para sa mga customer who have been paying more to get better internet connection na bigla na lang i-throttle ang connection nila to compensate the traffic na para sa iba. It is for the greater good as they may say it, but still it's unfair.

There has been a little bit of improvement, I think. As the technology advances, more and more people rely on gadgets and the internet. The more users, the more internet traffic, the slower the internet speed. If we're going to think about it, there's very little, almost no one, talks about improving the internet anymore. Maybe dahil nakasanayan or whatever reason, hindi na masyadong napag-uusapan ang bagay na yan.

For years, the focus of the previous and current administration here in the Philippines is about "beautification" and business infrastructure. Masagi man nila ang problema sa internet but since it's not their focus, isasantabi lang din.

You're right.. it's always the "business as usual" kind of thing. Kung wala o mabagal ang ROI, they won't pursue.

 

[nitro7]

it's good to hear that it's improving. internet access is fast becoming a necessity, with the education sector very heavily reliant on it. that's before business and the other industries come int.

there's actually a lot of technological evolutions happening. kaso lang, bago dumating sa stage na napakikinabangan na, ang tagal. the cost to implement is a big barrier.

pero as it is, there's still a lot of room for improvement even with current technologies in significant parts of the world, like Africa and parts of Asia. unfortunately, those upgrades are almost always in the millions of dollars, kaya medyo matagal ang cycle.