FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet)
FTTC means fibre runs to the street cabinet, then copper telephone wire carries the signal to your home—so speed still drops with distance from that cabinet.
Why it matters
FTTC is widely available but physics-bound: the longer the copper leg, the harder it is to sustain high speeds. It matters when comparing “fibre” adverts with real-world performance.
Example in UK broadband
Two neighbours on the same cabinet can see different peak speeds if one is 200 m from the cabinet and the other 800 m away—both may be sold as “fibre broadband”.