Sorry, just noticed your reply.
Most of the time, the other carriers will only put their equipment, in the main exchange, depending on the RIM/TopHat it may be possible for them to put in into the street cabinet but they usually opt not to do it.... I can only assume it is because it covers a smaller area meaning less profit...
But essentially my understanding is that if they have their equipment in the main exchange, to connect you to their equipment would require a direct copper link, once the RIM is powered by fibre they can't link it back to their equipment in the main exchange. The Fibre link does also mean that they can provide it over a longer distance from the exchange without the same loss of speed as fibre isn't as degraded by distance.
However considering the distance from the exchange you are at based on your initial post, even if it wasn't fibre linked, it is highly likely you wouldn't have been able to get connected anyway, because at that sort of distance the losses would have made most connections unstable or unbearably slow at the very least.
Most of the time, the other carriers will only put their equipment, in the main exchange, depending on the RIM/TopHat it may be possible for them to put in into the street cabinet but they usually opt not to do it.... I can only assume it is because it covers a smaller area meaning less profit...
But essentially my understanding is that if they have their equipment in the main exchange, to connect you to their equipment would require a direct copper link, once the RIM is powered by fibre they can't link it back to their equipment in the main exchange. The Fibre link does also mean that they can provide it over a longer distance from the exchange without the same loss of speed as fibre isn't as degraded by distance.
However considering the distance from the exchange you are at based on your initial post, even if it wasn't fibre linked, it is highly likely you wouldn't have been able to get connected anyway, because at that sort of distance the losses would have made most connections unstable or unbearably slow at the very least.