FTTC, FTTP or leased line: which business internet connection do I need?
The short answer: if full fibre (FTTP) is available at your address, it's the best value choice for most small businesses. FTTC is the fallback where full fibre hasn't arrived yet. A leased line is for businesses that can't cope with slowdowns or long outages and need guaranteed speeds and repair times.
What the three options actually are
FTTC (fibre to the cabinet). Fibre runs to the green street cabinet, then the last stretch to your building is the old copper phone wire. Speed depends on how far you are from the cabinet. The best case is typically up to around 80 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload, and many offices get a good deal less. With the old phone network being switched off, FTTC is now usually sold as SOGEA, which is the same broadband without a phone line attached. See what the PSTN switch-off means for your business.
FTTP (fibre to the premises), or "full fibre". Fibre runs all the way into your building. Speeds are typically available up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps), and some providers offer more. It doesn't slow down with distance the way FTTC does. Like FTTC, it's usually a shared ("contended") service, so speeds can dip at very busy times.
Leased line. A dedicated fibre connection just for your business. It's uncontended, so you get the speed you pay for all day. Speeds are symmetric, meaning upload is as fast as download. It comes with a service level agreement (SLA) that guarantees how quickly faults are fixed. It costs more, and installation usually takes weeks to a few months because of surveys and sometimes building work.
Side by side
| FTTC (SOGEA) | FTTP (full fibre) | Leased line | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical top download speed | Up to around 80 Mbps | Up to 1 Gbps or more | Chosen speed, guaranteed |
| Upload speed | Much slower than download | Usually slower than download | Same as download |
| Shared with others? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Guaranteed repair times | Basic, varies by provider | Basic, varies by provider | Yes, written SLA |
| Typical install time | Days to a couple of weeks | Days to a few weeks | Weeks to a few months |
| Relative cost | Lowest | Low to moderate | Highest |
How to choose
Ask yourself these questions:
- How many people use it at once? A handful of people doing email and web browsing can manage on FTTC. Ten or more on video calls and cloud apps will feel the squeeze.
- How much do you rely on the cloud? If your files live in OneDrive, SharePoint or a cloud system, and your phones run over the internet, your connection is your office. Faster and more reliable matters.
- Do you upload a lot? Design files, video, large backups and lots of video calls all lean on upload speed. This is where full fibre and leased lines pull ahead.
- What does an outage cost you? If losing the internet for a day would be a real problem, look at a leased line's repair guarantees, or at least a backup connection.
For most offices of up to around 20 to 30 people, full fibre is a sensible starting point. Busier offices, or any business where downtime is expensive, should get a leased line quoted.
Check what's available at your address
What you can get depends entirely on your postcode, and sometimes on which building you're in. Full fibre is being rolled out quickly, so it's worth checking again even if it wasn't available last year. Any provider can check availability for your exact address, and Openreach has a checker on its website too.
Have a backup connection
Every connection type can fail, whether it's a digger through a cable or a fault at the exchange. A simple 4G or 5G backup that takes over automatically if your main line drops (often called "failover") keeps email, cloud apps and internet phones working. Many business routers can do this with a SIM card. It's one of the cheapest ways to protect your business from a bad day.
Common questions
Is FTTP the same as "full fibre"?
Yes. FTTP, full fibre and fibre to the premises all mean fibre runs all the way into your building.
Why is FTTC called fibre broadband if it uses copper?
Because part of the route is fibre. The copper bit at the end is what limits the speed, which is why FTTP is a big upgrade.
Do I need a leased line for VoIP phones?
No. Most small businesses run internet phones happily on FTTC or full fibre. What matters is having enough spare capacity, and ideally a router that prioritises voice. See What is VoIP?
My internet is slow. Do I need to upgrade?
Not always. The problem is often the Wi-Fi rather than the connection. Check first with Why is my office internet slow?
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