Fibre to the Premises, or FTTP, is an ultrafast way to deliver connectivity to a building. This is our guide to its advantages, whether it’s right for your business, and how to get fibre to the premises.
What is Fibre to the Premises (FTTP)?
Unlike other forms of connectivity, FTTP uses fibre optic cables and associated optical electronics all the way from the exchange to your premises. Traditional copper cables can lead to reduced speeds, bottlenecks, and instability because it degrades over distance – but FTTP avoids these pitfalls.
As a result, FTTP is the fastest type of connection available on the market, converting ultrafast optical signals into electrical energy only when they reach the customer’s private network terminal.
What are the advantages of Fibre to the Premises?
Many have asked what is FTTP going to do for my business? Its main advantage is its speed. With services up to 1Gbps, if you’re planning to expand your business, FTTP gives you plenty of room for growth.
As well as the overwhelming speed advantage, FTTP also ensures:
- Speed isn’t affected by the cable run distance, unlike copper, which causes signal degradation the further it has to travel
- Scalability, with easy bandwidth upgrades when additional streaming and file sharing requires it, which is necessary should you increase your employee headcount on premise, or you want to overlay IP services
- Resilience and reliability, as fibre optic cable is designed to bounce back into shape following compression, bending or similar deformation, and can last for 40 years or more
- Improved security, as it’s more difficult for cybercriminals to interrupt or intercept the flow of data in fibre, when compared to other older technologies
- You’re future proofing your business. Full-fibre connections are being rolled out across the country as copper is slowly being discontinued with Openreach planning to turn off their copper PSTN service in 2025.
When all the advantages of FTTP are laid out, it’s clear your business can achieve heightened business productivity, greater collaboration, and a more robust network infrastructure.
Who is Fibre to the Premises suitable for?
Whether FTTP is the right connectivity solution for your business depends on your own personal circumstances. For relatively small businesses that don’t rely on their connection for bandwidth-hungry applications, simultaneous video streaming, and cloud storage and backup, a less powerful option may be adequate. And for those located in rural areas, FTTP may not yet be available.
However, FTTP provides many businesses with a serious competitive advantage. If you place heavy demands on your connection, then FTTP will avoid those costly delays in your company’s workflow management caused by slow internet speeds. Plus, once installed, FTTP is far more stable and reliable than many alternatives.
It’s not so much the type of business or the sector that matters. FTTP will benefit those businesses looking for a more reliable connection at a capacity that matches their current needs, as well as their future aspirations. Every new employee that you onboard will place additional strain on your infrastructure.
How do I get Fibre to the Premises?
If FTTP looks like the best connectivity solution for your business, the first thing you need to do is make sure it’s available in your area. Use our network coverage checker to explore your service options.
Next, you’ll need . As well as considering speed, security and network reach, aim to build a shortlist based on customer service, reputation and longevity. It’s also worth checking whether your potential providers use the Net Promoter Score (NPS) metric, which can be a good indicator of how satisfied their current customers are.
Once everything’s in place and you’re ready to go ahead, it’s time for the installation. This involves an engineer attending your premises and is typically a relatively quick process.
What’s the difference between Fibre to the Premises and Fibre to the Cabinet?
Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) and FTTP services share similarities in terms of technology and delivery, but they use different types of lines. FTTC uses an optical fibre line from the exchange to your roadside cabinet and then a copper wire for the remainder of the route, completing the signal journey from the cabinet to your premises using older technology.
When you choose an FTTP service, you remove the copper wire from the equation. That means you could enjoy speeds of up to 1Gbps, compared to an absolute maximum speed of just 80Mbps with FTTC.
In terms of costs, there’s a slight premium for FTTP. That’s because it doesn’t use the existing copper infrastructure, so a fibre installation is needed to bridge the gap between the roadside cabinet and your premises. There’s also the opportunity to explore a hybrid solution that sits between traditional fibre broadband and a dedicated fibre ethernet connection.
One thing to be aware of, as stated earlier, FTTP is not yet readily available in all parts of the UK, although it continues to be rolled out across the country in line with the government’s 2030 ambitions. In contrast, you can connect to an FTTC service from almost any business location, but are, of course, limited on speed.
Are you ready for FTTP?
If Fibre to the Premises seems like the right choice for you, contact one of our experts to explore your options in detail. We have the network knowledge, reputation, and attention to detail to ensure you achieve the best possible connectivity outcome for your business.
