Is Your Business Ready for Full Fibre? A Guide to FTTP for UK Businesses
8th June 2026
Full fibre broadband — technically known as FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) — is being rolled out across the UK at pace. For businesses still on older broadband technology, the switch to full fibre offers faster speeds, better reliability, and future-proof connectivity.
What Is FTTP?
FTTP means the fibre optic cable runs all the way from the exchange directly to your building. There is no copper wire in the final stretch — it is fibre end-to-end. This matters because copper is the bottleneck in most existing broadband connections. FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) uses fibre from the exchange to the street cabinet, then copper to your premises. That final copper run limits speed and reliability. FTTP removes it entirely.
What Does FTTP Mean for Your Business?
- Faster speeds — FTTP delivers symmetrical speeds up to 1Gbps and beyond
- Better reliability — fibre is not affected by distance from the cabinet
- Symmetrical upload and download — critical for cloud applications and VoIP
- Lower latency — faster response times for cloud-hosted applications
- Future-proof — supports speed upgrades without physical changes
FTTC vs FTTP: The Key Differences
| Feature | FTTC (current) | FTTP (full fibre) |
|---|---|---|
| Download speed | 40-80 Mbps typical | 100Mbps-1Gbps+ |
| Upload speed | 10-20 Mbps typical | Symmetrical |
| Infrastructure | Fibre + copper | Fibre end-to-end |
| Reliability | Distance-dependent | Consistent |
Is FTTP Available at Your Premises?
Availability varies by location. Openreach full fibre now passes millions of UK premises, with rollout continuing. Alternative network providers such as CityFibre and Gigaclear are also building competing full fibre networks in many areas. The best way to check is to contact a connectivity specialist who can check across multiple networks simultaneously.
What Does the Switch Involve?
- Confirm availability at your premises
- Choose a provider and package
- An engineer installs the optical network terminal (ONT) — typically a half-day job
- Your router connects to the ONT
- Your existing services continue uninterrupted
In most cases there is no downtime — the new connection goes live before the old one is removed.
FTTP and the PSTN Switch-Off
If your business still uses traditional phone lines, the PSTN switch-off in January 2027 means you will need to move to a digital phone system regardless. Switching to FTTP at the same time as migrating to VoIP makes practical sense — one visit, one change, future-proof connectivity and communications in one go.