Fibre to the cabinet is the most widely available fibre internet circuit available to UK businesses. 95% of the UK can get FTTC with speeds of 30Mbps or more. With that in mind, if you’re still using a non-fibre connection, it is highly likely that a faster solution is available to you. If you’re unsure whether faster internet is available, find out with our free availability check here.

How does fibre to the cabinet work? Fibre optic cables run from the telephone exchange to street cabinets. You’ll have seen these cabinets plenty of times – they’re typically green and you’ll see them on any street in the UK. Standard copper telephone wires connect the street cabinet and your building.

Fibre optic cables enable superfast data transfer rates. If you’re close to the roadside cabinet, this means your business should have super fast speeds regardless of the ‘copper last mile’.

Fibre to the premises fibre broadband is one of the fastest broadband types available to UK businesses. FTTP is a full-fibre connection available to some businesses in the UK, although availability is currently limited.

FTTP is significantly faster than fibre to the cabinet. This is primarily because fibre optic cables run directly to your property from the exchange. No copper cabling is used as part of this connection, ensuring the very best speeds available.

While FTTC offers speeds of up to 80Mbps at best, fibre to the premises broadband services can offer speeds of up to 1Gbps. Would your business struggle to operate without superfast, reliable broadband? If the answer’s yes, fibre to the premises could be the best broadband type for your business.

FTTC offers speeds of up to 76Mbps. As this is a contended circuit, the speeds that you receive will differ based on the number of businesses in your area. At peak times, you will find that FTTC broadband is much slower than out-of-peak times due to everyone using the internet at the same time.

FTTP broadband services offer speeds of up to 1Gbps (1,000Mbps). While FTTP is still contended, the contention ratio is much lower. Additionally, data transfer rates when using fibre optic cabling are much faster than copper. When the fibre goes straight into your property, you’ll always have much faster speeds.

Depending on your provider, you might have an SLA if you have an FTTP broadband service. This SLA may contain many assurances, such as speed guarantees and fix time guarantees. Enquire with your provider prior to purchasing a service to find out whether you do or not.

An FTTC service will usually cost around £50 per month. The price of fibre to the cabinet will differ based on factors such as your location and the length of your contract. To find out exactly how much FTTC will cost your business, request a free, no-obligation quote here today.

An FTTP service will typically cost around £90 per month. Again, the price of fibre to the premises will differ based on numerous factors. The price will differ depending on the speeds you choose, the length of your contract, whether or not you have an SLA, and any installation costs. Find out how much FTTP will cost your business with a FREE, no-obligation quote here.

FTTC installation costs are normally low. For most properties, the lines will already be in place. You simply pay for the engineer’s time and the equipment needed to establish a connection. The engineer will set up your connection and ensure that everything is working as it should.

FTTP installation costs can be higher. Unfortunately, FTTP coverage is still limited, so chances are there isn’t a fibre line running into your property. This obviously incurs extra cost, as a line will need to be installed to establish a connection. Depending on your location, the costs of installing a line can be significant. Fortunately, there are grants available to cover the costs of installing FTTP broadband. Find out more about the grants available here, which could cover installation costs fully.