The benefits of full fibre broadband for business are numerous –sending and receiving large files in the blink of an eye, and the smooth, quick running of cloud applications are just some of them – but if you’re keen to upgrade it can be frustrating to find that FTTP is not yet available in your area.

There may be alternative options that will improve the speed and reliability of your connection, but before we get into that, it’s possible that FTTP is coming to your area very soon.

Contact us to find out if FTTP is planned for your area

If you’ve used an online FTTP availability checker, you probably haven’t got much information besides whether it is currently available at your location or not. However, our team has access to Openreach’s systems that could help us have a better idea of when the rollout is planned to reach your postcode. Give us a call on 0800 082 2868 or fill in the form at the bottom of this page and we can help you make a plan for the switchover.

When FTTP isn’t due in your area for some time

The government’s aim is to have 85% of UK homes and businesses connected to gigabit capable internet by the end of 2025, so you could be looking at a few years of waiting before FTTP becomes available to you. In that case, there are options available now that can give your business a more reliable, speedy and stable connection.

What options are available if FTTP is not?

SOGEA

SOGEA is a a superfast broadband connection without the need for a phone line. It is a great option for businesses where FTTP (full fibre broadband) is not yet available, but still allows you to use a superfast connection that is digital switch-off ready.

This can be ordered in locations where Superfast FTTC was previously available, and provides the same speeds and quality business broadband. However unlike FTTC, there is no need to also have a phone line.

Plus, if you do still need a voice option, we can add a BeamRing cloud voice service and maintain your existing business phone number – meaning you’ve got everything you need in one order.

Find out more about SOGEA from Beaming

Fibre optic leased lines

The cost of fibre optic leased lines, or dedicated fibre lines, is coming down and so this may be a very viable option if FTTP is not available.

In fact, going for a dedicated line means you’ll get features you wouldn’t with FTTP, including:

• No shared bandwidth. A dedicated leased line is used solely by your business, unlike FTTP which involves sharing bandwidth with other users of the service. This means the speed you sign up for (our leased lines start at 100Mbps) is the speed you get, always.
• Symmetrical upload and download speeds. Unlike with FTTP, sending and receiving information happens at the same speed, ideal if you send a lot of data.
• It’s really quick and easy to increase the data speed on your leased line, so if business is booming and you need to scale up your operations, this can be done almost at the touch of a button, up to 1 Gbps.

If you’re located in a business park or enterprise centre, it’s possible to “club together” with the other businesses there to get the leased line installed. You’d share the connection and the costs, so this could be an affordable way to get the connectivity you need.

Find out more about dedicated fibre leased lines from Beaming

Get leased line pricing

Moving to a new provider

If you’re not ready to go for a leased line just yet, you could still achieve better average speeds and improve reliability by changing to a different internet service provider.

Beaming specialises in connectivity for business, so our network is built differently to some others, which means that:

• Speeds won’t falter, because we ensure there’s enough bandwidth for everyone, even at peak times.
• Your internet connection remains steady and reliable, because we’ve planned many routes for data to travel – even if there’s a broken link somewhere you’ll be none-the-wiser.
• We’ve assembled a team of technical experts to provide support, so if there’s ever a problem it’s resolved quickly and without the to-ing and fro-ing you may have come to expect from other providers.

For help improving the speed and reliability of your business internet connection, get in touch using the form below and one of our technical experts will get back to you within one business day. Alternatively, call us on 0800 082 2868.

Please note we only work with business customers. If you are looking for FTTP for your home you can find a list of residential providers via Openreach.