WHAT IS FTTP

What is FTTP and why it is worth getting it early

Skim through this section to find out the meaning of a bunch of technical acronyms related to broadband technology. We will explain what is FTTP and how it works.

Contrary to the common belief, broadband and bandwidth are not synonyms. Broadband is a communication system. It enables fast and reliable exchange of data between electronic devices. Bandwidth measures the bits of information that can be delivered within a second. In other words, bandwidth shows the ‘Internet speed’.

FTTP technology employs fibre optic cables the full distance between data centre and premises

FTTP stands for ‘fibre-to-the-premises’, a shared bandwidth service, also known as ‘full-fibre’, or ‘fibre optic’. Fibre-optic core is made of strands of glass or plastic that carry through pulses of flashing light, without any losses due to electromagnetic interference.

FTTH is a synonym for FTTP to some extent. It stands for ‘fibre-to-the-home’, meaning full-fibre broadband services for residential customers.

FTTB is an abbreviation for ‘fibre-to-the-basement’, which signifies optic fibre connection between exchange and the basement of a multi-dwelling unit.

FTTC stands for ‘fibre-to-the-cabinet’, a part-fibre, part-copper broadband technology. Optic fibre cables go from a local exchange to a street cabinet, close to user’s location, and then copper telephone wires connect the roadside cabinet to the premises FTTC is less performant than FTTP. Latency increases, while the quality of the signal decreases with the distance between the street cabinet and the premises.

Leased lines are rented telecommunications lines that grant access to dedicated connections between a local exchange and premises.

‘Dark fibre’ is optical fibre already deployed but not in use.

FWA, or ‘Fixed Wireless Access’, is a wireless broadband technology that uses radio waves to propagate signals between two fixed points. FWA technology requires the deployment of numerous tall metal poles that support an aerial for signals. Radio transmission is subject to interferences and loss of information.

ADSL stands for ‘Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line’. It is a broadband technology based on splitting a single copper telephone line into separate voice and data channels, so users can benefit from high-bandwidth and phone services simultaneously. With ADSL, incoming traffic is faster than outgoing traffic. Signal gets weaker and distorted over the copper line between the telephone exchange and premises.

Copper networks require a power supply to run, while fibre-optic connections remain stable, regardless of any unforeseen circumstances, such as power outages.

Why should you choose FTTP?

Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review (2018) analyses Government’s vision of the UK telecoms infrastructure. It clearly shows Government’s commitment to support investment in digital infrastructure to improve mobile and fixed connectivity.

The UK Government has set out the strategic target to deploy ‘gigabit-capable’ broadband nationwide by 2025. Any telecommunications technology that enables download speeds of at least 1Gbps can be labelled as ‘gigabit-capable’.

Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review also specifies the official meaning of ‘superfast’ broadband, which is download speeds of at least 24Mbps. At this stage, superfast broadband services are predominantly delivered through FTTC technology.

The main limitation of the FTTC broadband is the average download speeds, which range between 35Mbps and 67Mbps. On the other hand, FTTC outperforms the last ADSL technology, which provides users with up to 24Mbps bandwidth, while standard copper telephone lines support download speeds around 10Mbps.

‘Ultrafast’ broadband is the adequate term for download speeds of at least 100Mbps. Currently, average broadband speeds in the UK are 64Mbps downstream and 14Mbps upstream traffic.

At present, with little exceptions, broadband retail providers rely on Openreach’s copper telephone network to deliver broadband services to end users. In the Hull area, KCOM operates an exclusive network. Another Internet services provider that built its own network is Virgin Media, which covers more than half of the UK’s premises using coaxial cables instead of fibre-optic cables or copper wires.

Copper-based broadband networks will be withdrawn soon because ‘running copper and fibre networks in parallel is both costly and inefficient’. Ofcom urged Openreach to allow broadband network operators to benefit from non-discriminatory usage of Openreach’s passive infrastructure and move customers from copper wires to optic fibre network.

The infrastructure for full-fibre broadband will be deployed mostly by private investment. However, the Government will subsidise infrastructure for areas that are not commercially feasible.

The superiority of fibre optic over other broadband technologies

Currently, FTTP is the fastest and most reliable broadband technology.

ADSL is relatively cheap and fast enough for most of the residential needs. However, every time the phone line is faulty or there is a power outage, users will lose Internet connection.

Compared to copper wires networks, FTTP broadband services experience fewer operating faults.

In the long run, full-fibre broadband networks are cheaper to maintain and operate than copper-based connections.

Unlike shared bandwidth services, leased lines guarantee invariable bandwidth (up to 10Gbps) and symmetric data speeds. However, leased lines are more expensive compared to FTTP. For example, BT’s monthly fee for a 50Mbps leased line starts at £195.00 (excluding VAT), while their price for fibre optic shared bandwidth plan at similar bandwidth is £26.99 (based on a 24 month contract).

Satellite-based communications and fixed wireless access are ideal for remote and underserved rural communities, where FTTP is not available. However, typically, wireless bandwidth services are more expensive than fixed fibre optic broadband, especially if you are looking for decent data usage allowances.

The downside of these alternative solutions consists of increased latency (delay), unstable connection, and costly subscription.

When it comes to latency, FTTP and cable broadband perform best

FWA and fibre optic broadband are complementary technologies. In fact, wireless mobile broadband networks widely rely on fibre optic infrastructure. FWA technology replaces physical connections only the distance between a phone mast (radio base station) and user’s premises.

According to Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, most ofthe population will be 5G covered by 2027 and the fifth generation of mobile technology will become widely available and affordable to customers.

Despite Government’s commitment to transform the UK into a world leader in 5G communications, 5G coverage is very limited in the UK so far. Commercial 5G networks are concentrated in major cities.

Doubting whether full fibre broadband meets your needs?

Here is what you get with FTTP

Connect multiple devices at once, get high Internet speed!

Get unlimited, fast, reliable, and secure access to your data from any device!

Run bandwidth-intensive applications (such as cloud services, online streaming, video calls, video conferencing) whenever and as much as you like!

Experience flawless VoIP communication!

Deploy the latest automation solutions!

Empower your team through remote and flexible working arrangements!

High-bandwidth services are a must-have for every successful business

A survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics showed that the speed of Internet connections grew over the period 2014-2018.

Most of the businesses upgraded their broadband to 30Mbps or more

Higher bandwidth means enhanced online presence. Successful enterprises effectively manage their access to multiple online communication channels.

Fast Internet connections are beneficial to businesses that need to keep their software and operating system up to date.

FTTP coverage in the UK – facts and trends

According to Ofcom, FTTP broadband coverage grew from 3% to 10% between 2017 and 2019. The UK is lagging behind other countries when it comes to the spread of full-fibre broadband network.

In 2017, the UK only had 4% full-fibre network compared to 99% in South Korea, 97% in Japan, 89% in Portugal, 71% in Spain, 32% in the Netherlands, or 28% in France. Government’s target is nationwide coverage by 2033.

Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review suggests that market and policy circumstances could slow the pace of FTTP rollout. It could take at least 20 years to achieve, at best, 75% FTTP coverage.

As of July 2020, 14.9% of the premises across the UK had already got access to full-fibre broadband. As you can notice below, coverage varies by region, Scotland and Northern Ireland being at the extremes:

1. England 14.2%
2. Northern Ireland 47.9%
3. Scotland 12.2%
4. Wales 14.2%

In the future, more than 80 competing broadband services providers plan to use Openreach’s infrastructure, which consists of over 40,000 telegraph poles and 5,000 km of underground ducts, to lay new fibre.

By law, new built properties will be provided with gigabit-broadband infrastructure.

How much does FTTP installation cost?

Installation charges depend on your location and the distance from the roadside cabinet or splitter node to your premises. Typically, the installation fee is affordable as Openreach’s infrastructure is UK-wide available and accessible to any FTTP providers.

However, the costs are considerably higher if fibre optic infrastructure has not been previously deployed to your area. In certain instances, such as remote and underserved communities, this could mean over £10000.

Residents and businesses in rural areas of the UK are eligible for funding through Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme – up to £1,500 for residential consumers and up to £3,500 for businesses – when part of a group scheme. Group projects consist of two or more residents and/or SMEs that combine their vouchers towards the shared cost of installation.

Independently of Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, Openreach co-founded Community Fibre Partnerships programme, which allows communities to reduce the cost of installing when they partner with Openreach.

How can you get fibre to the premises?

FTTP Checker provides you with reliable information on FTTP coverage and suppliers to help you make wise decisions.

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What is the right Internet speed for your business?

Size your business broadband according to your requirements if you want to save money in the long run. Decide on how fast your broadband connections should be by considering:

1. the number of devices connected to the Internet,
2. the tasks your staff must complete regularly,
3. the amount of data you deal with.

Whenever you connect to the Internet multiple devices at once, users share bandwidth. The speed each user gets equals the total bandwidth divided by the number of users.

If you want to right-size your total bandwidth, multiply the minimum Internet speed you need for your regular activities by the number of users that share the Internet connection, then double the result.

Have a look at the table below (Table 1) to find an estimate of the minimum bandwidth that enable your staff to perform their duties properly.

Table 1. Minimum bandwidth per user by type of activity

Common business activities	Minimum download speed per user
General web browsing	0.33 Mbps
VoIP Calls	1 Mbps
Basic email	2 Mbps
Ordinary cloud computing	2 Mbps
Online banking and bookkeeping	2 Mbps
Social media scheduling	2 Mbps
Standard video streaming	3 Mbps
Basic Wi-Fi	5 Mbps
Demo videos	5 Mbps
Cloud-based services	5 Mbps
Frequent file sharing	10 Mbps
Numerous POS transactions	10 Mbps
HD video streaming	10 Mbps
Video conference	10 Mbps
Large files download	10 Mbps
Frequent cloud computing	10 Mbps
Data backup	10 Mbps
Email with attachment	15 Mbps
Server hosting	15 Mbps
Seamless streaming and conferencing	15 Mbps
Multiple-server hosting	25 Mbps
Regular cloud computing	25 Mbps
Frequent online backup	25 Mbps

To wrap up, carefully assess your needs before you decide on any broadband provider and plan.

Typically, for more than 30 devices connected at once you will need 1Gbps bandwidth. For a small business, think of at least 75Mbps download speed.

You won’t be able to hit the maximum speed that your broadband network can provide you with, unless you use the right equipment. If your router or any other device you connect to the Internet can’t support higher speeds, replace them with better ones.

Don’t go for the cheapest broadband plan on the market. It’s not effective using residential broadband for your business. A business broadband plan usually provides additional benefits compared to residential broadband.

Reliability does matter as much as speed. Look for broadband networks that are running most of the time. If you want to avoid any disrupting losses or delays in case an outage occurs, you need a backup broadband solution.