Written by When it comes to choosing business broadband you have a choice between FTTP and FTTC. But which of the two connections is best? Hannah Low guides you through the differences.
Is your business looking for a new broadband package that achieves a higher-speed internet connection? You may have come across terms such as FTTP and FTTC. What do they mean and what relevance do they have?
What is FTTP?
Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) is a superfast broadband solution. Fibre to the Premises means that the fibre broadband internet connection from the local exchange is connected to the router in your business, which is much faster than the old copper telephone line used by many other broadband services.
The result is you can enjoy very high speeds of 1Gbps (gigabits per second) or more. Though FTTP can also deliver lower speeds which is useful if very fast fibre is beyond your budget, or not required, but might be something you’ll use later.
What is FTTC?
Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) is an alternative technology•that provides slower broadband speeds compared to FTTP. FTTC is slower than FTTP as the fibre cables from the local exchange (or data centre) stop at the street cabinet. From here, traditional copper cabling is used to pass the data to your router.
FTTC is widely available on the Openreach network, so most fibre optic broadband deals you’ll find right now are using this technology.
Openreach is deploying a faster FTTC technology known as G.fast which can offer speeds of more than 300Mbps, but availability is currently limited, and fewer businesses will be able to receive a G.fast service compared to existing FTTC broadband as you must be within a minimum distance from the cabinet for the technology to work.
FTTP vs FTTC
Which is the best broadband between FTTP and FTTC? To us the answer is pretty obvious – FTTP is the best.
FTTP Pros
– Very fast broadband – up to 1Gbps download speed, with capacity to go even faster.
– Much faster upload speeds, often the same speed for both download and upload.
– Despite the fast speeds, it is surprisingly affordable.
– Slower speeds available at a lower price.
– Doesn’t require phone line rental.