Choosing business internet is about more than headline speed. This guide explains FTTC, full fibre and leased lines simply, including contention, upload speeds, repair commitments, static IPs and backup connections.
Your internet connection used to be a utility you only thought about when it stopped working. Today almost everything a business does runs through it: Microsoft 365, cloud accounts software, video calls and, increasingly, phone calls too, as the UK's analogue phone network closes. Choosing the right connection is not just about the biggest number on the advert. Upload speed, how the line is shared, how quickly faults are fixed and what happens when it goes down all matter. Here is a straightforward guide to the three main options.
With FTTC, fibre runs from the exchange to the green street cabinet, and the final stretch to your building uses the existing copper phone line. The further your premises are from the cabinet, the slower the speed. On Openreach's network FTTC is limited to a maximum of 80 Mbps download, with much lower upload speeds, and many premises get well below that maximum. It is widely available and inexpensive, but it is the slowest of the three.
Full fibre runs fibre all the way into your building. There is no copper, so speeds do not drop with distance and the connection is generally more reliable. Packages range from tens of megabits to a gigabit or more. Most full fibre services are asymmetric, meaning upload is slower than download, although faster upload options are increasingly common. Full fibre is available to far more premises than a few years ago, but availability still varies from street to street and business park to business park.
A leased line is a private fibre connection between your premises and your provider's network, used only by you. It is uncontended, meaning you do not share bandwidth with neighbours, and symmetrical, meaning upload and download speeds are the same. Leased lines usually come with stronger service level agreements. They cost more, and installation can take longer because new fibre may need to be laid.
| FTTC | Full fibre (FTTP) | Leased line | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last stretch to building | Copper | Fibre | Dedicated fibre |
| Speed affected by distance | Yes | No | No |
| Shared with other users | Yes | Yes | No |
| Upload matches download | No | Usually not | Yes |
| Service level agreement | Basic | Varies; enhanced care often available | Typically the strongest |
| Typical installation time | Short | Short to moderate | Longer, especially if new fibre is needed |
| Relative cost | Lowest | Moderate | Highest |
Contention is how many users share the same capacity in the network. On a shared service such as FTTC or most full fibre, you may notice slower speeds at busy times. On a leased line, the bandwidth is yours alone, so speed is consistent.
Upload speed is often overlooked, but it is what you use to send large files, back up to the cloud, sync OneDrive and send your side of a video or phone call. An office of 20 people on Teams calls while backing up to the cloud can easily fill a modest upload. If your team regularly complains about frozen video or slow file uploads, upload capacity is the first thing to check.
A service level agreement (SLA) sets out what your provider commits to if something goes wrong, such as how quickly an engineer will be sent and the target time to restore service. Standard broadband typically has the most basic commitments. Full fibre often comes with optional enhanced care for faster repairs. Leased lines generally have the strongest commitments, sometimes with compensation if targets are missed. Always read what the SLA actually says, including working hours, exclusions and whether the target is a response time or a fix time.
An IP address is your connection's address on the internet. A static IP stays the same, which is useful if you host anything in the office, use remote access or a VPN, or need to allow your office through a supplier's firewall or a Microsoft 365 conditional access rule. Many business broadband packages offer one or more static IPs, sometimes for an extra charge.
Even the best connection can fail. A digger can cut a cable, and a fault in a cabinet can take hours to fix. If your phones, files and software all depend on the internet, a backup connection is one of the best value investments you can make. Common options are:
For true resilience, make sure the backup does not share the same weak point as the main line, for example the same duct into the building. Our guide to business continuity planning covers how this fits into the bigger picture.
As a rough guide, many small offices are well served by full fibre with a backup line. Larger teams, businesses that cannot tolerate downtime and those with heavy upload needs often find a leased line worth the extra cost. Remember the internal network matters too: a fast connection will not help if the office WiFi is the bottleneck, as covered in our business WiFi tips.
Our sister company Cyber Fibre provides business broadband, and you can check what is available at your address at cyberfibre.uk. Cyber Fits can then make sure your firewall, WiFi and failover are set up to make the most of it. See our business broadband and networks and WiFi pages, or book a free IT review for businesses in Sunderland and across the North East.
Full fibre runs fibre to your premises but is usually shared with other users and has slower upload than download. A leased line is a dedicated, uncontended connection with matching upload and download speeds and stronger service commitments, at a higher price.
It can be for a very small office with light use, but its speed depends on distance from the cabinet and upload speeds are limited. Where full fibre is available, it is usually a better choice.
You need one if you host services in the office, use remote access or a VPN into the office, or need suppliers or security rules to recognise your office connection. Many businesses benefit from having one.
A connection that does not share the same weak point as your main line, such as a 4G or 5G mobile backup or a second line from a different technology, with a router or firewall that switches over automatically.
Our guides are written by the team who support businesses across the North East every day. If anything here raises a question about your own setup, ask us.
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Openreach is due to complete the withdrawal of the old analogue phone network by 31 January 2027. Here is what is affected, from phone lines to alarms and card machines, and a practical plan for moving before the deadline.
Backup and continuity
You do not need a hundred page document to be prepared. This guide walks through a short, practical business continuity and IT disaster recovery plan that a small business can write in an afternoon and actually use.
Book a free, no obligation IT review. We will look at your setup, tell you honestly what needs attention and give you a clear fixed monthly price.
