4 February 2025

What’s next for broadband?

The UK broadband market is a state of flux such that businesses now have a choice of several underlying technologies. Its useful to understand the pros and cons for each.

The UK broadband market is a state of flux such that businesses now have a choice of several underlying technologies. Its useful to understand the pros and cons for each.
The UK broadband market is a state of flux such that there are several underlying technologies available to businesses. It is useful to have any understand the types and the pros and cons before deciding on the best choice for your business. Broadly the options are as follows;

1. ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line):

This is the original “copper” broadband technology which has evolved and improved over the years, is still commonly used, but is now being phased out by Openreach

  • Speed: Up to 24 Mbps.
  • Availability: Widely available, especially in rural areas.
  • Pros:
    ◦ Cost-effective, uses existing “copper” telephone lines.
  • Cons:
    ◦ Slower speeds compared to other technologies;
    ◦ Performance can degrade with distance from the exchange and it is being phased out by Openreach.

2. Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC):

This significant improvement over ADSL still uses the copper network into the premisses but the local green distribution cabinet is connected to the local exchange with high-capacity fibre optic cables

  • Speed: Up to 80 Mbps.
  • Availability: Widely available in urban and suburban areas.
  • Pros:
    ◦ Faster than ADSL and still relatively affordable.
  • Cons:
    ◦ Speeds still be affected by the distance from the cabinet to your premises;
    ◦ Like ADSL, FTTC is now being phased out by Openreach.

3. SoGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access)

SoGEA broadband is a relatively new type of internet connection in the UK and is essentially the direct replacement for Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC). It does not run over a phone line is is not impacted by the transition away from the PSTN copper network.

  • Speed: Up to 80 Mbps.
  • Availability: Widely available in urban and suburban areas.
  • Pros:
    ◦ Faster than ADSL and relatively affordable;
    ◦ No Phone line required (or provided);
    ◦ FTTC connections can be readily migrated to SoGEA and the existing FTTC router can be used with SoGEA.
  • Cons:
    ◦ Speeds & Quality can still be affected by the distance from the cabinet to your Premises.

4. Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP):

The pinnacle of standard contended broadband type services where a new fibre is run directly into your premises. Note: this is not the same as a dedicated Fibre Leased Line connection.

  • Speed: Up to 1 Gbps.
  • Availability: Growing, but still limited to certain areas.
  • Pros:
    ◦ Very high speeds, reliable performance.
  • Cons:
    ◦ Higher cost, limited availability and still a contended (shared) service;
    ◦ A new router is often required to make the most of the higher performance.

5. Cable Broadband:

  • Speed: Up to 1 Gbps.
  • Availability: Available in many urban areas.
  • Pros:
    ◦ High speeds, good for heavy internet usage.
  • Cons:
    ◦ Can be more expensive, limited to areas with cable infrastructure.

6. 5G Home Broadband:

  • Speed: Up to 1 Gbps.
  • Availability: Expanding, mainly in urban areas.
  • Pros:
    ◦ High speeds, no need for a fixed line.
  • Cons:
    ◦ Coverage can be inconsistent, affected by mobile network congestion and data packages tend to be limited to a few hundred Gbs so not suitable for sustained high volumes of internet traffic, especially file transfers.

7. Satellite Broadband:

  • Speed: Up to 100 Mbps.
  • Availability: Available nationwide, especially in remote areas.
  • Pros:
    ◦ Accessible in areas without other broadband options.
  • Cons:
    ◦ Higher latency, more expensive, weather can affect performance.

For applications where high volumes of data are anticipated or the service is absolutely business critical an Ethernet Leased line internet connection should always be considered preference to any of the broadband technologies detailed here for a business primary connection.

Each technology has its own strengths and is suited to different needs and locations. If you have specific requirements or need help choosing the best option for your area, feel free to ask!

 

Get in touch for more information

Get in touch

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