In today’s fast moving business world, having the right internet connection is more important than ever. Whether you’re running a small local shop or a growing enterprise, choosing the right business internet solutions is vital to your day to day operations and your company’s overall success. Reliable, high-speed internet is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity.

When comparing FTTP and FTTC, understanding how each works and what they offer can help you make the right choice for your organisation’s needs. The team at Infinitel has created this comprehensive guide to help you make the right choice. Keep reading for more information.

What is FTTC vs FTTP?

So, before deciding between FTTC or FTTP, let’s dive into what both of these terms mean.

FTTC stands for Fibre to the Cabinet. This is a hybrid solution that uses both copper wires and fibre optic cables. Fibre optic cables provide the connection between the internet exchange and your nearest street cabinet. These are the green boxes you see on the roadside. Copper wiring is then used to complete the final connection to your building. While it doesn’t match the speed or reliability of FTTP, FTTC still offers an improvement over traditional full copper lines. With FTTC, download speeds can reach up to 76 Mbps on average. This is sufficient for tasks such as video conferencing, general browsing, and everyday business activities.

For more information, check out our other blog: What is FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet)?

FTTP stands for Fibre to the Premises. This delivers internet via fibre optic cables straight to your property. It does not go through the green cabinets on the roadside. This makes FTTP incredibly reliable and capable of handling multiple high demand applications at once. For example, streaming, gaming, and video calls are possible on FTTP connections without any noticeable lag or disruption to service. Some FTTP connections even deliver speeds up to a staggering 1,600 Mbps.

There’s lots more information in our blog: Fibre vs Broadband – The Difference Explained.

FTTP or FTTC?

So, FTTC or FTTP, which one should you choose? In nearly every situation, FTTP outperforms FTTC. Since it’s entirely based on fibre, it’s more durable, less affected by external factors (like the famously wet British weather), and ready to support future technologies.

FTTP is designed to handle high data loads without faltering, making it ideal for households or businesses where multiple users are streaming, video calling, or working online all at once. Essentially, it’s a future proof investment in your broadband connectivity.

FTTP vs FTTC: Business internet solutions for small businesses

Choosing between FTTC vs FTTP becomes especially important for small businesses. Whether you’re a sole trader or employ a handful of staff, you need an internet connection that’s not just fast, but also dependable. It’s also important that you stay within your budget. The temptation might be to cut costs by opting for a cheaper internet service, but this can come back to bite you if it means sacrificing performance. On the flip side, you don’t want to pay over the odds for speed and capacity you’ll never use.

Think about how your business operates online. For example, a small café that uses the internet for basic services such as card machines and checking emails won’t need the same level of performance as a digital agency running cloud apps and video calls.

Planning for the future is also key. If you’re a small business, you might expect to grow in size and stature sometime in the future. If this is the case, you will need business internet solutions for small businesses with enough bandwidth to handle the additional demand.

FTTP vs FTTC: Business internet solutions for medium-sized businesses

When choosing business internet solutions for medium-sized businesses, reliability and efficiency becomes even more critical. While FTTP availability isn’t yet universal, it’s expanding rapidly, and many businesses are making the switch for the performance boost it offers.

If you manage a team of ten or more employees, knowing how many of them will be using the internet is crucial. It’s also important to know how they will be using it. Web browsing and emails don’t require massive amounts of bandwidth, so FTTC may suffice in these cases. But if your staff regularly rely on bandwidth heavy tasks, then FTTP is the smarter option. These tasks may include video meetings, cloud based project management, large file transfers, or hosted voice systems (VoIP).

The bandwidth and speed FTTP provides can make a huge difference to your day to day productivity and service delivery. It’s also worth noting that two businesses of the same size may have entirely different broadband needs depending on their work style. One size does not fit all.

FTTP vs FTTC: Business internet solutions for large businesses

The importance of fast, secure, and reliable business internet solutions for large businesses can’t be underestimated. Downtime, buffering, or poor quality video calls can cost time, money, and credibility. So securing a reliable, high performance connection is vital. FTTC has served the UK well for many years, reaching more than 95% of premises and offering speeds of 24Mbps or more. It’s been a cost effective way to upgrade from traditional ADSL and still plays an important role in broadband infrastructure.

However, because FTTC uses copper wiring from the cabinet to your site, performance is still limited. For large businesses with substantial data needs, FTTP or a leased line is a far better fit.

A full fibre leased line offers the best of the best. It’s a dedicated line running directly to your premises that offers equal upload and download speeds, and zero contention. This means your connection isn’t shared with anyone else. This consistency is a major asset during peak times when standard broadband can suffer performance drops.

Another major benefit is reliability. Full fibre connections aren’t affected by weather or electromagnetic interference. If an issue does arise, leased lines are prioritised for repair, typically with a twenty four hour service level agreement (SLA). On the other hand, standard broadband connections can take days to fix.

Still don’t know whether to choose FTTC or FTTP? Let the team at Infinitel help you decide

At Infinitel, we understand that every business is unique and so are its internet needs. We specialise in tailored broadband solutions that keep your organisation connected and competitive. Whether you’re a small startup, a growing SME, or a large enterprise, we can help you find the right option for your team.

We also offer a range of business mobile phone services and business phone packages designed to support your communications from every angle.

For more information or to see how we can help your business thrive, please do not hesitate to contact us!