Check BT Business Broadband availability at your address

How availability is decided

Broadband availability is not decided by town or postcode area but by the individual premises. Two units on the same street can have different options, because one has had Full Fibre built to it and the other has not, or because one is further from the street cabinet.

When BT checks an address, it looks at three things:

1. Which access type reaches the premises: Full Fibre, Standard Fibre or copper.
2. What speeds that line can support, given the distance from the cabinet or exchange and the network at that location.
3. What work is needed to connect you, such as activating an existing fibre box, fitting a new one, or building fibre to the premises first.

From that, BT shows which plans and speed tiers you can order. The check is most accurate with the exact address, and with a phone number if the premises has one, because existing lines help BT identify what is already in place.

The three access types

If your address has Full Fibre, it is usually the one to choose: more speed, much higher upload and room to grow. If it only has Standard Fibre, the speed you get depends heavily on the length of copper from the cabinet. Our FTTC vs FTTP guide explains the differences, and what is FTTC broadband covers the older phone-line version of Standard Fibre.

What the check tells you

A good availability check answers more than "yes or no". For each address we can tell you:

• The access type and which BT plans you can order on it.
• An estimated speed range, which BT bases on business peak time (12.00 to 14.00), when the network is busiest.
• The minimum guaranteed download speed. BT gives this before your service starts, and it underpins the right to exit if speeds fall below it and BT cannot fix it. See BT's minimum speed guarantee.
• Whether an engineer is needed, and for Full Fibre, which installation stage applies.
• Whether anything on your current line needs planning, such as a traditional phone line carrying an alarm or card machine.

The estimate is not a promise of the exact speed you will see on every device. Wi-Fi, old cabling and busy devices all affect what people experience. See BT Business Broadband speeds and how to run a speed test.

Full fibre in my area: installation stages

If your address can get Full Fibre, BT's help describes three types of installation:

Complex 2 stage installs can take longer, because work in the road needs local authorisation. BT says extra construction charges apply only in exceptional cases and that it tells you before work starts. Our BT Business Broadband installation guide covers what to prepare.

Standard Fibre and SOGEA checks

If Full Fibre is not available yet, Standard Fibre is the most common option. BT sells it as Standard Fibre 38 and 76, using SOGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access): fibre to the cabinet, then copper to your premises, with no phone line needed.

The SOGEA check tells you the estimated speed on your copper line. If the cabinet is close, Standard Fibre 76 can serve a small office well. If it is a long way off, the speed estimate will show it, and it may be worth looking at alternatives:

• Hybrid Backup. BT's Hybrid Connect device gives you 4G backup if the line fails, and BT says it can get you online before the line is installed.
• Pro on Standard Fibre. Pro brings Smart Hub 3 and Complete Wi-Fi Plus to Standard Fibre lines, so good Wi-Fi does not have to wait for Full Fibre.
• Ultra on Standard Fibre 76. BT's managed, security-led plan is available on Standard Fibre 76 as well as Full Fibre.
• A leased line. If your business depends on the connection and broadband at the address is limited, a dedicated line may be worth pricing. See when to upgrade from broadband to a leased line.

Read what is SOGEA broadband for more on how it works.

New premises and unused lines

Some of the trickiest checks are for premises with no working line: a new unit, a converted building, or an office that has been empty for a while. In these cases:

• An engineer is more likely to be needed. BT tells you at order whether a visit is required and shows the available dates.
• A socket on the wall does not mean no work. BT explains that even where a socket exists, work may be needed in the exchange, the network or the cabinet to provide service, which is why installation charges can apply.
• You may be able to get online first. With Hybrid Backup, BT says you can be connected over 4G while you wait for the line, and that it delivers the Hybrid Backup device the next day for orders placed by 12pm Monday to Friday, subject to credit checks.
• Landlord permission matters. If an engineer needs to drill, run cable or fit equipment, check who needs to agree before the visit, especially in shared or managed buildings.

If you run more than one site, each address is checked on its own and can have a different access type, so a plan that suits head office may not be available at a branch. We check every address and set the options out side by side, so you can see where the same plan works everywhere and where a branch needs a different speed, a backup connection or, for a site that depends heavily on its connection, a look at a leased line.

What we need to run the check

To check your address properly we need:

• The full address of the premises, including unit or floor number
• Your existing phone number or broadband reference, if there is a line already
• Who provides your broadband today, and when your contract ends
• Roughly how many people and devices use the connection, and what for
• Anything that still runs on a phone line: alarms, card machines, lifts, franking, door entry or fax
• Whether you use static IP addresses today

Contact us with these details and we will check what your address can get, explain the options in plain words and send a quote. If you are opening new premises, see business broadband for startups and moving premises.