BT Business Full Fibre broadband

What is BT Business Full Fibre?

Full Fibre is BT's name for fibre to the premises, usually shortened to FTTP. The fibre optic cable runs from the exchange all the way into your building, where it ends at a small Optical Network Termination box (ONT). Your BT Smart Hub, or BT's managed equipment if you choose Ultra, plugs into the ONT. There is no copper in the connection and no phone line to rent.

That is the difference from the other two ways BT can connect a business:

• Standard Fibre (SOGEA) runs fibre to the street cabinet and copper for the last stretch to your door. BT calls this part fibre. See what is SOGEA broadband.
• Copper broadband uses a copper line all the way from the exchange, with speeds up to 17Mbps on BT plans.
• Full Fibre (FTTP) uses fibre the whole way, which is why it can carry far higher speeds and much more upload.

When people search for "business fibre broadband" they can mean either full fibre or part fibre, and BT uses the phrase for both. If you want to be sure which one you are being offered, ask whether the fibre reaches your premises or stops at the cabinet. Our FTTC vs FTTP guide sets the two side by side.

BT Full Fibre speed tiers

BT sells Full Fibre for business in five main speed tiers. These are the headline download speeds BT uses to name each tier:

Upload rises with the tier, from up to 19Mbps on Full Fibre 100 to up to 104Mbps on Full Fibre 900, according to BT's plan information. Full Fibre 100 has about the same upload as Standard Fibre 76, so if upload is the reason you are moving, start your comparison at Full Fibre 150. Before you order, BT gives an estimated speed range for your address and a minimum speed it guarantees; see BT's Minimum Speed Guarantee.

At some addresses BT also lists Full Fibre Gigabit and Full Fibre 1.6 Gigabit plans. These are covered on our gigabit business broadband page. For help choosing a tier, read what broadband speed does my business need, and for every tier across all access types see BT Business Broadband speeds.

Why Full Fibre suits a business

Full Fibre is not just a faster version of what you have. Taking the copper out of the connection changes several things a business notices day to day:

• Distance stops mattering. On Standard Fibre and copper, the further your premises is from the cabinet or exchange, the lower the speed. BT says that because the fibre runs all the way to your premises, speeds are unaffected by distance from the exchange, so a unit at the end of an industrial estate can get the same tier as one next to the cabinet.
• Much more upload. Cloud backups, sending large files, video meetings, CCTV that you view remotely and hosted phone calls all send data out. Full Fibre 500 and 900 carry several times the upload of Standard Fibre 76.
• More people at once. Higher tiers leave headroom for staff, guest Wi-Fi and devices to work at the same time without everyone slowing down.
• No phone line to pay for or maintain. Full Fibre is a broadband-only connection. Calls move to a digital line or a cloud phone system.
• It is ready for the digital switchover. The UK's analogue phone network closes on 31 January 2027, and Full Fibre does not depend on it.

If your address has Full Fibre available, it is usually the access type to choose, even at the lower tiers, because moving up a tier later does not need a different type of connection. Our upgrade guide covers moving an existing BT line to Full Fibre.

Which BT plans run on Full Fibre

Essential, Enhanced and Pro are available on every Full Fibre tier, and on Full Fibre each of them comes with Smart Hub 3, BT's Wi-Fi 6 business hub. Ultra is available on Full Fibre 150, 300, 500 and 900.

On Ultra, the cellular backup is built into the Meraki appliance on Full Fibre 150 and 300, and comes as a separate Meraki MG cellular gateway on Full Fibre 500 and 900, according to BT's Ultra briefing. BT says static IP addresses are not supported on Ultra; see BT Ultra vs Pro for the trade-offs.

You can bundle a BT Digital Line with Essential, Enhanced or Pro on Full Fibre; see BT Business Broadband and Phone. Ultra is broadband only. The packages comparison shows all four plans together.

How Full Fibre is installed: 0, 1 and 2 stage

How long it takes to get Full Fibre depends on what is already in place. BT describes three types of install, and tells you which applies when the order is placed:

A few things are worth knowing before you order:

• Two-stage installs can take longer. If the work is complex, BT says it can be a few weeks before Openreach is in touch to arrange the visit to your premises, and road works need local authority permission under the Traffic Management Act, which can add delay.
• Excess construction charges are rare. BT says they apply only in exceptional circumstances, such as more external work than first estimated, and that you are told before work starts.
• Occasionally Full Fibre cannot be installed. BT says that, very rarely, Openreach may decide after its survey that a two-stage install is not feasible.
• You need permission to drill. BT says the install means drilling through the walls of your premises, and that listed buildings need Local Authority permission. If you rent, check with your landlord too.
• Someone needs to be on site. BT asks for you or someone in your business to be there to give the engineer access, and for a mobile number the engineer can use. It helps to agree in advance where the ONT and hub will go, near a power socket.

If you take Enhanced or Pro, BT says you get a 4G connection through Hybrid Backup before the fixed line is installed, which helps when you are moving in or starting up. Our installation guide covers engineer visits and self-installs in more detail, and moving premises explains how to time a move.

Full Fibre, phone calls and the switchover

Full Fibre carries no traditional phone line, so there is no dial tone on the ONT. To keep a business number on Full Fibre you have two BT routes:

• A BT Digital Line (Cloud Voice Express) bundled with your broadband, using an app on your mobile or a digital handset that plugs into the Smart Hub. See BT Cloud Voice Express.
• BT Cloud Voice, BT's hosted phone system for several users, with desk phones, apps and call routing. See BT Cloud Voice for business.

Before you move, list anything in the building that still relies on a phone line: intruder and fire alarms, card machines, lift phones, door entry, franking machines, fax and care pendants. BT says existing phone line extensions will not work with a digital line, and that in a power cut you will not be able to make calls on a digital network; BT says extra support may be available if you have no mobile phone or are worried about calling the emergency services. Our PSTN switch-off guide explains what to check, and cloudvoice.cloud covers alarms and special lines in detail.

When Full Fibre broadband is not enough

Full Fibre broadband gives more download than upload, and it is backed by BT's broadband fault-fix targets (Standard Care or Prompt Care). For most small and medium businesses that is the right balance. It starts to fall short when:

• Upload matters as much as download, for example constant cloud replication or large outbound media files
• A slowdown at busy times would cost real money
• You need a leased-line service level for the connection, rather than broadband fault-fix targets
• Several sites or a large team depend on one connection

BT Ultra Broadband adds managed security and backup on Full Fibre. The next step after that is a leased line, a dedicated connection with the same speed in both directions. Our guide on when to upgrade from broadband to a leased line explains the signs, and leased-lines.uk compares a leased line with FTTP in detail.

How we help you get Full Fibre

We can:

1. Check your address for Full Fibre, the tiers on offer and whether the install is likely to be 0, 1 or 2 stage.
2. Recommend a tier and plan based on how many people you have, what you upload and how much downtime you can tolerate.
3. Quote it, with the speed estimate, BT's minimum guaranteed speed and any installation charges confirmed before you commit.
4. Place the order and pass on BT's dates, engineer visits and what to prepare.
5. Plan your calls if you are leaving a phone line behind, with a Digital Line or BT Cloud Voice.

Prices depend on the tier, plan, contract length and add-ons, so ask us for a quote. Contact us and we can check Full Fibre at your address.