What is SOGEA broadband?

SOGEA meaning: single order broadband

SOGEA stands for Single Order Generic Ethernet Access. The useful words are "single order": it is broadband ordered on its own, without a phone line underneath it.

Physically, it uses the same route as older fibre broadband. Fibre optic cable runs from the exchange to the green street cabinet, and an existing copper line carries the connection from the cabinet to your building. What has changed is the service on that copper. With traditional fibre broadband, also known as FTTC broadband, you rented a phone line and the broadband ran on top of it. With SOGEA, there is no phone service on the line at all, just broadband.

BT calls SOGEA Standard Fibre, and on its plan pages describes it as part fibre, because only part of the route is fibre. You may also see it written as SoGEA. It is not full fibre: for that, the fibre has to reach your premises, which is BT Business Full Fibre.

BT Standard Fibre 38 and 76 speeds

BT sells SOGEA for business in two tiers:

Because the last stretch is copper, the speed you get depends on how far your premises is from the cabinet and on the condition of the line. BT says that with part fibre, speeds may be reduced the further your premises is from the exchange. Two businesses on the same street can get noticeably different speeds.

That is why BT gives you an estimated speed range and a Minimum Guaranteed Access Line Speed before the service starts. If your speed is regularly at or below that minimum and BT cannot fix it, you can leave without charges under BT's terms. See BT's Minimum Speed Guarantee for the steps, and BT Business Broadband speeds for every tier across all access types.

Which BT plans run on SOGEA

All four BT Business Broadband plans are available on Standard Fibre, with Ultra on Standard Fibre 76 only. The equipment differs by plan:

The Pro point matters. BT introduced Smart Hub 3 on SOGEA through Pro, and Smart Hub 3 is needed for Wi-Fi Security Controls and Complete Wi-Fi Plus. If you are on Standard Fibre and Wi-Fi coverage or device control matters, Pro is the plan to look at. Our packages comparison puts them side by side.

No phone line: what happens to your calls

SOGEA has no dial tone. Plug an old phone into the wall socket and nothing happens. If you want a business number on SOGEA, BT gives you two routes:

• A BT Digital Line (Cloud Voice Express) bundled with Essential, Enhanced or Pro. You make calls on an app or a digital handset that plugs into the Smart Hub. See BT Business Broadband and Phone.
• BT Cloud Voice, a hosted phone system for teams, with desk phones and apps. See BT Cloud Voice for business.

Ultra is broadband only, so voice is arranged separately. Before you move to SOGEA, check anything that still uses the phone line: alarms, card machines, lift phones, door entry, franking, fax and care pendants. BT says existing phone line extensions will not work with a digital line, and that you will not be able to make calls on a digital network in a power cut. Our PSTN switch-off guide has the checklist, and cloudvoice.cloud covers card terminals and alarms and special lines.

If you only need broadband, SOGEA is simpler: one connection, one order, and no line rental for a phone you do not use. See BT Business Broadband only.

SOGEA and the PSTN switch-off

The UK's analogue phone network (the PSTN) closes on 31 January 2027, and BT no longer sells traditional phone lines. SOGEA is how part-fibre broadband carries on without the phone line it used to sit on. If your business has FTTC broadband on an old phone line today, it will need to move to SOGEA or Full Fibre.

Moving from FTTC to SOGEA normally reuses the copper line already in the building, so it is usually a change of service rather than new cabling. What happens to your existing number, and whether there is a short break in service during the change, is confirmed when the order is placed. On BT Ultra, BT notes that when a line is converted to SOGEA, the existing service may be unavailable between the Openreach visit and the BT Expert Setup visit, typically about two days later, although you can self-install the equipment in the meantime; see Ultra installation.

For the dates and what is affected across your business, cloudvoice.cloud has a full PSTN switch-off guide.

Is SOGEA good enough for calls and cloud apps?

For many small businesses, yes. Standard Fibre 76 handles email, web browsing, cloud accounting and office apps, card payments and a few video calls comfortably. The limit to watch is upload, at up to 19Mbps on Standard Fibre 76 and less on Standard Fibre 38.

Upload is shared by everything that sends data out at the same time: video meetings, files saved to cloud storage, backups, cameras viewed remotely and internet phone calls. A busy office can fill it before it fills the download. If calls break up when someone uploads a large file, that is usually the cause.

Ways to get more from a SOGEA line:

• Schedule big uploads. Run cloud backups and large file syncs outside working hours.
• Wire the phones and busiest desks. Wired connections are steadier than Wi-Fi for calls and video.
• Add backup. Hybrid Backup on Enhanced and Pro switches to 4G if the line fails, which matters if your phones run over the broadband.
• Move to Full Fibre when you can. Higher Full Fibre tiers carry several times the upload.

Our broadband for VoIP guide covers what calls need from a connection, and cloudvoice.cloud sets out the connection requirements for BT Cloud Voice.

Checking SOGEA availability

BT says that in most areas you can get broadband without a phone line. SOGEA needs the street cabinet serving your premises to be enabled for fibre broadband, and what matters is the speed your particular line will support, which depends on its length and condition.

When we run a check, we can look at the exact address (and the existing phone number, if there is one) to find which access types are available, the Standard Fibre tier your line supports, BT's estimated speed range and the minimum speed BT will guarantee. If Full Fibre is also available, we show you both. See check BT Business Broadband availability for how the check works.

SOGEA or Full Fibre?

If your address can get Full Fibre, it is usually the better long-term choice: higher speeds, much more upload, and speeds that do not drop with distance from the cabinet. SOGEA is the right answer when:

• Full Fibre has not reached your premises yet
• Up to 76Mbps comfortably covers what you do today
• You want a quick move off an old phone line without new fibre work
• You are in premises short term and do not want a new install

You can move from Standard Fibre to Full Fibre later, when it arrives; see upgrade your BT Business Broadband. Our FTTC vs FTTP guide compares the technologies side by side.

How we help with SOGEA

We can check whether your address has Standard Fibre, Full Fibre or both, the speed BT estimates for your line and the minimum it guarantees. We can then recommend a plan, help you plan what happens to your phone number and any devices on the old line, and place the order.

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