Choosing the right connectivity is a risk decision: performance, resilience, and total cost over the life of your contracts. In the UK, full‑fibre (FTTP) coverage and gigabit availability continue to grow, but availability and service levels vary by location and by product tier—consumer FTTP, business FTTP, and dedicated leased lines. [ofcom.org.uk]
Snapshot: UK availability (why it matters for SMEs)
- Gigabit‑capable networks are available to ~87% of UK residential premises (July 2025). Full fibre covers ~78% of premises; similar levels are reported for SMEs nationwide. These figures impact how fast (and how cheaply) you can get high‑capacity circuits. [ofcom.org.uk]
- Ofcom’s Spring 2025 update showed gigabit coverage rising to 86% of homes and full fibre to 74%, reflecting rapid expansion mid‑year. Coverage for all properties (residential + business) stood at 84% then. [ofcom.org.uk]
FTTP vs leased line: clear differences (vendor‑neutral)
FTTP (full‑fibre to the premises)
- Shared/contended access to the local network; speeds are high but can vary by time of day and ISP backhaul. (Product specifics differ.)
- Asymmetric upload on many retail packages; business FTTP tiers may improve upstream but still share backhaul.
- Lower cost, shorter lead‑times, widely available given Ofcom’s rollout figures above. [ofcom.org.uk], [ofcom.org.uk]
Leased line (dedicated circuit)
- Dedicated, symmetric bandwidth end‑to‑end with engineered SLA commitments (availability/fix times) and QoS options—suited to latency‑sensitive workloads, upstream‑heavy traffic, and multi‑site links. (Exact metrics vary by provider; check contract SLAs.)
- Higher cost and longer provisioning, but predictable performance for voice, video, and steady cloud traffic.
- Ofcom emphasises resilience and security expectations on communications networks, with providers expected to consider robust architecture and operational measures; dedicated services are typically packaged to meet these expectations more tightly than consumer FTTP.
What SLAs mean in practice (and the rights you have)
- Ofcom’s codes of practice on broadband speeds—updated in 2022—require clearer speed information and processes to resolve speed‑related problems; they also set expectations for leaving a contract early if speeds fall below agreed thresholds (for signatory providers). [ofcom.org.uk]
- The Business Broadband Speeds Code (voluntary) exists to give minimum guaranteed speed information and exit rights for business customers when providers are signatories; you should verify whether your chosen ISP is a signatory and how the code applies to your specific product. [ofcom.org.uk]
What to look for in an SLA (plain English):
- Availability and fault repair targets (e.g., “fix within 8 hours”): the contract defines credits if missed—compare tiers.
- Performance measures: latency/jitter/packet loss for leased lines; throughput for FTTP.
- Maintenance windows and notification commitments (planned works).
- Service credits: capped and not equivalent to business loss; treat as incentives, not insurance. (Industry guidance explains typical SLA components for SMEs.) [smartsmsso…utions.com]
4G/5G backup: practical failover patterns
- Mobile coverage is broad: good outdoor 4G reaches ~96% of UK landmass; 5G coverage continues to expand (methodology varies by confidence level). This makes 4G/5G failover viable for many SMEs as a secondary path during fixed outages. [ofcom.org.uk]
- Design tips:
- Use dual‑WAN routers with automated failover and policy‑based routing; keep VoIP and business‑critical SaaS on the mobile path during an outage.
- Configure traffic shaping to cap backups/sync jobs on the mobile link (protect voice/video).
- Validate carrier choice and signal at your site (and in rural areas, external antenna options).
- Document who triggers support and what to disable (e.g., large updates) during failover.
- Ofcom’s resilience guidance expects providers to consider architecture and operational measures to keep services reliable; SMEs should mirror this by planning failover and response in their own environment.
Cloud‑readiness checklist (to avoid latency/cost surprises)
Many SMEs aim to “go modern” but run into bottlenecks. Use this checklist before committing:
- Latency & jitter budgets
- Measure round‑trip to cloud regions you actually use; ensure uplink queueing is configured so voice/video and interactive apps stay responsive under load. (See QoS practices in our Wi‑Fi/VoIP guide.)
- Upstream capacity
- Inventory uploads: backups, collaboration tools, SSO/IDaaS traffic, remote desktop, and API calls. Leased lines provide symmetric bandwidth and predictable upstream; FTTP may be asymmetric and contended—test real‑world upstream before migrating batch jobs. [ofcom.org.uk]
- Failover to mobile
- Validate 4G/5G throughput at your location and set policy‑based failover; ensure cloud identity (e.g., SSO) works without source IP pinning. 4G/5G coverage breadth supports this approach nationwide. [ofcom.org.uk]
- Resilience expectations
- Align internal plans with Ofcom’s resilience guidance: define critical services, test responses, and design for failure—especially for connectivity to cloud.
- Cost control
- Be aware of contract lengths, SLA tiers, and rate cards for bandwidth upgrades; FTTP may have lower MRC but higher variability, leased lines higher MRC but fewer indirect costs (e.g., reduced downtime). Market snapshots show business spend is sensitive to outages and performance; compare total cost including productivity impact.
Decision framework (simple and honest)
- Choose FTTP if: availability is good, your workloads are mostly downstream (web/SaaS), you’ll add mobile failover, and your SLA needs are modest. (Lower cost, faster install.)
- Choose Leased line if: you need consistent upstream, low jitter for voice/video or DaaS, tight SLAs, and predictable multi‑site/cloud traffic. (Higher cost, but engineered performance.)
- In either case: adopt QoS, guest shaping, documentation, and a short response plan—your productivity depends on it. (UK guidance encourages preparedness and testing.)
What we deliver (engagement outline)
- A connectivity assessment for your address(es): current FTTP/gigabit availability, leased line options, and mobile signal baselines.
- A clear SLA comparison (availability, fix times, credits) and failover design (4G/5G + policies).
- A cloud‑readiness plan (latency/jitter targets, upstream needs, QoS, and light‑touch testing) to avoid surprises and control cost—neutral to vendors and carriers.
Plan your connectivity and failover with a neutral assessment
Consider also: Delegated IT leadership to implement findings