“Fibre broadband” has been advertised in the UK for so long, and so loosely, that the word has almost stopped meaning anything. Let us fix that first.
The three things people call fibre
FTTC (fibre to the cabinet). Fibre runs to the green cabinet at the end of the road; copper covers the last stretch to your building. This is what most “fibre broadband” adverts have historically meant. Your speed depends heavily on how far you are from that cabinet, and the upload speed is usually poor.
FTTP / full fibre (fibre to the premises). Fibre runs all the way into your building. No copper, no distance penalty, and — crucially for business — upload speeds that are far closer to your download speeds.
Leased line. A dedicated connection that is not shared with anyone else, with a guaranteed speed and a contractual fix time if it breaks. More expensive, and the right answer when downtime genuinely costs you money.
Why upload speed matters more than you think
Every cloud backup, every Teams call, every large file you send to a client, every CCTV feed you view remotely — all of that is upload. A connection advertised at “superfast” download speeds with a feeble upload will feel slow in exactly the ways a business notices. This is the single most common cause of a business connection that looks fine on paper and is infuriating in practice.
What is available around here?
Full fibre rollout across Bath, Bristol and the surrounding towns has moved quickly, and CityFibre’s network in particular now reaches a great many business premises that could not get it two or three years ago. Coverage is genuinely street-by-street, though — two units on the same industrial estate can have entirely different options.
We are partners with both Vodafone and CityFibre, so we can check what is actually available at your postcode rather than what a national coverage map claims. That check is free and takes a few minutes.
Do this before you switch your phones
If you are planning to move to VoIP ahead of the PSTN switch-off, get the connection sorted first. Voice over a marginal connection is a miserable experience, and it will be blamed on the phone system rather than the broadband.
More on our connectivity and full fibre page.
Check what is available at your postcode
We are Vodafone and CityFibre partners. Give us your address and we will tell you what you can actually get — not what a coverage map claims.
Or call us on 01761 347198. We are a local team — you will speak to a person, not a queue.