By 2025, OpenReach aims to have completely stopped selling copper wires – with preparations already well underway to withdraw from supplying traditional copper broadband to many parts of the UK.
As a result, if they haven’t already, millions of companies are going to need to upgrade or switch their provider to a full fibre network.
Here, Oliver Rowe, founder and CEO of Fusion Communications, discusses the advantages of full fibre for small businesses and how it can benefit them during the cost-of-living crisis.
What is full fibre broadband?
“Put simply, full fibre, also known as Fibre to the Premises [FTTP] broadband, is the future of internet connectivity for businesses in the UK.
“The days of slow, out-dated copper cables that run from a main telephone exchange to a green cabinet in a street and then split into the buildings in that street are coming to an end.
“Full fibre delivers ultrafast broadband direct to a business’ premises, so it can connect to the internet without any lagging and video call without interruption, which is crucial in the current age of hybrid working.”
What are some of the ways it can benefit a business?
“Not only will a business’ connection be more reliable with full fibre, but it will be much faster than the internet speeds it got previously.
“Over 80% of businesses are now using the cloud in some form or another. Whether it be for online file sharing and collaboration, cloud-based data storage, software-as-a-service tools or for communication systems such as VoIP, the cloud is an important business tool and fast and consistent access to it is critical.
“The speed and capabilities of full fibre internet mean businesses can utilise these online services without connectivity issues and without draining their business’ bandwidth.
“Full fibre also offers security benefits. Cyber-crime and hacking are a risk for all modern businesses and, while media coverage of security breaches often focuses on high-profile, large organisations, businesses of all sizes can be and are attacked.
“While hackers can gain access to business cable internet relatively easily, full-fibre internet is impenetrable. Therefore, moving to full-fibre connectivity should be a no brainer for companies wanting to protect their data.”
How can full fibre broadband help a business’ productivity?
“There’s nothing worse for a business than wasted hours and low productivity, and it’s even more frustrating if they’re paying employees to wait for pages to load, emails with large attachments to send, or software updates to install because of a slow or low bandwidth connection.
“If you employ a team of people in your business, their time is your money, so it makes no sense to waste it. Full fibre broadband allows businesses to reduce or remove that wasted time. Even if they’re running multiple applications across multiple devices, FTTP can take the strain with no loss of performance.”
How can switching to full fibre enable companies to save money?
“For businesses with high data transmission, it’s relatively easy to reach your internet limits on standard internet connections, resulting in extra fees and, with the current cost of living crisis, businesses are going to want to avoid this more than ever.
“With full fibre, there are no data restrictions and there is full access to big bandwidths at no extra cost. No matter how high the demands are on the network, a business’ connectivity and costs both remain consistent and level.
“In addition, installation costs are often subsidised by the government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, allowing many suppliers to offer free installation costs and unlimited small business broadband packages starting at a relatively low rate.”
What type of full fibre connection should businesses opt for?
“When choosing a full fibre broadband connection, it’s important for businesses to be aware that they are not all created equal. There are two main types: Active Ethernet and Passive Ethernet [known as PON or Passive Optical Network].
“Internet Service Providers use Active Ethernet to connect businesses to the internet because these networks deliver a dedicated link to every individual customer, maximising throughput and providing a highly reliable, high-performance connection with no contention.
“In contrast, in a PON-based network, the fibre-optic beam from the cabinet is split between customers on a particular segment of the network, causing contention.
“While this might seem like a minor differentiation, if a business wants the best possible experience, Active Ethernet is superior. Its lower latency leads to a more responsive experience in existing and emerging bandwidth-intensive business applications.
“As the business has its own dedicated line, it can grow into its service over time, without being restricted by what other customers on the same service are doing.”