UK business broadband in 2026 looks very different from the picture five years ago. Openreach's full-fibre rollout has passed the 19 million premises mark (Ofcom Connected Nations 2024) on its way toward the 25 million target, the altnets have built out substantial coverage in cities and towns, the legacy FTTC copper estate is being gradually deprecated, and the PSTN switch-off in January 2027 is reshaping how voice and data are bundled together. For an SMB making a broadband decision in 2026, the choice is no longer "what speed do I want?" but "what underlying technology, with what SLA, on what contract?"
This guide explains the three main UK business broadband technologies in 2026 — SoGEA, FTTP and leased lines — what they actually do, how they are priced, where each fits, and how to think about resilience. To put quote requests across the main suppliers, Compare The Networks maintains a live comparison of UK business broadband deals.
The technology stack, in plain terms
UK fixed-line broadband sits on a small number of underlying access technologies, each with its own performance profile and supplier landscape.
Legacy: ADSL2+ and FTTC
ADSL2+ delivers up to about 24 Mbps down over an end-to-end copper line from the exchange. It still exists in pockets of the UK in 2026 but is being decommissioned alongside the PSTN and is not a sensible choice for new business installations.
FTTC ("fibre to the cabinet") runs fibre from the exchange to a street cabinet and copper from the cabinet to the premises, delivering up to about 80 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up depending on the copper run. As an active product for new orders, FTTC has been progressively replaced by SoGEA on the same physical infrastructure, since the analogue voice line is no longer needed.
SoGEA
SoGEA — Single Order Generic Ethernet Access — uses the same FTTC infrastructure (fibre to the cabinet, copper to the premises) but ships without a telephone line on top. Headline speeds are similar to FTTC (up to ~80 Mbps down, ~20 Mbps up), but the order is simpler, there is no analogue line to support, and it slots cleanly into a hosted-VoIP world. SoGEA is the practical "default" for UK premises where FTTP is not yet available, and the technology of choice for the run-up to and aftermath of the 2027 PSTN switch-off.
Practical use cases for SoGEA in 2026:
- Branch offices in areas without FTTP availability yet.
- Small SMB sites (1–10 users) where 80/20 Mbps is comfortably enough.
- Temporary sites where a leased line install lead time is not acceptable.
- Sites waiting in the Openreach FTTP build queue, with a plan to upgrade later.
FTTP
FTTP — Fibre to the Premises, sometimes called "full fibre" — runs fibre directly into the building. It is the dominant technology for new UK business broadband installs in 2026, both via Openreach and via the various altnets.
Typical FTTP business products in the UK 2026:
- 100/100 Mbps to 300/300 Mbps for small SMBs (£35–£60 per month).
- 500/500 Mbps to 900/110 Mbps for larger sites (£50–£100 per month).
- 1 Gbps symmetric on premium business FTTP variants (£80–£150 per month).
FTTP business products commonly include a static IPv4, enhanced care, business-grade router and a meaningful (though not leased-line-grade) SLA. Upload speeds are the standout improvement over SoGEA — symmetric uploads transform the experience for cloud backup, hosted VoIP, video, CCTV upload and remote desktop.
Leased lines (Ethernet)
A leased line is a dedicated, symmetric Ethernet circuit between your premises and the supplier's network — no contention with other customers, guaranteed bandwidth, strong SLA. Headline speeds run from 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps; for most SMBs the practical range is 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps. Pricing starts around £200–£300 per month for a 100/100 Mbps Ethernet over FTTP (EoFTTP) circuit and rises with bandwidth, distance from the nearest fibre node, and contract length. A 1 Gbps fibre Ethernet circuit lands in the £400–£900 per month range in 2026; larger circuits or particularly remote sites can be materially more.
For a full comparison of where each technology fits, see our dedicated guide on leased lines vs FTTP.
Openreach FTTP rollout
Openreach is the wholesale fibre infrastructure operator that builds and operates the largest fibre network in the UK. Its FTTP coverage as reported in Ofcom's Connected Nations 2024 report stands at over 19 million premises, with Openreach publicly targeting around 25 million premises by 2026 and a long-term ambition of 30 million (Openreach build update).
For SMBs, two practical implications:
- If your postcode does not have Openreach FTTP yet, it may well be in the build plan. Openreach publishes a regularly updated "build in progress" lookup, and any decent UK business broadband supplier will tell you whether your site is in a build queue and when the rough completion date is.
- Where Openreach is not building, an altnet may be. Hyperoptic, CityFibre, Community Fibre, Gigaclear and dozens of regional altnets have built their own fibre to millions of UK premises, often in city-centre flats and converted commercial buildings where Openreach has been slower.
Altnet broadband
UK altnets in 2026 collectively serve several million premises, with CityFibre's wholesale platform underpinning a significant share. The altnet picture matters for two reasons:
- In the right postcode, altnet FTTP can be cheaper, faster to install or more competitive on terms than Openreach-delivered FTTP.
- Altnets are competing for business customers as well as residential. CityFibre in particular has a substantial business wholesale offer routed through resellers like Vodafone Business, TalkTalk Business and Daisy.
Practical considerations when an altnet is an option:
- Resilience. A site with only altnet fibre is dependent on that altnet's network. Many SMBs prefer Openreach + altnet diversity for redundancy, or Openreach + 4G/5G failover.
- Long-term ownership. Several altnets are owned by financial investors and have been the subject of acquisition speculation in 2024–2025; this is not a reason to avoid them, but it is a reason to read the contract carefully.
- Coverage edges. Altnet fibre often stops at specific streets within a postcode. Verify the actual address, not the postcode-level "available".
UK pricing brackets in 2026
Indicative monthly pricing on 24- to 36-month UK business contracts, not guaranteed prices:
| Product | Speed | Typical UK monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| SoGEA | Up to 80/20 Mbps | £25–£40 |
| FTTP small | 100/100 to 300/300 Mbps | £35–£60 |
| FTTP large | 500/500 to 900/110 Mbps | £50–£100 |
| FTTP gigabit | 1 Gbps symmetric | £80–£150 |
| Leased line | 100/100 Mbps | £200–£400 |
| Leased line | 500/500 Mbps | £350–£700 |
| Leased line | 1 Gbps symmetric | £400–£900 |
What pushes the headline number up:
- Static IP ranges (rather than a single IP).
- Enhanced care levels (24-hour vs 8-hour vs 4-hour fix targets).
- Managed router with vendor support (e.g. Cisco Meraki, Fortinet) versus customer-provided router.
- Specific contract terms (12-month) versus 36-month.
- Distance from the nearest fibre Point of Presence (for leased lines).
SLAs — and why SoGEA SLAs are weaker than leased line
The Service Level Agreement is one of the most misunderstood parts of a UK business broadband quote. The shorthand to remember:
- SoGEA / FTTP business — typical SLA is "fix by next working day" or 24-hour fix targets, sometimes 8-hour fix on premium variants. Service credits, where they exist, are usually a percentage of monthly rental, not headline compensation.
- Leased line — typical SLA is 4–6 hour fix, with per-minute or per-hour service credits accruing if the supplier misses. Some carriers offer 99.99% availability commitments.
- All SLAs apply to the supplier's network and access. Your router, switches, in-building cabling, Wi-Fi and PCs are outside the supplier's responsibility unless explicitly contracted with managed services.
For a site where a four-hour outage is a major business problem (live call centre, e-commerce site hosted on premise, regulated workflows that must keep running), the leased-line SLA is what you are actually buying — not just the bandwidth.
When is a leased line genuinely needed?
The honest answer is: less often than suppliers selling leased lines will tell you. For most UK SMBs in 2026, FTTP business + a 4G/5G backup is a better-value resilience pattern than a single leased line.
A leased line earns its premium when:
- Concurrent voice load is high. A 60-seat call centre on hosted VoIP with peak loads of 50 concurrent calls genuinely benefits from a guaranteed symmetric circuit.
- You have on-premise services that must be reachable from outside. Servers hosting client-facing apps, large file transfer, video production pipelines.
- The site is business-critical and cannot tolerate FTTP's softer SLA. Financial-services back office, healthcare, certain regulated environments.
- Two diverse leased lines from different carriers via different physical routes is the resilience pattern of choice — at materially higher cost than FTTP + 4G/5G.
See leased lines vs FTTP for the detailed decision framework.
Resilience — the FTTP + 4G/5G pattern
For SMBs whose broadband matters but who are not at leased-line scale, a common 2026 pattern is:
- Primary: FTTP business circuit, 300–500 Mbps symmetric.
- Backup: A 4G or 5G mobile router with a separate SIM, configured for automatic failover on the LAN side.
- Failover routing: Hosted VoIP automatically diverts inbound calls to nominated mobiles during an outage; cloud applications continue over the backup link.
This costs roughly £50–£100 per month in total (FTTP + a £15–£30 4G/5G data SIM) and covers the bulk of outage scenarios — Openreach network problem, local cabling fault, accidental physical damage to the building fibre. The main scenario it does not cover is a wide-area outage of the underlying mobile network in the same area as the fibre fault, which is rare but does happen.
For mobile data backup, your UK business mobile network on a separate carrier from your fixed broadband supplier is the cleanest diversity story — Openreach FTTP with an O2 or Three 4G/5G backup, for example.
What to look for in a UK business broadband quote
The comparison-shopping checklist:
- Underlying technology. SoGEA, FTTP, leased line — confirm in writing, not just the marketing name.
- Headline speed and what is guaranteed vs "up to". FTTP business is usually solidly close to headline; SoGEA varies with line length; leased line is committed.
- Symmetric vs asymmetric. FTTP business is mostly symmetric or near-symmetric in 2026; confirm explicitly.
- Static IP. Included? How many? IPv6 supported?
- Router. Provided, managed, customer-provided. Quality of the router matters more than people expect.
- Installation lead time. SoGEA 5–15 working days; FTTP 10–25 working days; leased line 30–90+ working days depending on civils.
- Contract length and exit terms. 24 and 36 months standard; some suppliers offer 12-month on premium pricing.
- SLA — fix time and service credits. Read the actual SLA wording, not the marketing summary.
- Voice bundling. Many UK business broadband contracts now bundle hosted VoIP. If you already have VoIP, do not pay for it twice.
- Migration support. Especially if you are migrating from a legacy line with phones still on PSTN/ISDN.
Compare quotes across the UK business broadband supplier panel at comparethenetworks.com.