What’s the difference between FTTC and FTTP fibre broadband?
TL;DR
- Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) has fibre optic cables to the street cabinet, then copper wires to your home
- Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) has fibre optic cables all the way from your ISP to your home, providing faster speeds
Shopping around for a new broadband deal can be overwhelming – and that’s before providers start throwing out unnecessary jargon like FTTC and FTTP.
Luckily, we’re here to set the record straight – and let you know why some providers’ fibre broadband might not be exactly what it seems.
Because there are two distinct types of fibre internet connection. And they provide vastly different speeds…
FTTC: Fibre That Gets Close(ish)
Imagine a relay race. FTTC, or Fibre to the Cabinet, is like that mate who starts strong but gets a bit winded halfway.
Data races from the ISP via fibre optic cables to a cabinet near your house. Here’s the twist, though: the last leg is done by old-timey copper wires.
Yes, it’s faster than standard broadband, but it’s nowhere near the speed you might expect from a fibre connection.
FTTP: Full Fibre, Baby!
Fibre to the Premises – or FTTP to those in the know – is that relay race champion that leaves the competition in the dust.
Here the entire course is fibre optic – running all the way from your ISP straight to your home.
That means ridiculously fast speeds. Downloading a movie in moments? Uploading that hilarious video of your cat falling off a sofa in a flash? FTTP laughs in the face of buffering and lag.
Plus, fibre optic cables aren’t affected by distance or the weather, making your connection super reliable.
What kind of fibre broadband do I need?
Here at BrawBand, we only believe in FTTP broadband. Why settle for second best, when you can get ultrafast speeds for the same price? (Or in some cases, even cheaper!)
But if you’re still unsure which way to go, here’s a handy wee breakdown of the different kinds of internet connection available in the UK…
| ADSL (Traditional Broadband) | FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) | FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) | |
| Cable type | Copper wires all the way | Fibre optic cable to cabinet, copper wires to your home | Fibre optic cable all the way |
| Speeds**Uswitch, April 2024 | Up to 11Mbps | Up to 80Mbps | Up to 1000Mbps+ |
| Reliability | Poor reliability, affected by weather, cable quality and distance | Less reliable, can be affected by copper cable quality and distance | More reliable, not affected by distance or weather |
| Availability | Available almost everywhere | Widely available | Increasing coverage across the UK every day |
When you look at it like that, there’s only one clear winner in the relay race to get you online. So all that’s left to be said is…
Ready? Set? BrawBand!
