The BT Group has revealed that its Openreach network has seen its FTTP broadband coverage reach a new high of 9.57m UK homes and businesses. This now means that nearly 40% of premises can access FTTP broadband and the company is well on its way to hitting its goal of reaching 25m properties by 2026.
It's believed around 810,000 premises were added to the network in the last quarter, up from 805,000 in the quarter before that. Moreover, the BT Group claims it's now upgrading properties to FTTP connections at a rate of around 62,000 each week.
As a result of this, consumers could be set to benefit from a cost perspective, particularly if the rollout continues at the same pace. This is because the more these ultrafast connections become available to households, the more competitive and cheaper the markets may become as providers look to entice those looking for the best broadband deals.
What is FTTP broadband?
FTTP means 'fibre to the premises' and refers to the direct connection a property recieves from the nearest broadband exchange/cabinet.
Unlike an FTTC - or 'fibre to the cabinet' - connection, FTTP sees a fibre optic cable going straight into a home or business to deliver ultrafast broadband speeds that you can't get with the standard FTTC fibre connections. As such, you might hear FTTP being used to describe 'Full Fibre' or 'Ultrafast' broadband packages and deals from different providers.
As they can give speeds beyond 1Gbps, FTTP connections are said to be the most reliable and secure. This is because they can essentially provide nothing but uninterrupted, fast speeds for multiple users.
Why has the rollout picked up the pace?
Beyond simply providing a better service, there are many reasons why the FTTP rollout has so far been so fast.
A major one is that this is something that's being pushed by the government and the industry regulator Ofcom - one example being the £5bn Project Gigabit programme. Openreach is also directly involved with this, stating it's supporting the 'government's ambition of making gigabit broadband available to more than 85% of the country'.
On top of this, there are also other providers rolling out their own FTTP connections both on and off the Openreach network. Ofcom has even made it cheaper for smaller, alternative providers - or 'AltNets' - to facilitate this across the country. A couple of examples include the services of Hyperoptic and Gigaclear.
Can I get FTTP broadband?
As alluded to earlier, whether or not you can access the incredible speeds depends on the availability of full fibre in your area and whether or not your property has an FTTP connection.
The simplest thing to do is to enter your postcode into our broadband deals widget below, or scour our guide to latest fibre broadband deals, find an offer you like and check with the provider about your current eligibility.
You'll then be met with a three options. You'll might be able to sign up for the deal, or it might be that you need to wait for full fibre to reach your area, or you'll need an engineer to come and install a FTTP connection.
