When looking to upgrade to Fibre To The Premises, which you may know as fibre broadband or ultrafast broadband, you might have found that it isn’t yet available to your premises, although your neighbour (or in some cases, a business in the same office building) is able to get connected.

Access to full fibre broadband relies on having fibre cabling brought to your premises. Openreach – which has the largest broadband network in the UK – is in the process of laying new cables, aiming to reach 25 million homes and businesses by December 2026. This means that the availability of FTTP to your premises simply depends on whether or not Openreach have laid cables that can reach you yet.

In some areas, alternative networks (also known as Altnets) may also be digging up roads and laying fibre cabling, in a bid to gain customers where Openreach have not yet been able to lay their own cables. So how do these companies determine which properties can access FTTP, while others can’t?

Why can my neighbours get fibre broadband but I can’t?

As it requires complex engineering works, laying fibre cabling doesn’t happen overnight. There are many different factors that Openreach and Altnets will take into account when deciding where they will lay fibre next, including demand, support from local authorities, costs, and operational conditions.

In newbuild housing estates for example, Openreach offer free full fibre connectivity to developers when they register with them. Some rural areas may also be connected before town centres, too, as local authorities may have prioritised spending on fibre and reached deals to ensure their residents can benefit from ultrafast broadband.

How will I know when FTTP will be available?

In a lot of cases, you will be contacted when FTTP is available to your premises. Openreach, or Altnet providers, will lay fibre cables in your area, and will often notify you by letter when your premises is able to access FTTP. You can also check the availability of fibre through Openreach’s fibre checker.

If you prefer, you can call us and we will check on your behalf whether your business can access FTTP.

Can I get an estimate of when FTTP will be available to my premises?

Openreach don’t publish future plans for installing fibre in different areas. They have an interactive map that you can use to check the build plan in different exchanges, but it doesn’t include fixed dates, or details surrounding availability to specific addresses. Altnet providers will often let you register your interest online, which also helps them to gauge demand in local areas to see where they should build next.

What are my options if FTTP isn’t available to my premises yet?

If your business depends on fast, reliable connectivity, you could consider a fibre leased line.

Here’s an article we’ve written about your options when FTTP isn’t available to you.