Types of Connections -

The Basics

Keep in mind that traditional Cooper Wire Connections are being completely phased out by 2027 - Therefore the right internet connection for a business is imperative. Fibre is not fullt accessible everywhere yet - but there are in-between alternatives that can still be offered:

SoGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access) - Low End option, still uses Copper and being phased out by full fibre in future. Do not discount SoGEA in places where full fibre is unavailable. Does NOT need a separate phone line.

FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) - Similar to SoGEA, however FTTC needs a separate phone line to operate. FTTC tends to be more reliable than SoGEA, but not always available.

FTTP (Fibre to the Premesis) - Direct Fibre from the exchange to your property. Most preffered option by small businesses without the cost of a Leased Line

Leased Line - A leased line is a private internet connection delivered directly to the premises for the exclusive use only. Imperative for businesses that need a 247 operational internet connection with 99% up time. Does not share bandwith with other users.

MPLS - (Multiprotocal Label Switching) - We never sell but to be made aware of. This is for giant companies only - It encompasses multiple lines together and costs tens of thousands to install. Should a client of this size ever be encountered - Please refer back to Sean Watson or Jen Goodman

High End - More Expensive Option - Leased Line

 

 This differs from standard broadband connections such as FFTP - FTTP broadband connections share bandwidth between multiple users. 

 

Think of the internet as a motorway – everyone needs to use it at some point to get from A to B, right? If you drive on the motorway, sometimes there can be traffic jams, where multiple users are using the road at the same time. In this analogy the traffic jam is known as contention. If standard broadband is the public highway, a leased line is a private toll road. It provides guaranteed speeds because there is no other traffic, or in networking speak, it is uncontended.

For example, think about what happens at home when your neighbours are all online at the same time, your internet connection may slow down meaning downloads buffer and whilst it impacts upon your time, there is little to no monetary impact. However, when businesses suffer from a connection that is on the go-slow the knock-on effects are more problematic and, in many cases, costly through impact to team efficiencies, customer service etc. 

This is exactly the kind of issue a leased line is designed to sidestep. By running a direct, dedicated, uncontended private line from your internet service provider (ISP) to your business premises, you get guaranteed bandwidth, guaranteed speeds and exclusive use of the connection, all assured by clear SLAs.

Another feature of a leased line is that it shares bandwidth equally between uploads and downloads, meaning you get consistent speeds across both. This is known as a symmetrical or synchronous connection. This is not what you get with standard broadband – the internet connection you get in your home is asymmetrical, meaning it allocates more bandwidth to downloads than to uploads, as generally we spend more of our time downloading e.g. films and music rather than uploading .e.g photos to the cloud.

So whilst asymmetric broadband is great for streaming films and music, which rely on high download capacity, this is not really where your time is spent as a business, and this isn’t what you need when you’re trying to broadcast a webinar presentation which is utilising the upload functionality. Indeed, any cloud-based productivity platform or business software depends on users being able to upload data as they work, as much as it does on downloading data, which is where leased lines provide the required balance.

 

 

Fibre to the Premesis (FTTP)

 

 

SO

Fibre Part Way to the Cabinet, and then cabinnet to end user is still Copper