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FTTP, FTTC and SoGEA Explained for Business

What each access type means for speed, install lead times, and how SoGEA pairs with cloud VoIP after the PSTN switch-off.

Leased Line vs FTTP — When to Upgrade

Symmetric throughput, SLA penalties, diversity routes, and cost bands where dedicated fibre beats contended consumer-grade.

Static IP Addresses for Business Broadband

Remote access, CCTV, VPN endpoints, rDNS and why CGNAT breaks some legacy apps — IPv4 scarcity in plain English.

IPv6 for Business — Do You Need It Yet

Dual-stack, provider support, firewall habits, and when sticking to IPv4 + static is still fine for typical SMEs.

New Premises — Lead Times, Wayleaves and Cabling

Ordering circuits before fit-out, Openreach surveys, landlord permissions, and contingency when your go-live date slips.

Business Broadband SLAs and Fix Times

Target repair windows, service credits, exclusions (“beyond reasonable control”), and how to read the small print before you sign.

Contention Ratios and “Unlimited” Fair Use

Why peak-hour slowdowns happen, traffic management statements, and questions to ask if you run real-time voice or video.

Broadband and VoIP Contract Renewal Playbook

Diary checkpoints, overlap strategies, MAC/STAC parallels for data, and avoiding auto-renew traps on old WLR bundles.

VoIP vs Traditional Lines — PSTN Switch-Off

What disappears in 2025, lift alarms, payment terminals on analogue, and migration paths that don’t strand critical kit.

SIP Trunks Explained for SMEs

Channels vs concurrent calls, codec choices, emergency calling obligations, and how SIP fits your existing PBX or hosted platform.

Cloud PBX vs On-Premises PBX

Capex vs opex, survivability when the internet drops, integrations with Teams or CRM, and who owns number portability.

Number Porting to VoIP — What to Expect

Lead times, reject reasons, temporary number forwarding, and cutover-night runbooks so you don’t lose inbound sales calls.

WLR Switch-Off and All-IP in Plain English

How copper withdrawal affects multi-line DDI blocks, alarms, and fax — and why SoGEA + VoIP is now the default rebuild.

Download vs Upload — What Your Business Actually Needs

Cloud backups, video calls, EPOS off-site sync, and why asymmetric FTTP can still pinch upload-heavy workflows.

Latency, Jitter and Voice or Video Quality

MOS scores without the jargon, bufferbloat on cheap routers, and why “fast Wi-Fi” doesn’t fix bad last-mile routing.

QoS and Running Voice on Shared Broadband

VLANs, DSCP marking, router limits on cheap CPE, and when you must separate voice onto its own access or VLAN.

VPNs and Remote Workers on Business Broadband

Split tunnelling, split DNS, always-on policies, and throughput math so homeworkers don’t saturate the office uplink.

4G/5G Backup and Failover for Business Internet

Dual-SIM CPE, IP stickiness, data caps, and designing automatic failover that keeps card payments and VoIP alive.

SD-WAN for Multi-Site SMEs in Plain English

When MPLS still appears, active/active circuits, centralised firewall policy, and realistic budgets below enterprise scale.

Guest Wi-Fi vs Staff Wi-Fi — Best Practice

Captive portals, isolation, bandwidth fairness, and separating POS devices from visitor smartphones on the same circuit.

About SwitcherMate Business

We help UK SMEs compare business broadband, fibre and VoIP with independent, practical advice. SwitcherMate Business is registered with the Energy Ombudsman (ADR No. C35SWIT30) and Companies House (No. 16568958).

These guides focus on decisions finance and operations teams face every week — SLAs, voice quality, migration risk and failover — not supplier marketing claims. Verify technical details against your quotes and engineer surveys.

Registered address: 8a Whalley Road, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 1AA · ICO: ZC080646