FTTP Checker: Can Your Business Get Full Fibre?

Nathan Hill-Haimes, Technical Director 6 min read · Mar 2026

Full fibre — FTTP, fibre to the premises — is reaching more UK businesses every quarter, but coverage is still uneven street by street. Whether you can order it depends on your exact address and on which network you check. A proper availability check across every operator is the first step in any sensible connectivity decision, whether you end up on business broadband or move up to a business leased line.

What Is FTTP and Why Does It Matter for Business?

FTTP runs fibre optic cable the whole way from the exchange to your building, with no copper in the final stretch. That removes the distance-related slowdown that limits FTTC (fibre to the cabinet), where the last leg is copper and speed falls the further you sit from the cabinet.

The payoff is consistent speed regardless of distance from the exchange. Business FTTP products usually start at 150Mbps and run to 1Gbps or more, with upload speeds far closer to download than anything copper can manage. For cloud apps, Microsoft 365, VoIP and backups, that upstream capacity is often the deciding factor.

Which Networks Provide FTTP in the UK?

The UK has several independent FTTP networks, and checking only one gives a misleading picture. A "not available" result on one operator's checker says nothing about the others — coverage differs address by address because each network builds its own infrastructure on its own schedule.

Openreach is the largest infrastructure provider and reaches businesses through dozens of ISPs. CityFibre is the largest independent full fibre network. Virgin Media Business runs a separate cable network that hits gigabit speeds in many urban areas. The smaller altnets matter too — in their build areas they often deliver before anyone else.

How Do I Check FTTP Availability at My Business Address?

Run your full postcode and building number — not just the postcode — through each network's checker, because availability is decided at the individual premises. Below are the main checkers and what each one does and does not show.

Openreach (via BT Business)

BT's business availability checker shows whether Openreach has deployed FTTP to your address. It separates "available now", "coming soon" and "not yet planned". It only reports Openreach — it is blind to CityFibre, Virgin and the altnets.

CityFibre

CityFibre's coverage checker takes a postcode-level search. In any town where CityFibre has built, run this alongside the Openreach check — the two are entirely separate networks and coverage rarely matches.

Virgin Media Business

Virgin's availability is checked through their own site. In some areas Virgin uses HFC (hybrid fibre coaxial) rather than pure fibre to the premises, though performance is comparable to FTTP in most business cases.

Multi-Network Check

AMVIA checks every major UK network — Openreach, CityFibre, Virgin Media Business and the relevant altnets — in a single search and returns one consolidated view for your exact address. That removes the guesswork of running four or five separate websites and comparing inconsistent results.

What Do the FTTP Checker Results Mean?

Most checkers return one of three states. Read them carefully, because the wording hides important nuance about timing and which network the answer actually covers.

• Available now — infrastructure is built to or past your premises. You can order today.
• Coming soon / planned — the operator has committed to build but has not finished. Treat any date as indicative; these timelines move.
• Not available — that operator has not reached you. It says nothing about the other networks, so always check the alternatives before concluding you cannot get full fibre.

Project Gigabit, the UK government's subsidised rollout programme, is extending gigabit-capable coverage into harder-to-reach areas, so a "not available" today is worth re-checking. You can track national progress through the Project Gigabit guidance on gov.uk and the headline coverage figures in Ofcom's Connected Nations reports.

How Much Does Business FTTP Cost?

Business FTTP starts from £35 per month depending on speed tier and provider. Entry-level 150Mbps connections sit at the lower end; symmetric or gigabit tiers cost more. Prices vary by network and ISP, and business packages add SLAs and support that consumer deals lack.

Coverage context: Openreach reported an FTTP footprint of 19.7 million premises in Q3 2025, covering 58.7% of all UK premises (ISPreview, citing Openreach, 2025 UK data). That is most of the country, but it confirms that a large minority of addresses still have no Openreach full fibre — which is exactly why a multi-network check matters.

What If FTTP Is Not Available at My Address?

If no network shows FTTP at your premises, you still have routes to faster, more reliable connectivity. The right one depends on how much bandwidth you need, how critical uptime is, and your budget for a guaranteed service.

• Bonded FTTC — combine two FTTC lines for more bandwidth and basic resilience.
• FTTP on demand — pay Openreach to extend full fibre to your building; possible but expensive.
• A leased line — a dedicated fibre circuit with guaranteed, symmetric bandwidth and a strong SLA. See how an FTTP leased line compares.
• Fixed wireless or satellite — for remote sites where fixed infrastructure is not viable.

For business-critical sites, pair your primary circuit with backup connectivity so a single fault never takes you offline. Demand for this is real: roughly one in five (20%) UK businesses report internet speeds that fall short of what they need (Uswitch business broadband research, via TechUK).