What is FTTP?
Fibre to the Premises (FTTP, or FTTH - Fibre to the Home) is a broadband technology which can provide very fast internet speeds.
Fibre to the Premises means that the fibre broadband internet connection from the local exchange is connected to the router in your home, which is much faster than the old copper telephone line used by many other broadband services.
The result is you can enjoy very high speeds of 1Gbps (gigabits per second) or more. Though FTTP can also deliver lower speeds, which is useful if very fast fibre is beyond your budget, or not required, but might be something you'll use later.
Do you need FTTP?
If you're looking for a faster internet connection, you're probably best served by FTTP.
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For home
For typical domestic users, the heaviest usage is likely to come from streaming video, downloading files or playing games. But in many cases, we just want to enjoy a spot of web browsing, social media and email. If you fall into the latter category then you don't necessarily need FTTP. Instead, you can rely on a cheap ADSL connection.
But if you enjoy a nightly Netflix movie or box set, frequently download (or upload) data, or are a gamer, then slower ADSL is less suitable. For these activities, you're best off with FTTP, or an equivalent package from Virgin Media.
Another reason to get an FTTP fibre-optic broadband connection would be for handling the demands of a busy shared or family home. Even if you're mainly using the connection for web browsing, you could find it gets very slow when everyone is connected at once. Throw in some Netflix, Spotify, online gaming and downloading and only fibre will be able to keep up.
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For business
ADSL is almost certainly unsuitable for most business uses, save for perhaps a one-person home office.
Businesses may have to support multiple employees all connected at once, might need to operate servers, and could be frequently transferring very large amounts of data.
Depending on your commercial requirements you might be able to use an FTTC or Virgin Media HFC business broadband service, for which you'll find an extensive choice of very affordable business broadband deals. But businesses operating across multiple sites, requiring remote file access, video conferencing, and other online collaboration and training tools, will benefit from FTTP or specialist business broadband leased lines.
