Leading London: a live panel discussion from London Tech Week

If you run a business in the UK, you’ve probably heard of 'fibre broadband'. But what does that mean – and are all fibre services the same?

The short answer: no.

Two companies might both be sold ‘fibre’ but get very different results. Speed, reliability, and consistency vary wildly depending on the underlying engineering.

Why? Because some connections still rely on outdated infrastructure. Others are shared with your neighbours, and often with residential customers too. Most don’t come with the guarantees modern businesses need.

Let’s break down the three most common types of connection you might be offered:  

• FTTC
• FTTP
• direct internet access (DIA)  

and why the difference between them matters.

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1) FTTC (fibre to the cabinet): fibre, kind of

FTTC runs fibre from your provider’s network to a street cabinet near you, then uses copper wires to reach your premises (while still selling you ‘fibre’).  

Copper = outdated. Which means slower speeds, interference, and fluctuating performance – especially if the cabinet’s a few blocks away or shared by lots of users. And those cabinets? They’re exposed to weather and vandalism, adding yet another layer of risk.

FTTC might work for casual browsing, but if your business depends on video calls, cloud platforms, or remote collaboration, expect slow uploads, dropped connections, and no guarantees when things go wrong.

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2) FTTP (fibre to the premises): better, but not ideal

Unlike FTTC, FTTP is a fibre connection that runs straight from the exchange to your building. With no copper cabling involved, it offers better speed and stability.

But here’s the catch: while this is often what internet service providers call ‘business broadband’, you still share your connection with up to 30 others. And while the average speed range is typically quoted as 150 to 900Mbps, the reality is, you often won't always experience those speeds, particularly during peak times because you share your bandwidth with others.

For micro businesses or early-stage start-ups, FTTP may provide a half workable solution, especially as a stepping stone. But be prepared for pixelated, laggy video calls or a long wait to download a pitch deck during busy times and sometimes, for no apparent reason at all.  

As we put it in our earlier blog comparing broadband to leased lines: ‘If it’s broadband, it’s shared’. FTTP is still broadband and not something that provides a genuine solution for reliable connectivity.

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What to be aware of if you are considering buying FTTP

FTTP can sound a lot like a high-end business service. It’s full fibre. It promises impressive speeds. And it often comes with confident-sounding terms like ‘uptime guarantee’ or ‘symmetrical speeds’. But these features deserve a closer look, because what they offer in theory isn’t always what they deliver in practice.  

Take ‘symmetrical speeds’. FTTP can technically offer equal upload and download speeds, but only if the network isn’t busy and your plan allows it. Most of the time, upload speeds drop off when everyone’s online.

Then there’s the ‘uptime guarantee’. Sounds great. But without automatic compensation for downtime or real SLAs, they're often just marketing phrases – not a sign of real accountability. Many providers only commit to a response or investigation window, rather than to actual fix times.

Other elements that sound impressive but don’t necessarily reflect business grade standards. Static IP addresses are promoted as a ‘business’ feature, but these are widely available as standard on home broadband. ‘Priority fault handling’ usually just means you’re ahead of domestic users - not first in line for a fix.

So, while FTTP is better than FTTC, it is still very much part of that ‘broadband’ family. It’s a strong consumer-grade product, but not a substitute for a business-grade connection.

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3) Direct internet access (DIA): fibre built for business

DIA, sometimes known as a ‘leased line’ or ‘dedicated internet’, is a full fibre connection exclusively allocated to a single business. Unlike FTTC or FTTP, it isn’t shared with neighbouring offices or homes, and it isn’t affected by the demands of other users on the network.

It’s your own, dedicated connection, built for performance, reliability, and security.

With DIA, you always get ‘actual’ symmetrical speeds, meaning your uploads are just as fast as your downloads. This makes a big difference for real-time communication, file transfers, and cloud tools. You also benefit from 1:1 contention, meaning your bandwidth is always your own and performance doesn’t drop at peak times - because there’s no one else on your line.

Most importantly, DIA comes with robust service-level agreements (SLAs). These go beyond vague promises, offering clear commitments on uptime guarantees, target fix times, and - with a good provider - automatic compensation if things go wrong.

It’s not just about speed; it’s about having trust in the service that underpins your operations.

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DIA is especially valuable in scenarios where reliability directly impacts productivity:

• Cloud-heavy workflows: platforms like Salesforce, Azure, AWS, or cloud CRMs need reliable 24/7 access. Outages or slow speeds mean lost hours and lost business.

• Creative and media teams: agencies and production houses transferring large design files or uploading media to the cloud need fast, stable upload speeds. DIA’s symmetrical performance makes that possible.

• Security-focused organisations: if your business runs VPNs, firewalls, or handles sensitive data, you need a connection that supports uptime and compliance without compromise.

• Hybrid/remote teams: distributed workforces need reliable video calls, collaboration tools, and seamless file sharing. DIA keeps everyone connected – consistently.  

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At a glance: FTTC, FTTP, and direct internet (DIA)

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The right fibre for the right job

FTTC, FTTP and DIA each have their place, but they’re not interchangeable. Unfortunately for many businesses, the differences become visible the moment the connection is put under pressure.

For businesses in this day and age, FTTP and FTTC are not fit for purpose. And being overly reliant on outdated infrastructure costs London businesses billions a year in outages.  

DIA (whether you call it a leased line or dedicated internet) is designed with business in mind. For teams working in the cloud, relying on uptime or collaborating in real time, it offers a level of confidence that shared broadband simply can’t match.

Choose with care. The best internet solution is the one that will support the way your business works not only now, but also as it grows.

If you want to find out if DIA is right for your business, get in touch with our team. We're always happy to chat through your options.

At May's biquarterly Women in Telecoms meetup, hosted at Vorboss HQ, women from across the industry came together to share experiences, reflect on progress, and explore what real inclusion looks like.

The session, led by Natalie Strange, MD of RPS Telecoms and Head of the Women in Telecoms group, included a panel discussion with our colleagues at Vorboss about their experiences in the industry, the steps we’re taking to make telecoms more inclusive, and what's next.

Here’s how the discussion went

Meet the panel

Jade, Team Lead Engineer
Joined Vorboss at 18 as an apprentice. Now leads on-site fibre installation teams across London.

Tamryn, People & Culture Manager
Originally joined as a Training Administrator. Now helps embed inclusive policies and support systems across the organisation.

Taylor, Head of Operations
Leads the teams that connect customers and deliver our service end-to-end.

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Q: What has your journey been like as a woman in telecoms?

Jade shared her positive experience:  

“It’s been amazing. I knew I didn’t want to go down the university route; I wanted to get stuck in and work. Vorboss trained me from the beginning, and now I lead my own team. I genuinely love what I do.”

Tamryn, who recently came back from maternity leave, shared:

“Coming back was a big worry for me – would I still fit in? Would I be supported? The answer’s been yes. We have a parent room, a fridge for milk, and my son’s even visited the office. My son’s even visited the office!”

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Q: What hiring barriers still exist in telecoms, and how are we addressing them?

Tamryn:  

“For engineering roles especially, we had to rethink the language we used. The old versions were unintentionally harsh and often male-coded. Once we made them clearer and more neutral, more women applied”

Some practical changes discussed included:

• Remove industry jargon from job descriptions

• Manually review CVs instead of relying on (often biased) AI-driven filtering

• Eliminate unnecessary degree requirements

• Run diverse interview panels

Q: How can companies like Vorboss foster more inclusive environments that attract, support, and retain women – from technical roles to leadership positions?

Tamryn:  

“We’ve made training fully in-house through the Vorboss Academy, so no previous experience is required. That’s opened doors to people who wouldn’t normally apply. We’ve also built internal career tracks, flexible policies, and training for inclusive management.”

Vorboss has launched these initiatives to retain talent and progress women into leadership roles:

• Internal secondments: opportunities to explore other career options internally.

• Training: manager training on inclusive team management plus annual DE&I and menopause awareness training for all staff.

• Flexibility: accommodating workforce needs, e.g. part-time contracts.

• Internal promotion: fostering internal growth means more women in senior roles, helping us retain talent.

• Listening and acting on feedback: from uniform design to policy, we want to ensure everyone feels seen.

Other policies include paid period days, free sanitary products, IVF and adoption leave, domestic abuse support, free breakfast and welfare vans.

Jade completed a secondment with our data centre team. Though she stayed in her role, she found the experience valuable:  

“It was such a good learning experience. It gave me more context and helped me feel more confident in my role.”

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Q: What barriers have you encountered (or seen others face), and what helped you or your teams overcome them?

Tamryn:  

“Workwear. It seems small, but early on we realised all the uniforms were made for men; gloves, trousers, fireproof kit. We redesigned it all. It took time, but it meant that everyone could work more effectively.”

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Q: What advice would you give to the next generation of women pursuing careers in telecoms?

Taylor had clear advice:  

“Don’t assume the person you’re talking to knows more than you. Say yes to opportunities. If you fail, that’s fine. Ask for help and keep moving.”

Jade:  

“Do it! It’s been life changing for me. I’m so grateful I took the chance.”

Q: What’s next for Vorboss?

We want to keep growing - not just in size, but in diversity, inclusion, and opportunity, and inspire others to follow suit.

We’ve set measurable goals for diversity and inclusion, including:

• Today: more than 1 in 3 of our technical and engineering roles are held by women.

• By 2027: we aim for 50/50 gender parity in technical and engineering roles.

• By 2028: we aim for gender parity company-wide.

We’ve signed Ofcom’s Women in Tech pledge and publish our gender pay gap annually.

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About Women in Telecoms

Women in Telecoms is an initiative by Comms Council UK, created in response to growing demand from its members for regular opportunities to network, share experiences, discuss key industry topics, and exchange ideas.