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Understanding Openreach’s role in the UK broadband infrastructure

The Openreach network is the largest “last mile” broadband network in the UK, connecting millions of homes and businesses to the internet via fibre-optic and copper lines. It is maintained, upgraded and expanded by Openreach, a regulated division of the BT Group.

This guide explains what Openreach is, how its network operates, and why it’s so important to the UK’s digital future.

What is Openreach?

Openreach is the company that builds, maintains, and operates the UK’s largest “last mile” broadband network, used by most broadband providers.

It manages the physical network of fibre cables, copper lines, and street cabinets that connect homes and businesses to major exchanges, where internet traffic passes into the provider’s core network for routing across the UK.

Openreach runs as a separate, highly regulated division of BT, providing equal access to its wholesale network to broadband providers such as Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, and BT Business.

They all use the same Openreach network to deliver services to their customers.

Alongside altnets like KCOM and CityFibre, Openreach ensures that the country’s fibre and copper access networks remain reliable, modern, and accessible for both residential and business users.

Who regulates Openreach?

Openreach is regulated by Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator. Ofcom oversees how Openreach operates to ensure it provides fair and equal access to its broadband network for all broadband service providers.

Because Openreach is part of the BT Group, Ofcom introduced strict rules to keep it functionally separate from BT’s retail business. This independence helps maintain a level playing field, allowing other broadband providers such as Sky, TalkTalk, and Vodafone to use the Openreach network on the same terms as BT.

Ofcom regularly reviews Openreach’s performance, pricing, and investment plans to make sure customers benefit from competitive broadband services and continued upgrades to the UK’s fibre network.

How does Openreach work

Openreach manages the UK’s physical broadband access network, connecting homes and businesses to local telephone exchanges.

Its engineers design, build, and maintain this “last mile” broadband infrastructure, which links millions of premises to the wider telecommunications network.

From these exchanges, responsibility shifts to core network operators, such as BT, Virgin Media Business or CityFibre, which run the high-capacity fibre routes that move data between cities, internet exchanges and data centres across the UK.

The Openreach access network is a vast and complex system made up of thousands of miles of cables, ducts, poles, and street cabinets that together deliver the reliable, high-speed internet services businesses use every day.

Building the network

Openreach expands broadband coverage by rolling out full fibre in new areas, installing infrastructure in business parks and developments, and upgrading older lines.

Its engineers are responsible for building and extending the physical network that broadband providers rely on to deliver their services.

Openreach is expanding its network fast. In September 2025, they added approximately half a million new premises to the network, equating to about 17,000 premises per day.

Maintaining the network

Once built, the Openreach network requires constant maintenance to ensure performance and reliability. Engineers carry out repairs, fix faults, and upgrade copper and fibre lines.

When a broadband provider reports an issue with the physical infrastructure, it’s Openreach engineers who complete the repair.

Ofcom sets maintenance performance targets for Openreach, including fixing 85% of network faults within two working days.

Supporting the last mile and regional access

Besides the “last mile” network, Openreach also operates regional access routes that connect local exchanges to the UK’s core network when these don’t have direct access, often in partnership with other national infrastructure providers.

This means Openreach also has some responsibility in ensuring reliable long-distance connectivity and network resilience.

Providing fair access for broadband providers

Openreach gives broadband providers such as BT Business, Sky, TalkTalk, and Vodafone equal access to its network. This open-access model ensures a competitive market where multiple providers can deliver services using the same underlying infrastructure.

Delivering Universal Service Obligation (USO)

As the UK’s designated USO provider, Openreach ensures that every property can request a broadband connection with a minimum download speed of 10 Mbps and an upload speed of 1 Mbps.

BT manages the customer side of the process, while Openreach carries out the engineering work required to deliver the connection.

You can check if your location is eligible using the BT USO eligibility checker.

💡Openreach is the USO provider everywhere except the Hull area, where KCOM is the USO.

Openreach business broadband types

Openreach underpins several types of fibre optic business broadband across the UK. Here’s how it supports each of the main technologies that providers use today.

Full fibre

Fibre to the premises is Openreach’s full fibre business broadband service, providing a fibre-optic connection all the way from the exchange to the business premises.

Although the entire path is fibre, the network uses a shared fibre cable from the exchange to an Openreach street cabinet, and then continues using a dedicated cable directly to the property, without relying on the copper phone line.

Full fibre offers far greater speeds and reliability than copper-based services. Most business packages support download speeds of up to 1.6 Gbps and upload speeds of up to 115 Mbps. It is ideal for businesses or homes with high data usage and multiple users.

SoGEA

SoGEA is Openreach’s broadband-only service that replaces the need for a traditional phone line. It uses fibre from the exchange to the street cabinet and copper from the cabinet to the premises.

SoGEA is the most widely used option in areas where full fibre is not yet available. It provides download speeds of up to 76 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 15 Mbps, making it a reliable and affordable choice for small businesses that need stable connectivity without high bandwidth.

Leased lines

Openreach installs dedicated leased lines for businesses that need guaranteed speeds, low latency and high performance. These full fibre connections run directly from the exchange to the business premises, with no shared bandwidth.

Leased line providers offer symmetrical speeds, meaning upload and download rates are the same. Depending on the service, speeds can range from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps. These lines are uncontended, making them ideal for larger businesses or those with critical internet requirements, although leased line prices are much more expensive than other Openreach broadband types.

FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet)

In areas where fibre optic cables have not yet fully replaced copper phone lines, Openreach continues to support FTTC services.

With this technology, fibre runs from the exchange to a nearby street cabinet, while the final connection from the cabinet to the property uses the existing copper network.

FTTC offers lower performance but remains one of the most affordable wired broadband options, particularly suited to smaller properties or those in rural areas. Typical download speeds range from 40 to 80 Mbps.

However, FTTC availability is gradually declining as providers wind down the PSTN and ISDN networks, which will retire traditional business phone lines in favour of modern business VoIP phone systems.

GFast

GFast is an upgraded version of FTTC that boosts broadband speeds over short copper connections, typically where the distance between the street cabinet and the premises is under 250 metres. It transmits data at higher frequencies and uses advanced signal-processing technologies such as vectoring and duplexing to enhance performance.

Where available, GFast business broadband can deliver download speeds of up to 330 Mbps, providing a cost-effective option for businesses wanting faster speeds before full fibre reaches their area.

Ethernet over FTTC (EoFTTC)

Ethernet over FTTC (EoFTTC) uses the same FTTC lines as normal fibre broadband, but delivers them as a business Ethernet service.

This allows properties to integrate easily with existing Business Ethernet wide area networks and receive improved features such as symmetrical speeds up to around 20 Mbps and improved service guarantees.

Comparing Openreach broadband to other networks

As a network operator, Openreach doesn’t sell broadband directly to businesses. When people refer to “Openreach broadband,” they’re talking about services delivered over the Openreach network, rather than a product sold by Openreach itself.

Alongside Openreach, there are alternative network operators, or altnets, such as CityFibre, Hyperoptic, and Community Fibre. These companies build and manage their own full fibre networks and, in some cases, offer wholesale access to providers or sell directly through associated retail brands.

Availability depends on location, with Openreach and altnets often overlapping or complementing each other as the UK’s fibre rollout expands.

Below, we’ve separated broadband delivered over the Openreach network from the independent altnets to show how they differ in technology, coverage, and operation.

Openreach network

Here are the broadband connections offered by hundreds of providers over the Openreach network:

Broadband connections supported by Openreach

Alternative networks (altnets)

Alternative networks, or altnets, are independent broadband infrastructure operators that build and manage their own full fibre networks, separate from Openreach. Their purpose is to increase competition, speed up the UK’s fibre rollout, and connect areas that Openreach hasn’t yet reached.

Altnets vary in scale and focus. Some, like CityFibre, build national networks and partner with broadband providers such as Vodafone Business, TalkTalk Business, and Zen. Others, including Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, Gigaclear, and Netomnia, focus on specific regions, business hubs, or rural communities.

Altnets are also regulated by Ofcom, but are not subject to the same structural separation rules that apply to Openreach because they operate entirely independently.

Despite this independence, altnets often rely on Openreach infrastructure for physical access routes. Through Openreach’s Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) system, they can use existing ducts and poles to install fibre more quickly and cost-effectively, reducing disruption and avoiding duplicate street works.

Broadband connections over altnets

How to know if you’re using the Openreach network

The simplest way to check is to ask your broadband provider. Most business broadband deals in the UK run on the Openreach network, but depending on your location, some providers use alternative networks such as CityFibre, Virgin Media Business, Hyperoptic, or Community Fibre.

If you’re unsure which network your service is running on, your provider can confirm it. You can also look out for clues like Openreach-branded engineers during installation or repairs, which often means your service uses their infrastructure.

Openreach and the full fibre rollout

Openreach is leading the UK’s broadband upgrade by replacing last mile copper-based lines with high-capacity fibre connections. As of late 2025, its full fibre network has reached over 20 million homes and businesses, with a target of 30 million premises by the end of 2030.

Full fibre, connects fibre-optic cables directly from the exchange into each building. This removes the performance limits of copper cables, delivering gigabit-capable speeds and greater reliability. For businesses, this translates to faster cloud access, smoother video conferencing, and stronger support for digital tools such as business VoIP integrations.

In areas still waiting for fibre upgrades, broadband providers can continue to offer SoGEA, a broadband-only service that runs over part of the existing copper network to keep businesses online during the transition.

Openreach’s rollout is a central part of the UK Government’s Gigabit Broadband Programme, managed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Through Project Gigabit, Openreach works alongside national and regional partners to expand coverage in rural and hard-to-reach locations, supporting the goal of 99% gigabit-capable broadband availability by 2030.

Businesses in eligible areas may also benefit from the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, which provides financial support towards the cost of installing new fibre connections.

Businesses can check whether Openreach full fibre is available at their premises using the Openreach availability checker.

Openreach PSTN switch-off

The nationwide PSTN switch-off is a major milestone in Openreach’s full fibre upgrade. Openreach is retiring the old Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), which has powered traditional phone and broadband services for decades. The complete shutdown is scheduled for 31 January 2027.

If your business still uses FTTC, analogue phone lines or any broadband service running over PSTN-based infrastructure, you’ll need to switch to a full fibre before this date. The PSTN switch-off is driving demand for modern business VoIP phone systems, which transmit voice calls over broadband instead of copper lines.

Openreach – FAQs

Quick answers to common business broadband questions about Openreach.

How is Openreach different from BT?

Openreach maintains and upgrades the UK’s broadband infrastructure, including fibre and copper networks. BT is a broadband and business VoIP provider that sells services using this infrastructure. Although both sit under the BT Group, they operate as separate entities.

Does Openreach work cause disruption?

Occasionally, yes. Engineering work, such as cable upgrades or fault repairs, can cause local traffic disruption or temporary broadband outages. Your broadband provider will notify you if planned works are expected to affect your connection.

Can I contact Openreach directly?

No. Openreach does not handle customer support directly. All installations, faults, and service queries should be raised with your business broadband provider, who will contact Openreach on your behalf if required.

Who owns the UK broadband infrastructure?

Openreach owns and manages most of the UK’s fixed-line broadband infrastructure. However, other companies, including Virgin Media, CityFibre, Hyperoptic and Gigaclear, also operate their own independent networks in specific regions.

What’s the difference between Openreach and Virgin Media?

Openreach is a wholesale network provider used by many broadband providers, such as BT Business, Sky, and TalkTalk. Virgin Media operates its own cable and fibre network and sells broadband directly to customers, without using Openreach’s infrastructure.

What’s the difference between Openreach FTTP and CityFibre FTTP?

Both Openreach FTTP and CityFibre FTTP deliver full fibre broadband directly into business premises, but they operate on different infrastructures.

• Openreach FTTP is a nationwide network used by multiple broadband providers, offering wide coverage and a choice of service packages.
• CityFibre FTTP is an independent alternative network that builds its own infrastructure, often focusing on towns and cities where Openreach is not yet available.

For businesses, the main differences are availability, provider choice, and service pricing. Openreach’s network covers more areas, while CityFibre often provides faster installation and competitive pricing where it operates.

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