FTTP vs Ethernet leased line for Wolverhampton businesses. Shared vs dedicated internet — which is right for your WV operations? Independent
The most common broadband decision for Wolverhampton businesses moving beyond entry-level connections is choosing between FTTP (Full Fibre to the Premises) and an Ethernet leased line. Both use optical fibre. Both deliver high speeds. The difference is fundamental: FTTP is shared, an Ethernet leased line is dedicated.
This distinction sounds technical but has very practical consequences. Here is an honest explanation of what each means for your WV business — with our direct recommendation for different business types.
FTTP delivers fibre directly to your building from the exchange. The bandwidth is shared among other businesses on the same network segment — dozens to potentially hundreds of simultaneous users competing for capacity. In well-provisioned networks (CityFibre WV), this rarely causes perceptible issues. Most WV businesses on gigabit CityFibre FTTP report consistently excellent performance.
FTTP pricing in WV: £35–80/month for gigabit. Available from multiple competing ISPs on CityFibre or Openreach. Maximum speed 2.5 Gbps via CityFibre.
An Ethernet leased line is a private circuit connecting your WV premises directly to the carrier's network. Bandwidth is entirely dedicated to your business — at 3am or Monday 9am, you get exactly the speed you pay for. No other customer shares your circuit.
Leased line pricing in WV: £150–600/month depending on speed. 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps available. 4-hour fault fix SLA with financial penalties. Static IP block included.
For most WV SMEs, the practical difference is: you will almost certainly not notice a difference between gigabit CityFibre FTTP and a leased line during normal operations. The CityFibre WV network is well-provisioned.
The difference becomes meaningful when: you need a contractual guarantee of minimum speed (financial services, client SLA requirements); you run call centres where bandwidth contention at peak times would degrade call quality; your operations would incur significant cost if speeds degraded — even briefly.
Our honest recommendation: most WV businesses with up to 50 staff should use gigabit FTTP plus 4G failover (£65–120/month total). This delivers 99.9%+ effective uptime at a fraction of leased line cost. Leased lines justify their premium for specific mission-critical requirements.
Some WV businesses run both: FTTP as primary for general internet (lower cost, high speed) with a smaller leased line purely for VoIP traffic (guaranteed quality, dedicated circuit). This hybrid approach can be cost-effective for call centres wanting leased-line VoIP quality without paying leased line prices for all internet traffic.
FTTP is shared — bandwidth is split with other users. An Ethernet leased line is dedicated — your bandwidth is exclusively yours, always. Both use optical fibre; the difference is contention ratio.
For most WV businesses, yes. CityFibre gigabit FTTP delivers sub-5ms latency — better than many leased lines. The risk is peak-time contention on heavily loaded network segments, which is rare but possible.
100 Mbps: approximately £150–280/month. 500 Mbps: £280–480/month. 1 Gbps: £380–650/month. Depends heavily on carrier infrastructure proximity to your WV premises.
The definitive 10,000+ word guide covering every network, every postcode and every industry.
Read the full guide →Free expert quote · Same-day callback · All 16 WV postcodes covered