Openreach Fibre Checker: Check Business Broadband Availability

What Is the Openreach Fibre Checker?

Openreach is the UK's primary network infrastructure provider — the company that owns and maintains the majority of physical telephone exchanges, ducts and local loops connecting businesses and homes to the telephone network. As Openreach builds out its full fibre (FTTP) network across the UK, it publishes an online availability checker that allows businesses to enter their postcode and confirm what connection types are available at their specific address.

The checker returns information on whether FTTP (full fibre to the premises), FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) or other connection types are available — and in some cases, when full fibre is expected to become available if it is not already.

FTTP vs FTTC: What the Results Mean

Understanding the checker's results requires knowing the difference between the two main fibre products:

• FTTP (Fibre to the Premises): A fibre cable runs all the way from the exchange directly to your premises. This is full fibre. Download speeds up to 1Gbps are possible; performance is consistent because there is no copper in the local loop.
• FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet): Fibre runs from the exchange to a street cabinet, then copper wire runs from the cabinet to your premises. This is the technology behind most current UK business broadband. It delivers adequate performance for many use cases but upload speed is limited and performance degrades the further you are from the cabinet.

The Openreach checker will tell you which of these is available at your address and, for FTTC, the estimated maximum speed based on your line length from the cabinet.

How to Use the Openreach Fibre Checker

The checker is available directly on the Openreach website. To use it:

• Visit the Openreach website and navigate to the fibre availability tool
• Enter your full postcode and select your specific premises from the dropdown
• Review the results — these will show FTTP availability status (available now, coming soon, or not planned)
• For FTTC, the checker estimates your current line speed capability

Note that the Openreach checker shows infrastructure availability, not the specific retail packages available from internet service providers. Even if FTTP shows as available at your address, you will need to check which ISPs are selling products on that infrastructure for your postcode.

What to Do If FTTP Is Not Available

The Openreach FTTP rollout is ongoing — Openreach has committed to passing 25 million UK premises by the end of 2026. If your postcode does not show FTTP available today, a few options exist:

• Check the planned build date: The checker sometimes shows an estimated availability date if your area is in the build programme. This gives you advance notice to start planning an upgrade.
• Consider alternative networks: Virgin Media Business, CityFibre and a growing number of altnets have built independent full fibre networks that do not appear in the Openreach checker. A separate check against these networks may show availability even if Openreach FTTP is not yet present.
• Consider a leased line: If full fibre broadband is genuinely not available and your connectivity needs are significant, a leased line may be the appropriate solution — available across the vast majority of UK commercial postcodes regardless of FTTP rollout status.

Checking Other Networks Beyond Openreach

The Openreach checker only covers Openreach's own infrastructure. To get a complete picture of what is available at your address, you would need to check separately against:

• Virgin Media Business availability (using Virgin's own business broadband checker)
• CityFibre availability (via partner ISP websites)
• Local altnet coverage (varies by region)

AMVIA's availability checker consolidates multiple networks into a single query — enter your postcode once and receive availability information from all major providers simultaneously, including indicative pricing.

Openreach FTTP Build Programme

Openreach's Project Gigabit rollout is one of the largest infrastructure programmes in UK history. Progress as of early 2026:

• Over 16 million premises passed with full fibre
• Target of 25 million premises by end of 2026
• Both urban and rural areas being addressed, with government BDUK funding supporting harder-to-reach locations

For businesses in areas not yet covered, the timeline is measured in months to a few years depending on location in the build programme.