FTTP on Demand: Business Full Fibre When You Need It

What is FTTP on demand?

FTTP on demand - sometimes written FoD or FTTPoD - is a BT Openreach product that lets a business commission the extension of Openreach's full fibre network to its own building, even where the area rollout has not arrived. The connection is then delivered through an ISP, exactly like standard FTTP.

Openreach surveys the route from the nearest existing fibre infrastructure to your premises and prices the duct and fibre build needed to reach you. Agree the quote and they build it; decline and nothing changes. The UK's full-fibre footprint is expanding fast under the national gigabit programme, so FoD is best understood as a way to jump the queue rather than a permanent gap-filler. You can track wider availability through Ofcom's full-fibre coverage reporting.

How does FTTP on demand work, step by step?

The process is a survey-then-quote model: you commit only after Openreach has costed the civil works for your exact address. Nothing is built until you accept the excess construction charge, so the financial risk is front-loaded and visible before you sign. For what those charges look like in practice, AMVIA publishes an excess construction charge distribution drawn from its own quoting data.

1. Order placement - you order FoD through an ISP that offers the product. Not every ISP does, so availability depends partly on which providers operate in your area. 2. Openreach survey - Openreach surveys the route from the nearest full-fibre node to your premises, which may be a few hundred metres or several kilometres. 3. Excess construction charge (ECC) quoted - if civil works exceed a standard threshold (typically around 100m from existing fibre duct), Openreach quotes an ECC. Below the threshold the ECC is zero; beyond it, cost rises with distance. 4. Decision point - you decide whether to proceed based on the ECC. If acceptable, the build begins. 5. Installation - civil works and fibre installation are completed. Lead times range from a few months to considerably longer for complex routes. 6. Service activation - your ISP activates the FTTP service on the new connection.

How much does FTTP on demand cost?

Cost is driven almost entirely by distance from existing Openreach fibre. The connection charge and monthly tariff are predictable; the variable is the excess construction charge for the physical build to your door. The further the dig, the higher the ECC - and the stronger the case for comparing a leased line.

Key figures from the ranges above, based on typical UK 2026 market rates: at 100m–500m the ECC typically ranges from £500 to £3,000, and at 500m–1km the ECC can range from £3,000 to £10,000+, depending on route, whether existing ducts can be reused and local civil-engineering costs.

The ECC is a one-off infrastructure cost, separate from the ongoing monthly broadband tariff. The proceed-or-not decision should still weigh the total cost across the expected contract term, not just the headline build price.

What is an Excess Construction Charge (ECC)?

The Excess Construction Charge is the one-off fee for the physical fibre build beyond what Openreach already provides as standard. It covers digging, ducting, chambers, road crossings, and the labour to run dedicated fibre from the nearest node to your building. It is paid on top of the normal monthly FTTP tariff.

The ECC is what makes FoD unpredictable. Two premises on the same street can receive wildly different quotes depending on duct condition, distance, and whether a road must be opened. The survey exists precisely to price that uncertainty before you commit. Crucially, the survey is normally free and you can walk away once you see the number.

How long does FTTP on demand take to install?

End to end, FTTP on demand takes between three and eighteen months from order to live connection. The survey and quotation phases are reasonably quick; the civil works are the variable that decides everything. Simple builds finish in weeks once digging starts, while wayleave negotiations and road permits can stretch complex jobs across a year or more.

Plan around the upper end. If your project has a hard deadline - a new office, a lease start, a migration date - the civil works phase is where slippage happens, and it is largely outside your ISP's control once permits and landowners are involved.

What should you ask before ordering FTTP on demand?

Before you authorise a survey or accept an ECC, pin down the commercials and the protections. FoD is a large, largely irreversible spend once construction begins, so the questions below are the ones that save businesses from nasty surprises mid-build.

• What is the estimated ECC range before we commit to a formal survey? (Some ISPs can give a rough indication.)
• What happens if construction costs exceed the surveyed ECC estimate?
• What are the minimum FTTP contract terms - and what protects my ECC investment if I leave early?
• What is the realistic total timeline for my specific location, not the best case?
• Have you priced a leased line as a like-for-like alternative?

A good provider answers all five without hesitation and shows you the leased-line comparison unprompted. If they cannot, treat that as a signal.

FTTP on demand vs a leased line - which is better?

Where FoD needs significant civil works and a large ECC, a dedicated leased line is often the better answer. A leased line gives you guaranteed, uncontended bandwidth and a contractual SLA - the things a growing business actually buys connectivity for - and the carrier carries more of the build risk.

AMVIA always recommends pulling a leased line quote alongside any FoD assessment. For businesses needing more than basic broadband performance, a leased line frequently wins on total cost of ownership and on performance. If full fibre is already live at your address, an FTTP-delivered leased line can give you the dedicated experience without a bespoke dig.

When is FTTP on demand the right choice?

FoD makes most sense when the build is cheap and your needs are modest. If the ECC is low and standard broadband performance is enough, paying once to jump the rollout queue is a reasonable call. The economics turn against you as the dig gets longer.

It is usually the right choice when:

• Your ECC is low - zero to a few hundred pounds.
• Your bandwidth requirement is modest and standard broadband performance is sufficient.
• The alternative is an extended wait for the standard rollout to reach you.
• You are in a commercial unit within a mainly residential area, where a leased line would be disproportionately expensive.

If none of those hold, compare against business broadband and connectivity options before committing. Government funding such as gov.uk's national gigabit broadband scheme may also offset some build costs for eligible premises.