Wholesale Broadband
Fast, reliable connectivity for every need
As the UK’s leading provider of broadband services, we offer a range of connectivity options - all delivered over our next-generation network, the biggest in the UK.
Our broadband solutions
We offer Wholesale Broadband solutions to suit all kinds of requirements. Each one delivers different levels of network reach and capabilities, as well as the ability to provision a wide range of Openreach access circuits for your customers. You can choose from a variety of aggregation options, core network inter-connect speeds and a wide selection of modern, all-IP-ready access technologies.
Wholesale Broadband Connect (WBC)
This layer 2 service lets you use our 21C network to extend the reach of your service, reaching out from up to 20 key regional locations (nodes). You need a presence in any of these node locations you wish to utilise, and you’re in charge of inter-connecting the nodes and managing your internet breakout and peering. It’s a wires-only service, so you also need to sort out customer premises equipment (CPE) too.
You can use our network to branch out from any of those 20 nodes to reach up to around 5,500 local exchanges, letting you provide UK-wide internet access to your customers. Typically, this solution is used by providers who have their own national network infrastructure, which would be used to connect between those nodes across the UK.
Wholesale Broadband Managed Connect (WBMC)
Our most popular layer 2 service takes aggregation a step further than the underlying WBC solution and provides the inter-connects between the 20 key location nodes across the UK. This means you don’t need to have a presence in each of those nodes yourself, and you can use the BT Wholesale network instead.
This lets you aggregate traffic back to your preferred location(s) for internet service and peering and connect your network to ours using a host link. That may be a single node, a datacentre or even an external end site.
It’s a wires-only service, but it’s perfect if you're a small or medium-sized communication provider and don't want to invest in dedicated Wholesale Broadband Connect (WBC) aggregation points.
Broadband One
If you want us to handle everything for you including the internet peering, end-user authentication and all network connectivity, we can provide a layer 3 service through our Broadband One solution. There’s no need to build your own internet platform, or worry about traffic, capacity, bandwidth or usage - we can do it all for you. We can even supply CPE if you want.
Broadband One lets you focus on supporting your customers, knowing the platform and internet service are taken care of and backed by the UK’s largest and most popular broadband network.
How our broadband services compare
| Service | UK-wide network reach | Key location node interconnects | Internet peering and IP addressing | CPE supply (option) | |
| ✔ | - | - | - | ||
| ✔ | ✔ | - | - | ||
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Broadband Complete (legacy)
Broadband Complete is an older alternative to Broadband One offering a layer 3 internet service. It’s now been superseded by Broadband One, so it’s no longer available for new supply. We’re actively migrating the remaining customers over to our newer, more comprehensive Broadband One service.
Please see the documents section below or speak to your account manager if you’d like to learn more about migrating from Broadband Complete.
IPstream Connect (legacy)
This legacy layer 2 broadband product is also no longer available for new supply and is superseded by WBMC.
It was available at a smaller number of nodes across the UK and only with older access technologies before fibre options were launched. As with Broadband Complete, we’re migrating any remaining IPstream customers to newer broadband solutions.
Our broadband access options
Once you’ve selected the right broadband solution, you’ll get access to our full range of access technologies, letting you connect your customers in a variety of ways depending on their location and requirements. That includes the latest full-fibre FTTP solutions, providing the fastest speeds, as well as a selection of all-IP-ready connections.
Within our Wholesale Broadband portfolio, the following access solutions are available:
| Access point | Modern all-IP ready access options | Legacy access options | |||
| Full-fibre FTTP | SoGEA | SoADSL | FTTC | ADSL and ADSL 2+ | |
| Definition | Fibre to the Premises |
Single order Generic Ethernet Access | Single order Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line | Fibre to the Cabinet | Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line |
| Max download speed (Mbps) | 1000 | 330 (G.fast) 80 (VDSL) |
24 | 330 (G.fast) 80 (VDSL) |
24 |
| Max upload speed (Mbps) | 220 | 50 (G.fast) 20 (VDSL) |
Up to 2.51 |
50 (G.fast) 20 (VDSL) |
Up to 2.51 |
| Coverage | 14.5m premises passed Target of 25m by the end of 2026 |
Available in over 28.5 million premises ~95% of the UK |
Available in non-fibre footprint. 99.80% of UK2 | Only available to order if Openreach exemption is granted (same coverage as SoGEA) | Only available to order if Openreach exemption is granted (same coverage as SoADSL) |
1 ADSL and SoADSL available with up to 2.5Mbps upload capacity with Annex M, which is a chargeable extra feature. Standard maximum upload speed is 1.28Mbps.
2 Coverage shown indicates combined ADSL coverage offered through WBC and IPstream Connect. WBC ADSL is available for 98% of lines, IPstream Connect on a further 1.8% of lines. All coverage figures are correct as of March 2023. FTTC coverage figures expressed as the percentage of premises passed, WBC ADSL figures presented as the percentage of lines covered.
All our broadband access options include:
A range of repair SLAs to suit your requirements, including a seven-hour target fix time option.
A selection of site installation and engineer options.
Traffic prioritisation and quality-of-service (QoS) options
Self-serve digital tools, portals and APIs for availability checking, ordering, diagnostics and trouble ticketing.
Key resources
Availability checker
Find out what broadband services are available.
Handbook and technical documents
Guides to help you provide the best possible service to your end users.
Help and support
Explore our wide range of broadband support resources.
Broadband
Network information
Orders and cancellations
Faults and diagnostics
Customer service plans
Development releases
My BT Wholesale
Access our wide range of online services and tools, all in one place.
