You needed broadband. The industry made you rent a phone line to get it — whether you used it or not. SoGEA ends that.
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What SoGEA gives you
- Same speeds as FTTC fibre broadband — up to 80Mbps download / 20Mbps upload.
- No phone line rental if you don’t need a landline — stop paying for a dial tone you never use.
- Ready for the 2027 landline switch off — SoGEA is unaffected.
- Free static IP included, plus faster installation with a single order and wholesale pricing.
- Keep your phone number — pair SoGEA with a digital phone line and callers notice nothing.
What SoGEA actually is — and why it exists
For decades, broadband was an add-on to a telephone line. The broadband signal travelled over the copper pair that carried your calls, so you couldn’t order one without renting the other. Plenty of businesses ended up paying every month for a dial tone nobody had used in years, purely to keep the internet on.
SoGEA — Single Order Generic Ethernet Access — unbundles the two. It uses the same Openreach network, the same cabinets and the same engineers as FTTC fibre broadband, but delivers the broadband as a standalone service. One order. One bill. No analogue phone service underneath, and no line rental for it.
The reason it exists is the PSTN switch off. The industry is retiring the analogue phone network, and anything that depends on a traditional phone service needs a new home. SoGEA is the replacement path for premises where full fibre hasn’t arrived yet: you keep FTTC-class broadband, drop the analogue phone element, and nothing about the switch off touches you.
Because we buy at wholesale, you get all of that at the price the big companies pay — the same lines and engineers as the big retailers, without the retail margin.
SoGEA vs FTTC vs FTTP
| SoGEA | FTTC | FTTP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top speed | Up to 80/20Mbps | Up to 80/20Mbps | Up to 1Gbps |
| Phone line rental required | No | Yes | No |
| Affected by the 2027 switch off | No | Tied to an analogue line that’s being retired | No |
| Where you can get it | Anywhere FTTC reaches | Most of the UK | Where full fibre is built |
In short: FTTC is the old way — broadband riding on a rented phone line. SoGEA is the same broadband without the line. FTTP full fibre is the long-term destination, with speeds up to 1Gbps where it’s available. And if your business needs guaranteed, symmetric speeds with fix-time SLAs, that’s a leased line — a different product for a different job. Tell us your postcode and we’ll tell you which of the four you can get, and which one we’d pick in your position.
What stops appearing on your bill
| Line + broadband (typical retail) | SoGEA (UK Wholesale) | |
|---|---|---|
| Business line rental | Typically £25–£40+/mo | None — no line to rent |
| Broadband | Priced on top, at retail | One wholesale price |
| Bills to reconcile | Two charges, one supplier hoping you don’t look | One |
And if you genuinely still want a traditional line — some businesses do — ours is £13.99 a month, and we’re the provider that keeps copper lines running until 2030. Either way, you stop paying retail for something you can get at wholesale.
Two bills become one
If your business runs FTTC today and rents a phone line mainly because it had to, SoGEA usually saves money for exactly the same performance. Still need to make calls? Pair it with SIP / VoIP telephony and keep your existing numbers — often at a lower total cost than line-plus-broadband. And if equipment like alarms or card machines still needs a traditional line, we can keep your copper running until 2030 alongside SoGEA.
What happens to your phone number
This is the question that stops most businesses moving, so here’s the straight answer: your number belongs to you, not to the copper it currently sits on. When you move to SoGEA, we port your number to a digital phone line — a managed VoIP service that rings the same handsets, presents the same number to callers, and works over your new broadband. Callers dial the number they’ve always dialled. Nothing changes at their end.
Got multiple lines, a phone system, or numbers spread across sites? SIP trunks carry as many concurrent calls as you need over the same connection. Tell us what numbers you have when you ask for a quote and we handle the porting as part of the job — no ticket ping-pong, one person who knows your account.
Installation and switching, step by step
SoGEA’s single-order design makes this simpler than the line-plus-broadband dance it replaces. Here’s how it goes:
- Availability check. Give us your postcode and we confirm what SoGEA can deliver at your address — and whether FTTP would serve you better.
- One order, placed by us. We handle Openreach, the appointment if an engineer is needed, and any number porting — you don’t chase anyone.
- Kit that’s ready to go. A pre-configured business router arrives before your go-live date. You plug in at the end.
- Already on FTTC? The move is usually like-for-like on the existing wiring — the broadband stays, the phone service underneath it goes.
Who SoGEA suits — and who it doesn’t
SoGEA is right for you if you’re paying line rental mainly to keep broadband alive, you’re opening a premises and want broadband without ordering a phone line you’ll never use, or you want off the analogue network before January 2027 on your own schedule rather than your provider’s. It also suits businesses whose calls already run over mobiles or apps — the landline was only ever there for the broadband.
Look elsewhere if you need more than 80/20Mbps — that’s FTTP territory, or a leased line if downtime costs you real money. If alarms, lifts or card machines still depend on an analogue line, you don’t have to abandon them: we’re the provider that keeps copper running until 2030, and it sits happily alongside SoGEA. And if you’d rather have line, broadband and calls priced as one, look at our business broadband packages.
The honest read
If full fibre is available at your premises, FTTP may be the better upgrade — we’ll advise on the best option, not the easiest one to sell. We’ve been doing this since 2005; twenty-one years teaches you that the customer you told the truth stays longer than the one you upsold. Contact us for an availability check either way.
SoGEA broadband FAQs
What is SoGEA broadband?
SoGEA stands for Single Order Generic Ethernet Access. It is business broadband delivered as a standalone service — one order, one bill, no underlying telephone line and no line rental. It runs on the same Openreach network as FTTC fibre broadband and delivers the same speeds, up to 80Mbps download and 20Mbps upload.
Do I lose my phone number if I move to SoGEA?
No. Your number belongs to you, not to the line. We port it to a digital phone line or SIP service, so you keep the same number and callers notice no difference. Tell us the numbers you use when you ask for a quote and we handle the porting as part of the switch.
Is SoGEA as fast as FTTC?
Yes. SoGEA uses the same fibre-to-the-cabinet technology as FTTC, so the speeds available at your premises are the same — up to 80Mbps download and 20Mbps upload. The only thing removed is the analogue phone service, not the broadband performance.
Will SoGEA be affected by the January 2027 switch off?
No — that is a large part of why it exists. The January 2027 switch off retires the analogue phone network, which affects services that depend on a traditional phone line. SoGEA has no analogue phone element, so it carries on unaffected.
Can I keep a traditional phone line alongside SoGEA?
Yes. If equipment such as alarms or card machines still needs an analogue line, UK Wholesale can keep your copper line running until 2030 — same line, same number, same kit — alongside your SoGEA broadband. Most providers cannot offer this.
How is SoGEA installed?
As a single order, which is faster than ordering a line and broadband separately. If your premises already has FTTC broadband, the change is usually like-for-like on the existing wiring. If an engineer visit is needed, we arrange it and tell you exactly what to expect. A pre-configured router arrives before go-live and you plug in at the end.
Is SoGEA cheaper than paying for a line and broadband separately?
Usually, because the line rental disappears. Business line rental typically costs £25–£40+ a month from major retailers, and SoGEA removes that charge entirely — you pay for broadband alone, at the wholesale rate. Send us what you pay today and we will show you the comparison in writing.
What if I need faster speeds than SoGEA offers?
SoGEA tops out at the same speeds as FTTC. If you need more, FTTP full fibre reaches speeds of up to 1Gbps where it is available, and a leased line gives you a dedicated symmetric connection from 100Mbps to 10Gbps with fix-time SLAs. We will tell you honestly which one fits.
Get a SoGEA availability check and wholesale quote
Tell us your postcode and what you pay today for line plus broadband. We’ll price SoGEA at the wholesale rate — and tell you straight if FTTP or keeping your line would serve you better.