Business connectivity planning guide
Planning business connectivity
A circuit order is only one part of a successful site. Document what must keep working, prepare the building and internal network, agree the migration and prove the service before the old connection is cancelled.
Define what the connection must carry
Write down what an outage stops: calls, payments, dispatch, remote access, cloud systems, security monitoring or all of them. Record peak concurrent users and the applications that send substantial data out of the site. This gives a supplier a requirement to design around instead of a request for the largest headline speed.
Keep service requirements separate from the access-product decision. FTTP brings fibre to the premises and terminates at an optical network terminal connected to a router. Ethernet is a distinct dedicated business connectivity option. If you are deciding between those access types, use the established leased-line comparison; this guide covers everything needed to deliver and accept the chosen service.
Sources for this section: Openreach — Full Fibre for business, Openreach — Ethernet for business
Prepare power, router, LAN and Wi-Fi
Confirm where the provider equipment will terminate, who can access that room, which power sockets and backup power are available, and how the circuit reaches the firewall or router. Record any cabling work before the installation date rather than discovering that the new handoff is on the wrong floor.
A faster external circuit cannot repair weak Wi-Fi, an undersized firewall or an overloaded switch. Name an owner for LAN and wireless readiness and agree how internal bottlenecks will be separated from provider faults during acceptance.
Resolve the address, landlord and route questions early
Provide the full service address, building or unit, postcode and any useful property reference. Identify the landlord, managing agent and people authorised to approve access or a wayleave. Agree permitted working hours and the route into the building before a target date becomes critical.
If the service needs fixed public IP addresses, inbound access or firewall changes, document those requirements with the technical owner. Do not wait until migration day to discover that an application depends on an address from the old connection.
Plan migration, coexistence and rollback
List every dependency that may need changing: firewall rules, VPN allowlists, hosted voice, payment terminals, remote monitoring, DNS and third-party access. Assign an owner and a test for each one. Where practical, run the new and old services together until the critical applications have passed.
Set a rollback decision point before the change begins and do not cancel the old service merely because the new circuit has been installed. Installation proves that equipment is present; acceptance proves that the business can use it.
Test acceptance, failover and recovery
Test critical applications, voice in both directions, upload and download behaviour, remote access, monitoring and support contact details. If there is a backup path, disconnect the primary under controlled conditions and observe what continues, what stops and how service returns. Test power failure where the design claims to cover it.
Two suppliers or two product names do not prove physical route diversity. Ask what infrastructure is shared and record what has actually been verified. Service levels, repair targets and committed bandwidth belong to the quoted contract; do not infer them from the words “fibre”, “symmetric” or “leased line”. Current business FTTP products can include symmetric profiles and different repair options, which is a useful reminder that symmetry alone does not define Ethernet.
Sources for this section: CityFibre — Business FTTP product information, Openreach — Ethernet for business
Assign ownership after handover
Keep the order, contract, circuit reference, support number, router details, IP information, test results and renewal date together. Name who monitors the service, who can raise a fault, who approves changes and who owns the backup test schedule.
Repeat critical failover and recovery tests after material router, firewall, voice or application changes. A resilience path that worked on installation day can be undermined later by an unrecorded dependency.
Business connectivity readiness table
Use this before ordering to expose missing information and ownership.
| What to confirm | Why it matters | Who needs to answer |
|---|---|---|
| Full address, unit and preferred equipment location | Availability and the physical route depend on the actual premises, not just a broad postcode result | Facilities or site lead |
| Critical applications, peak users and upload needs | The service must be sized around the busiest useful workload and outage impact | Operations and application owners |
| Power, router, firewall, LAN and Wi-Fi readiness | The new handoff still relies on equipment and coverage inside the building | IT or managed network provider |
| Landlord, access and wayleave contacts | Permissions can block surveys or installation even when a service is orderable | Facilities, landlord or managing agent |
| Target date, coexistence window and rollback plan | Dependencies need time to be tested before the old service is cancelled | Project owner and current provider |
| Failover scope and evidence of route diversity | A second connection may share infrastructure or fail to carry every critical application | Network designer and supplier |
| Acceptance tests and ongoing support owner | Handover needs observable pass criteria and a named route for future faults | IT, operations and service owner |
Installation and migration checklist
Complete these checks before retiring the existing connection.
- Send the full address, current service details, peak users, critical applications and target date.
- Confirm equipment location, power, backup power, cabling, router, firewall, LAN and Wi-Fi readiness.
- Name landlord, managing-agent, access and wayleave contacts with permitted working hours.
- Record IP addressing, VPN, DNS, voice, payment, monitoring and third-party dependencies.
- Agree coexistence, change window, rollback decision and who can approve each step.
- Run application, voice, upload, remote-access and monitoring acceptance tests.
- Trigger failover and recovery under controlled conditions; record what remains available.
- Store contract, circuit reference, support route, test evidence, owners and renewal date.
Related services and next steps
Planning business connectivity — common questions
Should we choose FTTP or a leased line before planning the site?
Define the business requirement first, then compare the access options available at the exact address. The existing leased-line-versus-full-fibre guide covers that decision; this checklist applies after either option is shortlisted.
Can we cancel the old circuit when the new one is installed?
Wait until agreed acceptance tests pass and the migration owner confirms that critical dependencies work. Where practical, allow a coexistence period and retain a documented rollback path.
Do two broadband suppliers give us route diversity?
Not automatically. Services can share ducts, exchanges, building entry points, power or internal equipment. Ask what is physically separate, then test the failure and recovery behaviour you depend on.
What should we send for an availability and planning conversation?
Send the full site address, current service, peak user count, critical applications, important upload workloads, target date and what an outage stops. Include known landlord or access restrictions.
Plan the connection around the site
Send SCG Solutions the full address, current service, peak users, critical applications and target date. We can check the viable options and prepare a quote without assuming availability or contract terms.
Discuss business connectivity