There are many benefits to be gained by switching your organisation’s broadband connectivity from ADSL or FTTC to SoGEA. With business costs going up left, right and centre, it’s rare to find a genuine opportunity to save money - plus help future-proof your IT and Voice connectivity at the same time. So, here’s the lowdown on the new SoGEA service and how it can benefit your business.

What exactly is SoGEA?

Single Order Generic Ethernet Access (SoGEA) is a relatively new product which allows customers to enjoy Fibre Broadband without the need for an analogue PSTN phone line. The service is available from most ISPs (Internet Service Providers) so you do not necessarily need to switch provider. Net Technical Solutions works with Zen Internet and Gamma Telecom, both of whom are well-established providers of SoGEA broadband.

Why do I need SoGEA?

Currently, most UK organisations connect to the Internet by overlaying ADSL or FTTC onto an analogue PSTN line. So you pay one fee for the underlying analogue line (typically £15 - £25) and then another fee for the ADSL or FTTC connection (typically between £40 - £75 depending on speeds). Switching to SoGEA removes the need for the underlying analogue line, therefore saving your business money and reducing complexity.

Migrating from ADSL/FTTC to SoGEA also gets you ahead of the game with regards to the Great British Switch Off. As we advised customers back in September 2022 it’s now only 6 months until BT Openreach stop selling traditional analogue lines in the UK (in fact some areas have ceased already) and it’s only 18 months until the UK analogue network is switched off completely. This means the end of analogue, ISDN, ADSL and FTTC connections and also spells the end for traditional phone systems and therefore an enforced move to VoIP (Voice over IP) telephony.

What are the costs of SoGEA?

The cost of a high speed SoGEA broadband connection starts at around £45 per month, depending on provider, speed and the number of IP addresses required. In most cases this will likely be on a par with your current monthly Internet charges and may even result in a saving. The primary saving however is that you will no longer require an analogue line to run this connection so you will also save between £15 and £25 per month when this line is ceased.

Can anyone migrate to SoGEA?

If you have a current FTTC connection then it’s 99% certain that you will be able to switch to SoGEA, however if you have an ADSL connection this may not be the case. A quick call to us will answer the question, or you can use BT’s broadband checker by clicking here and entering your analogue line number.

Bear in mind that if you currently use your analogue line for anything else in your business in addition to broadband (analogue landline calls, fax, alarm, etc.), then you will need to find an alternative solution to this before making the switch to SoGEA.

Are there any other benefits to SoGEA?

Yes! The installation of new SoGEA lines, if required, is usually 50% faster than the old analogue/FTTC combination as there is only one service to manage, not two. The same is true of ongoing support where there is only one service to troubleshoot, making investigations quicker and easier.

What is the process of switching to SoGEA?

There is a small fee of approximately £15 to migrate your existing ADSL or FTTC service to SoGEA and the process takes about 10 working days, usually without the need for an engineer visit or any new equipment.

Regardless of whether your Internet connection is currently provided through Net Technical Solutions or not, all you need to do is drop us a line via the contact details below, referencing this article, and a member of our Account Management team will make contact and manage the process for you. We can also discuss future options for VoIP if required and have several solutions available depending on your requirements including Microsoft Teams, Gamma Horizon and 3CX.

So, in a nutshell….

There are many benefits to be gained by switching your business connectivity from ADSL/FTTC to SoGEA. Whilst the cost savings are not huge, we understand that every little helps, and there are also significant support and reliability advantages to be made.

Please do give us a call on 01252 235235 (option 2 for Sales & Account Management) or drop us an email to sales@ntsols.com and we will be more than happy to discuss the options and help find the right solution for your business.

To find out more about our IT Support services in Surrey, Hampshire and beyond, please click here.