SoGEA Broadband

What is SoGEA?

SoGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access) is a type of part-fibre broadband connection, which means it uses both fibre optic cables and copper cables. Fibre optic cables run from the exchange to the street cabinet, and the copper cables run from the cabinet to your home.

The copper cables used in SoGEA connections provide you with broadband and Digital Voice. This is a home phone service that uses your broadband connection to let you to make and receive calls, rather than using the traditional copper cables. If you rely on services such as security alarms or health care pendants, you should check with your provider that your equipment is Digital Voice compatible.

SoGEA vs FTTC

SoGEA and FTTC (also known as ‘Fibre to the Cabinet’) are both types of part-fibre broadband – they both use a mix of fibre optic cables and copper cables to provide you with broadband.

With FTTC connections, the copper cables used provide you with broadband and a traditional landline connection. With SoGEA connections, the copper cables provide you with broadband and a digital voice line – so you can make calls using your broadband connection.

Both SoGEA and FTTC offer the same download speeds of up to 80 Mbps and upload speeds of 20 Mbps, and are widely available across the UK where full fibre broadband is not currently available.

By the end of 2030, the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) will be switched off. PSTN uses traditional copper lines (like FTTC) to deliver calls, which are being withdrawn by Openreach because the technology is outdated. If you’re currently on FTTC, we’ll move you over to SoGEA as soon as we can. Once this happens, you’ll have a digital voice connection (sometimes referred to as VoIP, or Voice-over Internet Protocol line). This is the new way to make calls - using your broadband connection instead of your copper line.

SoGEA vs FTTP/FTTH

FTTP stands for Fibre to the Premises. FTTP is sometimes called FTTH, which stands for Fibre to the Home – these are just slightly different names for the exact same technology: full fibre broadband. It only uses fibre optic cables, and these run from the exchange straight into your home.

This means that when you choose one of our full fibre plans you can get superfast broadband speeds, depending on where you live. SoGEA has slower speeds because of the slower copper cables – you can get speeds of up to 80Mbps.

Whether you can get part-fibre or full fibre broadband depends on where you live – some areas are still part-fibre whereas other areas are full fibre. This means that the broadband speeds available to you also depend on where you live.

What broadband connection should I get?

Full fibre broadband is less likely to experience faults or interference from things like bad weather.

Part-fibre is also being phased out, which means it eventually won’t be available in areas which have full fibre coverage. Learn about our full fibre plans

Do I have SoGEA Broadband?

You can ask your broadband provider if you have a SoGEA connection.

If you’re a Vodafone Broadband customer and have a SoGEA or FTTC connection, you’ll have a Fibre 1 or Fibre 2 plan. If you have FTTP, your plan name will include the words ‘full fibre’, for example: ‘Full Fibre 150’.