Choosing a Wholesale Broadband Supplier: An ISP's Checklist
For an ISP, the wholesale supplier sits between every customer and the line that serves them. Price per line matters, but most of an ISP's cost and most of its customers' experience are decided by everything else: reach, handover, ordering, and how faults are handled. This is the checklist we would use.
The checklist
| Area | Question to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | Which access networks, and which technologies on each? | Every network you cannot order is a customer you cannot serve |
| Access relationship | Do you buy from the access networks directly? | A supplier buying through another wholesaler adds a step to every order and fault |
| Handover | Where, at what port speeds, and how many? | Handover location and capacity decide your backhaul cost and resilience |
| Termination | Can I terminate on my own LNS, and can you terminate for me? | You may want both: your own LNS now, a managed option for some customers |
| Addressing | Can I use my own space, and can you provide it? | New ISPs often have none; established ones want to keep theirs |
| Ordering | Is there an API for availability, ordering and diagnostics? | Manual ordering does not scale past a few hundred lines |
| Faults | Who raises faults with the access network, and how do I see progress? | Fault handling is where customers judge an ISP |
| Support | Do I reach engineers who can see the line? | Most wholesale faults are solved by seeing the line, not by escalation |
Reach is networks, not postcodes
Openreach reaches most of the UK, but altnets such as CityFibre, and regional networks such as KCOM in Hull and MS3, reach premises Openreach does not, often with faster FTTP. A supplier offering several access networks lets you quote more addresses, and quote the better line where there is a choice.
Check availability at real addresses from your target market before signing, and ask how availability is returned: per network and per technology, with the speeds each can deliver.
Handover and termination decide your architecture
Wholesale broadband is usually handed over by L2TP: the supplier tunnels each subscriber's session to your LNS, where your RADIUS authenticates and addresses it. The handover location and port speed decide what backhaul you need and how resilient it can be; two handovers in different datacentres remove a single point of failure.
Ask too whether the supplier can terminate subscribers for you. A managed option lets you launch before running an LNS, or serve some customers without one, while keeping the brand and the customer. Our guide to how wholesale broadband works explains the LAC, the LNS and the handover.
Ordering and faults are where the cost is
Every order and every fault costs staff time. An API that checks availability, places orders and tests lines lets your own systems do the work, and lets support staff see a line's state without raising a ticket. A supplier that deals with the access networks directly can also see what they see, and act on a fault without passing it along a chain.
Our guide to wholesale broadband fault isolation shows how faults are narrowed down between the line, the access network and your own network.
How Netavo answers the checklist
| Area | Netavo |
|---|---|
| Access networks | Openreach, CityFibre, KCOM and MS3, with FTTP up to 2300M where available |
| Access relationship | Direct with Openreach as a communications provider, and our own equipment in unbundled exchanges |
| Handover | Telehouse North, Telehouse East and Pulsant Manchester, on 1G, 10G or 100G ports |
| Termination | L2TP to your LNS, or managed termination on Netavo's own BNG |
| Addressing | Your own space announced over BGP, or IPv4 and IPv6 provided by Netavo |
| Ordering | Availability, ordering and line diagnostics in the partner portal and by API |
| Support | Direct access to the engineers who operate the network |
Common questions
What should an ISP look for in a wholesale broadband supplier?
Reach across access networks, a direct relationship with them, handover locations and capacity, options to terminate on your own LNS or the supplier's, addressing, an ordering and diagnostics API, and how faults are handled.
Why does a supplier's relationship with Openreach matter?
A supplier dealing with Openreach directly places orders and faults from its own systems and sees their progress, instead of passing them through another wholesaler.
Do I need my own LNS to sell wholesale broadband?
Not necessarily. Some suppliers, including Netavo, can terminate subscribers on their own BNG, so you can sell under your brand without running an LNS.
Should an ISP have more than one handover?
For resilience, yes. Handovers in different datacentres remove a single point of failure between the supplier's network and yours.
Related services and sectors
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Explore ISPs and operators →Put us against your checklist
Tell us what you run today and the addresses you want to serve. We will check availability and answer each point for your case.
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