EFM stands for Ethernet in the First Mile, and is aimed at providing a high speed and reliable Internet connection for growing businesses. Traditionally businesses had the choice between a standard ADSL service and fibre-based Ethernet services.

Unfortunately, some small businesses find that ADSL is not fast enough for their needs, whereas fibre-based Ethernet services are prohibitively expensive. EFM is in-between these two services.

If you order an EFM service from CCS Leeds, we will ask Openreach to deliver multiple copper pairs to your property.

About copper pairs:

A copper pair is what most of the telephone network uses. Properties will usually have a copper pair providing telephone and Internet services to the premises. When you order EFM, this will not be touched.

Instead, Openreach will install extra copper pairs into your property. These will not pass through your existing wall socket, instead Openreach will install extra wall sockets in your property.

The delivery time-scale for installation will depend on engineer availability in your area. Our sales team will be able to check this for you.

What is the benefit of installing these extra lines?

There are several benefits to using multiple copper pairs. Firstly, you will be able to increase the speed of your Internet connection, as you are using more wires and increasing the available bandwidth.

Secondly, the service is more reliable. If for whatever reason one of the copper wires failed, there are other lines to continue your Internet service and your service will simply run slower until the faulty wire is fixed.

Fault management:

Our EFM service is proactively managed, which means that when faults develop it should be spotted by us and resolved. If there is a fault in the copper wire between your property and the exchange Openreach will aim to have an engineer resolve the fault within six hours of it being reported.

What speeds can I get?

Like ADSL, factors such as your distance from the exchange will affect the speed you achieve. However it ranges from 2-10Mb for the EFM 2 Pair service and 10-20Mb for the EFM 4 Pair service.

We have a table showing expected speeds based on distance on our EFM product page on our main site.

What is the first mile?

The first mile is simply an industry term for the connection between your premises and the exchange. It is termed "the first mile" because it is first part of your connection with the wider network.

Will I need specialist equipment to use EFM?

All the necessary equipment is provided by CCS Leeds. As part of the installation we arrange for an engineer to visit your premises and install the NTE (Network Terminating Equipment). This is simply the box that joins up the new wiring that Openreach has installed in your premises and 'bonds' the lines.

We will also supply a preconfigured, managed Cisco router for use with the NTE. A single CAT5e patch cable connects this router to the RJ-45 network socket on the NTE. A block of routable IP addresses will be presented on the other Ethernet port of the Cisco router we supply.

How many IP addresses do I get?

All EFM customers can get up to 16 public IP addresses. These are great for assigning to each of your phones and ensuring trouble-free operation of your phone system.

If you need more we can provide either 32 or 64 public IP addresses. This is an extra cost above your monthly EFM subscription, please contact our sales team for more information.

Summary of the installation process:

Once you have submitted your order we will perform further checks. This is to ensure that your exchange is enabled for EFM and that your distance from the exchange allows you to receive our EFM service

1) Once these have been performed we will place an order with Openreach to install the extra copper circuits to your premises

2) Occasionally Openreach will require a planning visit before performing the work. If this is the case we will let you know

3) Once Openreach have installed the new wiring we will arrange for an engineer to visit and install the NTE (Network Termination Equipment) that will joins up the new wiring that Openreach has installed in your premises

4) We will now test and monitor your circuit for a period of time to ensure that it can support the speeds quoted and to check for any errors

5) Once this testing is complete we will hand the circuit over to you and you can start using the service