Becoming a Broadband Reseller: 2025 UK Market Guide

From a resellers perspective, this grants a large commercial opportunity, as businesses such as IT service companies and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) can add broadband reselling to their portfolio for increased revenue.

Broadband Types

Some of the more common modern broadband solutions include Fibre to the Premises and SOGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access).

- SoGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access) - new broadband service introduced by BT/Openreach that allows users to access high-speed internet without the need for a traditional phone line. This service aligns with the UK’s nationwide switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and ISDN. eliminates the need for paying line rental for a phone service. speeds comparable to Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) technology, with download speeds of up to 80 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps.

- FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) - As of 2025, full-fibre broadband is available to over 70% of UK premises, up from just 24% in 2021, designed to eventually provide nationwide gigabit-capable connectivity. Full-fibre networks deliver ultrafast speeds, often exceeding 1 Gbps.

Reselling Broadband Basics

Broadband reselling allows businesses to partner with major providers such as Openreach, BT or CityFibre to offer internet connectivity under their own brand or as part of a bundled service package. Resellers earn commissions on sales and upgrades, as well as bundling broadband with other services such as Cloud Voice (VoIP) telephony, Office 365 subscriptions, secure cloud backup and hybrid 4G/5G backup solutions. Reselling broadband is particularly suited for IT service companies and MSPs already serving SMEs or remote workers. These businesses can leverage their existing relationships to cross-sell connectivity solutions alongside IT services. Key Benefit is the ease of entry, where providers support resellers with tools such as partner portals, customer service assistance and technical expertise. Providing internet connectivity also strengthens client relationships by addressing essential needs.

Value-Added Services

Resellers can bundle broadband with a variety of complementary services including Cloud-Based Phone Systems (VoIP), Wi-Fi Extenders and Mesh Networks, 4G Backup Solutions, CyberSecurity Tools, Managed IT Services.

Bundling broadband with premium services allows resellers to charge higher prices while delivering greater value. Tailored packages allow resellers to stand out in a competitive market. Value-added services create stickiness by addressing broader business needs, making customers less likely to switch providers.

Broadband Reseller Business Models: Dealer vs Wholesale (White-Label)

Dealer/Agent Model: Act as a sales agent for an established telecom provider. Provider supplies and bills the service under their brand, reseller receives a commission or finder’s fee for each customer. Lower operational burden since the provider handles installation, billing and support but also yields less margin per customer (typically a smaller recurring commission).

Wholesale (White-Label) Model: Resellers purchase broadband services at wholesale rates and resell under their own brand. Reseller manages the customer relationship, billing and first-line support. This model offers higher potential profit margins through own prices and full ownership of the customer, however comes at greater responsibility.

Important factors to consider when reselling at different Business sizes:

When entering the UK broadband reselling market, selecting the appropriate business model is essential. Different sized businesses typically find different reselling approaches more suitable based on their resources, existing infrastructure and anticipated growth.

Small Business Resellers

Small operations such as independent IT consultants, local computer shops or startup digital service providers often find the dealer (commission-based) model most appropriate for their initial entry into broadband reselling. This approach offers several advantages:

• Low Barrier to Entry: Minimal upfront investment required

• Simplified Operations: No need to build support infrastructure

• Quick Market Entry: Ability to start generating revenue rapidly by leveraging established ISP brands

• Risk Mitigation: Limited financial exposure whilst testing the market

Small businesses in this space typically focus on referring clients to major ISPs and earning commissions without the overhead of managing service delivery or customer support, reducing complexity and operational costs.

Medium-Sized Businesses

Established MSPs (Managed Service Providers), regional IT firms and telecom dealers often utilise one of two models:

• Premium Dealer Programmes: Medium-sized businesses may opt for premium partnership programmes with major ISPs that offer higher commissions and basic co-branding opportunities.

• Selective White-Labeling: Others (usually more capable and expert) medium-sized businesses choose to white-label specific services where they maintain relationships directly with the customer.

Choosing between these models often depends on the existing customer base, technical support capabilities and more broader business goals. Medium-sized businesses that prioritise brand development and higher margins tend to select white-label offerings, due to being able to take greater ownership and those focused on operational simplicity typically maintain dealer relationships via premium dealer programmes.

Enterprise-Level Resellers

Large enterprises, nationwide IT service providers and companies with substantial existing customer bases typically utilise a wholesale or white-label model. These sellers:

• Integrate broadband seamlessly into larger service package bundles

• Leverage existing support infrastructure and billing systems

• Maximise profit margins through volume purchasing

• Control the entire customer experience to maintain service quality and brand consistency

For these businesses, broadband reselling becomes part of their core offerings rather than a standalone revenue stream.

Value-Added Services to Maximise Revenue per Customer

Offering a basic internet connection alone is rarely enough to build a large, sustainable, profitable business. Forward-thinking resellers therefore understand that the key to success lies in maximising the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) gained via extra revenue streams, with value-added services being bundled alongside resellers to complement core connectivity offerings.

Cloud Voice Services (VoIP/Hosted PBX)

With the announcement of the upcoming PSTN shutdown in the UK, businesses across the UK are actively seeking replacement solutions for traditional telephone lines. These solutions come in the form of VoIP, hosted PBX or cloud telephony and many PSTN replacements are already offered by ISPs and broadband providers. This makes Cloud Voice services perfect for reselling alongside broadband, as prospective broadband resellers only need to garner a single partnership.

These add-on services can include:

• Hosted PBX systems that eliminate the need for on-premises hardware

• SIP trunking services that connect existing phone systems to the internet

• Softphone applications that enable calls from computers and mobile devices

A small business customer paying £30 monthly for broadband might easily spend an additional £15-25 per user for cloud telephony, potentially doubling or tripling your revenue from that account. Better yet, voice services typically carry higher margins than basic connectivity, improving your bottom line while making customers more dependent on your total solution.

Wifi Extension and Improvement Solutions

Whilst you're already reselling broadband to your customers, why not sell them the complete package of super-fast broadband, alongside extensions to coverage to ensure that connectivity is supplied at every area of their business. Even the fastest broadband connection loses its value if it can't be accessed throughout a customer's premises, therefore Wi-Fi coverage issues represent both a common pain point and a significant revenue opportunity.

To address these issues, alongside broadband, resellers can provide:

• Mesh networking systems for coverage in larger environments and offices

• Enterprise-grade access points for business environments with high device density

• Wi-Fi signal boosters for extending coverage to problem areas

These solutions can be sold as one-time purchases or, more profitably, as part of a managed Wi-Fi service with monthly recurring fees. A managed Wi-Fi service priced at £10-15 monthly provides an attractive margin while solving a persistent customer frustration.

4G/5G Failover Connectivity

For many businesses, internet downtime means lost revenue, productivity, and customer satisfaction. By offering automatic 4G/5G failover solutions, you're selling peace of mind alongside connectivity.

One of the best ways to do this is to sell solutions such as SD-WAN, dual-WAN routers and data SIM cards. This service particularly appeals to businesses that rely heavily on internet connectivity, such as the retail industry that use cloud-based EPOS systems, professional services firms, and remote workers who cannot afford downtime. A 4G/5G backup service can be sold at a premium of £15-30 monthly depending on the allowance and service level, substantially increasing your potential ARPU, whilst also resolving a common broadband-related issue for businesses.

Cybersecurity and Managed Services

Coverage isn't the only cause for operational downtime, with a fair portion of issues being caused by cyber threats. This makes it important for businesses to seek protection, therefore by bundling security services alongside connectivity, prospective resellers can position themselves as an all-encompassing partner rather than a simple utility provider. Security solutions that you could potential resell include:

• Managed firewall/Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS), used to protect all network planes.

• Content filtering/URL filtering for safer browsing and increased productivity.

• Managed SD-WAN or VPN services for secure branch or remote access capabilities.

• Endpoint protection for the protection of computers and mobile devices - ideal for businesses that operate Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) policies.

• Security awareness training for teaching employees about the importance of security.

Your ability to resell these add-ons are largely dependent on your business' expertise and resources, therefore it's important to consider the requirements they come with. Security services can be tiered to suit different customer needs and budgets, from basic protection to more complete security packages. A basic security package might add £10-15 per user monthly, whilst premium solutions could add £25-40 per user.

The Commercial Impact of Value-Added Services

Value-added services provide a significantly increased ARPU, with customers who might typically have spent only £30 monthly on basic broadband potentially generating far more through reselling add-on services.

Another key benefit is the increased retention rate and improvements to position in the market. Other resellers also offer their own value-added service line, so by ensuring that you can offer these, you not only improve your competitive position but also fulfil more of your customer's needs. Customers using multiple services from a single reseller report 30-40% lower churn rates than single-service customers, which is important for building reliable profits year on year.

How to Become a Broadband Reseller in the UK (Step-by-Step)

When choosing to become a broadband reseller, it's often important to consider a wide variety of factors - all of which we've highlighted below:

Prior to Reselling

Before getting started, make sure you thoroughly understand the market, where potential competitors strengths and weaknesses lie and how your projected/pre-existing customer base. For example, will you focus on small businesses, larger enterprises or even residential customers? Each sector has different needs, expectations and profit potential - typically the more complex equates to the most profitable. You may also choose to differ your offerings based on specific local area where you have existing relationships, support capabilities or your business' ability to cater to niches.

Choosing a reseller model

Based on your business capabilities, select the reseller model that best aligns with your expertise and customer requirements.

• Dealer/Commission Model: Ideal if you want a quick start with minimal investment and operational complexity. Earning commissions for referring customers to established ISPs but won't control pricing, branding or the full customer relationship.

• Wholesale/White-Label Model: Better suited if you have the resources to manage customer relationships and want to build your own brand. This approach offers higher profit margins but requires far more investment in operations and customer support.

Selecting a Partner Programme

Once you've decided on your model, the next step is choosing the right partner programme. If opting for a dealer model, partners such as BT Business, Vodafone or TalkTalk Business offer competitive commission structures, quality products and support for their resellers.

Alternatively, telecom wholesalers and aggregators should be evaluated for network coverage in your target locations, service portfolio (FTTC, FTTP, leased lines, SoGEA), wholesale pricing, contract terms, technical support and portal/API capabilities.

Set Up Your Operations and Support Infrastructure

To ensure operations run smoothly, you'll need to implement a solution that can handle recurring billing, usage tracking and payment processing. Options for this range from specialised telecom billing platforms to adaptations of existing accounting software. Ensure you've define your support model that suits your capabilities and customer requirements, which may be dictated by your support hours and availability, ticket management system, escalation procedures, knowledge base for common issues and the ability to offer service level agreements (SLAs).

If you're unsure about any of these, it's often best to work with your wholesale partner to integrate their provisioning systems with your business processes. Many wholesalers provide reseller portals or APIs to streamline order management and service monitoring.

Once these are in place, create clear procedures for handling new orders, service changes and how to handle terminations to ensure customer transitions don't experience issues.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Operating in the UK telecommunications market comes with specific legal and regulatory considerations. While not mandatory for all resellers, registering with Ofcom as a Communications Provider can provide benefits, especially for wholesale operations. This includes getting your own Communications Provider Identity (CP ID) with Openreach. Further to this, you should understand the Consumer Rights Act, Distance Selling Regulations and other relevant consumer protection laws that govern service contracts. Ensure all marketing materials comply with the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) guidelines, particularly regarding broadband speed claims, as well as implementing GDPR-compliant processes for handling customer data, including privacy policies, data security measures and consent management.

Finally, have your service contracts reviewed by a legal professional to ensure they're fair, transparent and compliant with UK regulations.

Start Packaging and Pricing

Design tiered packages that address different customer needs. For business customers, offer services such as basic broadband for small offices, high-speed fibre for data-intensive operations, premium packages with guaranteed bandwidth or SLAs and bundles that offer the value-added services discussed earlier.

For wholesale resellers, calculate your pricing by considering the likes of wholesale line costs, overhead expenses, support costs, value-added service costs, desired profit margin and competitive positioning.

Once you know the package offerings, work out what your standard contract lengths (typically 12, 24, or 36 months) should be, what the early termination policies are and if you're going to charge any installation fees. Finally, define what guarantees you're making regarding uptime, fault resolution times and compensation for service failures.

Marketing and Customer Acquisition

With your offerings defined, focus on attracting your initial customer base or converting pre-existing customers from other product lines - if you have an established business in an adjacent sector (such as IT services or office equipment), start by introducing broadband services to your current customers who already trust your brand.

Create brochures, case studies and digital content that highlight your unique value proposition, whether that's local support, specialised industry knowledge or more niche bundled services.

Future Progression

Once you've garnered your initial customers, focus on delivering exceptional service and products to ensure they not only continue to return to you year-on-year but also for positive word-of-mouth, which can be crucial to your growth.