A leased line is an Ethernet (fibre) line businesses rent from Internet Service Providers. Most will use it as an internet connection because they are so reliable and can give a fast and stable connection. Some businesses will only need dark fibre which they then run their own network through.

They are a dedicated internet connection which provides a stable bandwidth up to 10Gbps. These dedicated lines, based on carrier Ethernet technology, range from 10Mb all the way up to 10Gb (10,000Mbps leased line). 100Mb lines are the most popular among UK businesses.

According to Wikipedia, Leased line Definition:

“a service contract between a provider and a customer whereby the provider agrees to deliver a symmetrical telecommunications line connecting one or more locations to each other, or the internet in exchange for a monthly rent.”

How does a leased line work?

Ethernet Lines are made out of fibre Ethernet cables and works by sending pulses of light down these cables. The data is sent by the speed of light so they feel faster and more reliable than traditional copper broadband options.

They are dedicated private networks that give you symmetric upload and download speeds and come with a host of guarantees and benefits. This is why so many UK businesses rely on them to deliver high speed and ultra reliable internet connections.

Leased lines operate by connecting two separate locations with a private line. This can be between your business and the supplier network, giving you access to faster internet speeds as a standard. It can also be a connection between two different locations in your business.

Leased lines are delivered by fibre optic cable and need to be physically installed. That means digging up the ground and laying the cable in some areas, something which can take anywhere between one and three months. A lot depends on how close the main fibre optic network is in the first place.

When you get a leased line quote you may hear about the size of the bearer. Eg. If you purchase 100Mb leased line you can choose to have that delivered on 100Mb bearer or 1Gb bearer. Each bearer will have a different price point so the key to deciding will mainly come down to scalability. If you won’t need more than 100Mb during your contract term then its more cost effective to use 100Mb bearer. However, if you know that you will require more bandwidth in the next 3 years you would need to consider the 1Gb bearer.

What are the advantages of a leased line?

There are numerous advantages but some of the main ones include:

Dedicated data connectivity – the line is uncontended so no one shares with you & your speeds won’t fluctuate or drop during peak times, like they do with broadband.

Faster Speeds – 10Mb right up to 10Gb of guaranteed speeds helps keep your business operating in the most efficient way Service Level Agreement – Leased lines come with a service level agreement (SLA) which gives you the % your line is guaranteed to be working at the speed you pay for. Most are above 99.99%, some will even be 100%.

Scalability – The speeds available allow you to upgrade should your business grow and require more bandwidth.

Support – As standard you would expect to get 24/7 proactive monitoring of the data network and target fix times of around 4 hours.

Should anything ever go wrong the fix will be far quicker than a broadband line.

Broadband vs Leased Line

Comparing leased lines and broadband is like comparing a push bike and a Ferrari – they both get you from one place to the other but there are big differences in quality and speed.

Leased Lines are faster, more reliable and dedicated to you. Business broadband is shared with up to 50 other businesses so if everyone is using it at the same time you will experience drop outs and poor speeds.