What Size Leased Lines Can You Get?

A leased line is used by businesses that rely on data transfer at high speeds, such as financial services or digital enterprises like e-commerce.

These lines offer symmetric download and upload speeds, unlike conventional broadband which is often asymmetric and slows down at peak times. A 1Gb leased line offers ample bandwidth for any business and gives them the confidence that their connectivity will not fail at busy periods.

Sizes

The good news is that, with the right leased line provider, businesses of all sizes can get high-speed connections. The reason for this is that a business connection doesn’t share the same public network as consumer like broadband, meaning that it can cope with much higher bandwidth demands.

It’s also a lot more resilient as it’s delivered on fibre optic cable which is usually underground (and therefore less prone to electrical interference, which copper wires are prone to).

In terms of speed, the best leased lines are able to deliver up to 1Gb and more – which should be sufficient for most businesses. This is especially true if the majority of your work is carried out online using cloud-based systems, Skype calls/interviews or data-heavy applications. It’s worth remembering that, as the internet evolves and more work is done online, your business’s internet connectivity needs will likely increase. This is why a leased line should be considered as a long-term solution.

Speeds

While leased lines are often talked about in hushed tones, they have become more affordable in recent years. They offer uncontended speeds & a service level agreement (SLA).

Unlike broadband, where speed can be affected by other people using the same line, leased lines are dedicated. This means your business won’t be affected by peak times or busy periods. This consistency is perfect for businesses that upload lots of data - like creative digital agencies or video production studios.

A lot of the time you get these lines via fibre but if your office doesn’t have full fibre then you could also consider an EFM line or Ethernet access direct (EAD). These options use aggregated copper pairs to give you similar speeds to a fibre leased line but are cheaper as they aren’t backed by an SLA.

Bearers

A leased line is fibre optic cable which runs from your business premises to the network point of presence or the exchange. It is uncontended and gives businesses an ultrafast, reliable connection to the internet, a guaranteed fix time and low latency/jitter. It also allows businesses to perform jitter free VoIP and enables a range of other technical functions like video conferencing, online financial trading and hosting.

With a leased line, you can choose the bearer size which is essentially the bandwidth limit of your connection. This can be set to 100Mb or 1Gb and many customers are advised to opt for a bearer larger than they require to enable them to upgrade quickly and easily as their business grows.

Leased lines can be expensive but a lot of the costs can be rolled over into your contract term and the installation costs can be covered by the UK Government’s Gigabit Voucher Scheme. A site survey will give a good indication of the costs and installation times.

Installation

Once you have made a decision to move forward with a leased line, it is important to make sure you understand what’s involved in the installation process. It’s a good idea to ask your supplier to survey the area where you want the circuit terminated & get consent from your landlord as soon as possible.

This is a great time to also ask your supplier how they would manage the installation of the leased line. Installing a leased line can be quite a project & you will need to know how well your provider can communicate with you throughout the process.

Another aspect to consider when choosing a leased line is how many different speeds are available. It’s important to know that a standard leased line speed is 100Mb & this can be adapted as your business needs. Unlike traditional broadband connections, leased lines are ‘symmetrical’ & so uploads & downloads have identical speeds. This makes leased lines ideal for businesses that need to send large files, host servers or use VoIP conference calls.