A leased line costs between £150 to £1000 in the UK. But how much it exactly costs depends on several factors such as your business location, the speed you need, the type of leased line, and bandwidth.
A reliable and high-quality internet connection that is not shared with other users is essential for businesses that highly rely on the internet to complete their operations. Traditional business broadband connections offer high speed, but the connection is contended and slows down during peak usage hours.
This is where the leased line comes in, providing an uncontended connection that is not affected by other traffic. With the increasing demand for dedicated connections, the number of leased line providers has also increased. Every provider offers different leased Line costs, so you should always compare prices before choosing a provider.
There are different types of leased lines present, including Generic Ethernet Access (GEA), Ethernet over FTTC (EoFTTC), Ethernet First Mile (EFM) and many others. Here in this article, we are going to describe all about dedicated internet line costs and quotes so that you can choose a connection that suits you the most. But first, let's understand what leased lines mean.
How Much Does A Leased Line Costs?
there are different types of leased lines present, including Generic Ethernet Access (GEA), Ethernet over FTTC (EoFTTC), Ethernet First Mile (EFM) and many others.
To get a quick comparison, you can use online comparison sites so that you can choose a connection that meets your needs. We also provide you with a quick comparison of top UK leased line providers and help you get the cheapest rate with high-quality services.
Factors Affecting Leased Line Cost
When it comes to purchasing a dedicated connection, we are concerned with cost. Leased line pricing is affected by several factors, which are as follows:
1. Location
Since a leased line is a direct fibre optic connection between the nearest exchange and your business premises, the more the distance of your premises from the service provider, the more you have to pay.
2. Bandwidth
It is understood that the faster the connection, the more traffic it is able to carry and ultimately, the cost will be high. So we can say that a business with 20 employees has to pay much less than one that has over 200 employees and heavy cloud computing. It means the more bandwidth you need, the more will be the cost of the leased line.
3. Contract Length
Most leased line providers offer a contract length between 3 to 5 years. When you go for a longer contract, you have to pay less leased line cost as compared to a contract for the short term.
Other than these factors, the leased line pricing also depends on factors like latency, level of customer service, resilience and uptime.
Leased Line Pricing Explained
The best way to understand leased line costs is to look at the current prices in the market. Here in this section, we are describing the pricing of the UK’s best leased line providers.
BT
British Telecom or BT is the largest leased line provider in the UK. You can get speeds ranging from 50Mbps to 100Mbps, and pricing starts from £195 per month. One significant advantage is that BT offers free installation. However, before getting a connection, you must keep in mind that BT’s favoured contract length is 60 months. So if you do not want to get a connection for a long time, you have to pay more to get a short-term contract.
BT offers two different leased line packages, BT net and BT net Express. If you want a high speed up to 10GBPs, then go for BT net Express, but you have to pay more for this connection.
Talk Talk Business
TalkTalk Business is a well-known Internet service provider offering dedicated internet connections at an affordable rate. It is a reason it is a top pick for small businesses.
However, the connection speed is not very high, and you can get a speed up to 20Mbps. This speed can be fine for small businesses but may not be suitable for rapidly growing businesses. The fastest leased line connection of Talk Talk costs £243 per month, which is not the absolute cheapest but still competitive.
If you go for a 36-month contract, then Talk Talk offers free installation, which is a great advantage. In addition, it offers 12-month contracts for businesses that do not want to tie up for a long period.
Virgin Media
The starting Price of Virgin Media Leased Line is £270 per month for 100Mbps and £550 per month for 1GBps, which is reasonable. However, we can not advise on Virgin Media’s 10Gbps internet line cost because the provider works out bespoke prices for this connection.
Unfortunately, we are not sure about installation charges and contract length of Virgin Media because the company does not describe anything clear about these things.
Vodafone
Vodafone offers the most expensive dedicated internet connection. It starts from £255 per month for a 50Mbps connection and ends up at £610+ for a 1Gbps line connection. All of its leased line pricing is higher than the other providers, due to which many businesses do not consider.
Vodafone’s installation charges are also unclear, but it says that the installation cost is £2,000 when applicable. The installation fee can be waived or charged depending on the type of contract or the results of the site survey.
Additional Leased Line Cost
When it comes to calculating leased line costs, you should always keep in mind other than monthly fees; you have to pay installation charges. So let’s have a detailed look at installation charges:
The installation fees can vary from provider to provider and ranges from £0 to thousands of pounds. The installation fee that you have to pay depends on:
- Leased line provider you choose, and if they offer to waive installation fee or not.
- The results of the site survey show if there is a need for any significant construction work.
- The length of contract you choose.
- Your leased line provider, and whether they offer to waive installation fees
- Your provider offers the construction cost.
The best way to find how much installation costs you have to pay is to directly contact the potential provider. Always make sure to get an idea of the cost before signing the contract; otherwise, you may have to pay charges that you can not even afford.
If you want to find an easy way to get in contact with several providers is through a free leased line quote tool. These tools help you compare prices and also connect you with the best providers.
How To Get A Great Leased Line Quote?
Numerous leased line providers are present in the UK, so it can be challenging for you to find the best provider offering competitive pricing. If you are looking for a dedicated connection and want to get a quote, you should go to a website like us. We help you in getting leased line quotes from multiple providers in real-time. When getting a quote, you should keep the following things in mind:
- You should always choose a well-reputed and experienced leased line supplier to avoid any inconvenience later.
- Before getting a quote, it is better to consider how much speed your business needs. This way, you can not end up paying more for a high-speed connection. You can easily find leased line speeds ranging from 10Mbps to 10 Gbps and choose one that suits you the most.
- When you look for a leased line quote, your main concern is the cost. The cost varies from provider to provider and is also different in different areas of the country.
- Other than monthly rental charges, you must know the installation cost so that you can get an idea of whether you can afford such a connection. Some providers waive installation charges in three-year terms, which can be a cost-effective way for you.
- You should keep in mind the contract length when getting a quote. Typically, the contract length varies between 1 year to five years. If you are thinking of committing for the least line with certainty, go for a longer contract term as it waives installation fees.
When choosing a leased line provider, think beyond the cost and look for the speed, bandwidth and other services a provider is offering, like data backup and VoIP services. Furthermore, look at the level of customer service a provider is offering to ensure that you stay connected continuously.
Why Do You Need to Compare Leased Line Prices?
If you want to get affordable leased line pricing, signing a contract with the first provider you find is the biggest mistake. Instead, making a price comparison of all the top leased line providers in the UK is the best way to find an affordable deal that meets all your needs.
It is easy to say about a price comparison, but we know it is bewildering. It is time taking and difficult because some providers do not display their pricing publicly, while others offer quotes according to the type of business. However, you can go to a comparison site for quick comparison and quotes without the hassle.
Leased Line Alternatives
When it comes to high quality, reliability, and a fast internet connection, a leased line is the best option. But the leased line cost is high, and if you can not afford it, you can look for an alternative.
Let’s have a look at the leased line alternatives available in the market:
Conventional Broadband Or ADSL
ADSL is an abbreviation of asymmetric digital subscriber line. It is the most common type of internet connection all across the UK. It is also the cheapest option, but you must remember that the speed is also slow, around 10Mbps.
Other than conventional broadband is a contended connection, so you have to share it with other users. However, if your business does not highly rely on the internet for its operation, ADSL can be a suitable option for you.
SDSL
We can say that SDSL (Symmetric digital subscriber line) is an advanced form of ADSL. It is similar to ADSL, except that it provides similar upload and download bandwidth.
FTTC OR FTTP
FTTC (Fibre to the cabinet) is a connection that uses a fibre optic cable from the service provider to the exchange and a copper cable from the cabinet to your premises. On the other hand, FTTP is Fibre to the premises and uses fibre optic cable from all the way to your business.
Fibre connections are always faster than traditional broadband and offer speeds upto 1Gbps. However, Fibre broadband is also a contended or shared connection.
The problem with Fibre broadband is that it may not be enough to fulfil your business needs and is not available to all at your workplace. It is a perfect solution for residential use, but if you own a small business with a few employees, you can go for it.