What is Leased Line? A Comprehensive Guide

A leased line is a private internet connection between two or more locations and is also known as a data line or private circuit in the UK.
Almost all businesses and organisations today rely on the internet to complete their day-to-day operations. They also need a reliable internet connection to communicate and collaborate with clients and customers.
If you are running a business that is internet dependent, you may also be looking for the best connectivity solutions. With the increasing demand for the internet, the number of available options has also increased. From traditional broadband to leased lines, you may find numerous connectivity solutions. So it may be confusing to choose the right option.
However, a leased line is considered the best option for your business, and it can provide you with the resilient internet connection you are looking for.

In this guide, we have gathered everything you need to know about leased lines so you can choose whether a leased line is the right option for your business.

What Are Leased Lines?

A leased line is a dedicated, full-fibre internet connection with fixed bandwidth. Unlike traditional broadband, you do not need to share it with other users. It is solely dedicated to your business, so you can get a high-speed connection to complete your tasks efficiently.

Another good thing about this connectivity solution is its symmetrical upload and download speeds.

“Leased” means a connection by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that is rented to your business directly, providing you with an internet connection far better than standard broadband offers.

Leased line providers offer a wide range of connection speeds, from 100Mbps to 10 Gbps. You can easily choose a speed according to your business needs.

How Do Leased Lines Work?

A leased line connection provides internet through fibre optic cable that runs directly from your service provider to your business premises. These fibre optic cables send light pulses down the line at the speed of light.

Whenever you send data through the fibre optic cables, the hardware at both ends looks for the light signals holding the data your devices are sending back and forth.

The equipment on either end turns the light on and off and represents binary 1s and 0s. The equipment picks up this light signal on the other end, recognizing and restoring it in binary 0s and 1s.

What Are The Uses Of Leased Lines?

Due to the dedicated nature and high speed, most businesses are moving towards leased lines. Everyone can get a leased line connection, but you must always research to find the right type of leased line for your business.

Businesses of all types and sizes can use leased lines for several reasons, some of which are as follows:

Getting access to a reliable internet connection.
Linking servers and computers when you have business at multiple locations.
Another use of leased lines is in making phone calls.
With such reliable connections, businesses can enable their staff with remote access.
Multimedia streaming is also a use of leased lines.
Carrying internet traffic and data within a network.

Types Of Leased Lines

Leased Lines are of different types, and it is essential to understand each to make the right decision when choosing one for your business.

i. Fibre Leased Line

This type of leased line connection is also known as ethernet access direct or fibre ethernet. It provides superfast internet through 100% fibre optic cables. The speed is high because there is no use of copper cables, and you can get a speed of up to 1Gbps.

You can use this type of leased line if your business relies highly on the internet. Also, remember that it is an expensive option compared to a business broadband connection.

ii. Ethernet In The First Mile

It is a leased line connection that uses traditional copper cables to deliver a connection from your street cabinet. A fibre optic cable is used from the street cabinet to the local exchange.

It is usually used in rural areas or areas where full fibre connection is unavailable. Due to the presence of copper cables, the speed is less than the full fibre connection, but the service is fully symmetrical.

iii. Ethernet over FTTC

Ethernet over Fibre To The Cabinet or EoFTTC is a recent development in data connectivity. It is suitable for businesses that do not have access to local fibre cabinets.

It is similar to Ethernet in the First Mile but is cheaper in price. It uses a mixture of copper and fibre optic cables, so the speed is slow.

Why Is A Leased Line Needed?

Everyone needs a high-quality and reliable internet connection in this digital era, so a leased line can be a perfect option to fulfil your business needs.

Here are a few benefits of leased lines that will help you understand why you need this connectivity solution.

1- Symmetrical And Fast Speed

Leased lines are faster than traditional broadband connections. The speed is a hundred times more even than the superfast broadband connection. You can get a speed from 100Mbps to 10 Gbps; a secondary connection normally backs it up.

In addition, the upload and download speeds are the same, so you do not need to wait hours to share a file or download a large amount of data.

2- Low Latency

A leased line is an internet connection with low latency compared to other internet connections. If your business has high demands to run cloud-based applications, transferring large data files with low latency is essential to complete these tasks smoothly.

3- Dedicated Bandwidth

A dedicated internet connection like a leased line provides guaranteed bandwidth because it is a connection that is only for your business use and is not shared.

It means your connection does not slow down even at peak times, and you can complete your business operations efficiently without wasting time.

4- Service Level Agreement

Business broadband usually runs on the same infrastructure as consumer broadband, so it often responds slowly to incidents such as damaged cable or connection-related issues.

In contrast, leased lines come with guaranteed Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and it takes 6 to 12 hours to fix a problem. Some leased line providers also offer financial compensation if it takes longer to fix a problem.

5- Security Assurance

A leased line is a relatively new connection, so many businesses are concerned about security. It offers great security to businesses against threats like DDoS and other related threats. It means your internet connection is protected and is not hit by any outage due to malicious intent.

Does Your Business Need A Leased Line?

Now that you know leased lines offer numerous benefits, it is time to decide whether you get them for your business. In order to do so, you must analyse your broadband requirements.

Remember that a leased line is more expensive than other internet connections, so it is only beneficial when you have a high budget and your business operation entirely depends on internet quality.

Discuss your business needs with several leased line providers before making a final decision.

Final Words

Leased lines are a dedicated and reliable option for businesses that require high-speed internet connectivity. They offer symmetrical upload and download speeds, low latency, and dedicated bandwidth, making them ideal for activities such as multimedia streaming, remote access, and carrying internet traffic and data within a network.

Although they can be expensive, leased lines come with a service level agreement that guarantees the provider’s commitment to maintaining the service quality.

With their numerous benefits, leased lines are a valuable investment for businesses of all sizes that require fast and reliable internet connectivity.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Will You Provide Assistance To Get It Installed?

When it comes to getting a leased line, you just need to look for a view of the installation. There are several queries to handle, from survey appointments of your premises to engineer visits you must be aware of all. Ensure that the provider you choose has a dedicated team to manage all the installations and keep a close eye on how things are progressing. Your chosen must provide clear updates about the installation from time to time. Moreover, you may find a lot of industry jargon involved in it, so you must ask your provider to explain everything in plain English so that you can understand what is happening at every stage of installation.

How Resilient Your Services Will Be?

All the dedicated fibre leased line services are highly reliable. Unlike traditional broadband services, leased line services are not affected by environmental factors such as water ingress or electronic interference in the network. One thing that makes the leased line different is that if the connection goes down due to any reason, it is fixed within hours. It usually takes five hours to fix the problem when there is a complete loss of connectivity. In contrast, copper-based broadband services can take several days to fix a problem.

However, if you rely entirely on the internet, five hours will seem like a long time when your whole business goes offline. That is why it is essential for you to make sure that your provider must have a backup plan. Most providers have a backup circuit that helps you keep online even if it has a slow speed. First, ask for a backup broadband connection included in the plan or not. But if you need a connection that is business-critical, you must ask your provider to provide a second leased line connection via a different route into the building. Other than that, you can have a backup supplier to keep your downtime less.

How Will You Provide Support?

It is one crucial question that you should ask your provider. Ask about the hours for which their support team works and where the support team is based. You must ask about how you can connect to them to explain issues. It is not necessary that you provide all the help you need in setting up computers, wireless access points and switches in your workplace network. But they can assist you on a call and help you to plug your gateway or main switch into the termination equipment to make sure that you are all set and your connection is working.

What is the Visibility of the Circuit?

It is crucial for you to know which type of service you are purchasing. You can even buy a fibre optic leased as wires only. With this, you have the benefit of simply plugging in your equipment to the termination point and configuring your internet connection. But this type of leased line will give your provider very little visibility of your circuit and slows down the support time if there is an issue.

Alternatively, they may provide you with a router with your circuit in order to have some visibility of your circuit. This way, they can remotely monitor your circuit. If you take services from reputable providers, they can set rules for you and help you prioritise traffic that is important for you.

How Will You Handle Backup Services?

You must ask your leased line provider about how you can switch to any backup solution when you need it. Most commonly, when your primary circuit goes down, you have to plug your equipment into the backup circuit manually. However, it is better if your provider makes sure that it will occur automatically. In this case, there is a box present on-site handling that detects the slowdown in your main circuit within minutes and shifts connection to the backup circuit.

How Can You Buy A Leased Line?

When you select a leased provider, you have to complete an order form. Once you accept the leased line quote, a number of activities run in the background to provide you with a leased line connection.
First, select a proper place at your premises where you want the dedicated internet line circuit to terminate. Most businesses have a separate room or communication rack for this purpose. As a part of the installation process, an engineer visits your site to find out the best route for fibre optic cable from the exchange to your business premises. During this plan, they also find out how much work they have to do to get the last bit of cable into your building and the selected termination point. If your mind changes during the process and you want to change your termination point, it can cause delays in installation and increase the cost.

If you have your business set up in a rental property, you have to contact your landlord as soon as possible. It is because the permission of the landlord is required to install the circuit. If your landlord needs legal paperwork, it can also slow down the process.
A specific amount is charged from you as an installation cost. However, if your provider charges you any price above installation cost, it is known as excess construction charge. In the initial cost, providers may not be able to explain how much excess cost will be charged, but an indication is given whether they will charge this fee or not. You have 30 days to accept the quote and proceed further or to reject it without any penalty.

How Much Time It Will Take To Install?

Time of internet leased line installation can vary depending on several factors, for example, which type of local infrastructure you already have in place. Usually, the site survey gives an estimated time of installation, but there is never a guaranteed date provided. It is because a number of parties are involved in the process of delivering the circuit. For example, if there is a need to dig up the road and install a new duct, applications are made to the local council to get permission. That is why some leased line orders can take several months to complete.

If you already have fibre optic infrastructure installed in your building, it will take a few weeks to complete the leased line installation. However, if there is no such infrastructure, you may have to wait for 45 to 90 days to complete the process. The installation of EFM takes the shortest time because there is no need for new fibre cables.

One way through which you can reduce installation time is to work with your provider by providing all the information whenever they send a query. If you have any issue with lead time, you can ask your provider to offer a temporary connectivity solution until your main service goes live.

How Much Does A Leased Line Cost?

The cost of a leased line connection varies with a number of factors, but commonly the lowest amount a business can expect to pay for a leased line is around £250 per month. This amount can vary depending on your premises location, the speed you need, monitoring and backup options.