Introduction.

Internet Connectivity has improved at an exponential rate over the past ten years. Thankfully, the days of working with lethargic Internet connections are a thing of the past for most of us and entry level ADSL connections are gradually being replaced with super-fast Fibre internet connectivity solutions, such as Virgin Broadband and BT infinity.

High speed and high availability is becoming standard issue.

According to the Ofcoms Connected Nations update for 2019, 53% of UK premises have access to a fixed Broadband service with a download speed of 300Mbit/s or higher (as of January 2019). Have no doubt – this figure will continue to rise throughout 2020 and beyond.

If Internet Connectivity has improved this much, why invest in a Leased Line?

When compared to a standard residential ADSL or Fibre Broadband connection, Small Businesses may find it difficult to justify the additional cost of investing in a Leased Line. However, if your Business is completely reliant upon a fast and resilient internet connection to remain productive and competitive, then a Fibre Leased Line will quickly generate a return on investment.

If you are considering investing in a Leased Line for your Business, then the following list of advantages will help you to create an appealing business case.

What is a leased line?

A leased line is a high-capacity dedicated internet connection that is leased exclusively by you, or your business. With a Leased Line connection, you will benefit from 100% of the bandwidth because your internet connection isn’t shared with anyone else. We’ll go into more detail about leased line connectivity in the list of advantages below.

The advantages of investing in a leased Fibre Line connection.

1. Get symmetrical bandwidth.

Internet fibre leased lines provide a symmetrical Internet connection.

What does this mean?

Symmetrical internet connection is a term used to describe an internet connection that provides equal download and upload speeds.

A symmetrical connection allows you to upload and download large amounts of data on your connection at the same time without any loss of speed.  This makes a leased line the perfect solution for media companies that require an uninterrupted connection to stream and transfer large amounts of data, or for large organisations that use bandwidth intensive solutions, such as hosted telephony for example.

2. Get uncontented bandwidth.

Internet Fibre Leased Lines feature an uncontented bandwidth connection.

What does this mean?

Uncontented bandwidth is a term used to describe a fixed internet connection speed that isn’t affected by peak usage times.

3. Up to 10Gbps Internet speeds are available.

Internet Fibre Leased Lines offer bandwidth capability that is far in excess of what is currently available from a traditional Fibre Line, or ADSL internet connection.  More cost-effective leased line solutions start from as little as 10Mbps, rising up to an astronomical 10Gbps. You shouldn’t struggle streaming Netflix with that connection!

Of course, this amount of bandwidth comes at a cost. Leased lines are not cheap to purchase and the installation costs alone can run into the thousands if you don’t already have a leased line connection coming into the building.

4. Nearly 100% service uptime.

An unstable internet connection will have a negative impact on your organisations productivity and profitability. So if you rely on a stable and resilient internet connection for Business Continuity, then a Fibre Leased Line is the perfect solution.

Look.

When it comes to service uptime, reputable Internet Fibre Leased Line Providers will guarantee network availability of at least 99.95%. In effect, this means that you should rarely experience any internet downtime, if ever.  And – in the incredibly rare instance that your leased line connection does drop, your ISP will provide you with a guaranteed fix time that is usually between 1-5 hours.

5. Best-in-class Customer Support.

Fibre Leased Lines are more expensive than a traditional internet connection, but with a leased line service comes best-in-class customer support. If it doesn’t, then you should consider switching service providers.  A reputable Leased line provider will offer a 24/7/365 instant customer service, in addition to pro-active around the clock network monitoring in order identify and resolve issues before you know about them.

In addition.

Remember that Fibre Leased Line connections come with a service level agreement (SLA). Many Broadband services do not have an SLA in their terms of service.

6. Lower latency.

With a Fibre Leased Line connection, you will experience little to no delays (latency) when transferring or streaming large amounts of data over the internet.   Lower latency will also prove advantageous to organisations of a high user count that use VoIP telephony for example.

7. No data transfer restrictions.

Many Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) advertise their internet services with unlimited usage. However, if you take the time to read the small print, you’ll often find that many broadband services are actually subject to fair usage restrictions, regardless of what service is being advertised.

In fairness, you have to transfer A LOT of data before your ISP contacts you (apparently!)

What are the disadvantages to investing in a leased line?

Every service has its disadvantages and leased line connectivity is no exception. The main disadvantages of investing in a leased line are as follows:

Connectivity costs.

As previously mentioned, Internet leased lines are considerably more expensive than a traditional ADSL or fibre broadband connection, mainly because of the many advantages listed above.

Installation costs.

The cost to install a Fibre Leased line into a building without an existing connection can be VERY expensive.  If you are moving premises and you are considering investing in a leased line, then it is wise to check if the premises already has a fibre leased line connection running into the building. If it does, this will potentially save you thousands of pounds in installation costs.

Installation time.

If you don’t already have a leased line connection running into your building, then you could be looking at up to 12 weeks for a site survey to be completed and a new line to be installed. If you already have a Fibre leased line connection running into the building, then installation will typically take between 6-8 weeks.

Save up to £2500 with a government voucher scheme.

If you’re a small to medium sized business, then it’s worth noting that you may be eligible to receive a grant of up to £2500.00 towards the cost of Gigabit capable leased line connection.

The Gigabit voucher scheme is a government funded programme that is being driven from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).  The purpose of the programme is to provide funding to SME’s in order to help them upgrade to a Fibre Leased Line connection.

IMPORTANT – This voucher scheme expires in 2021 (or until all funding has been designated) so if you’re thinking about investing in a leased line, then don’t leave it too late to take advantage of this opportunity. Feel free to contact us on 020 3963 5533 to find out if you are eligible for the Gigabit voucher scheme today!

Different leased line options.

The following fibre leased line options are available:

Full Fibre Internet Connectivity – A point-to-point direct SUPERFAST leased line connection with bandwidth speeds available of up to 10Gbps (at the time of writing) with symmetrical uncontented bandwidth. Full Fibre Internet Connection is the most expensive leased line option, but it’s also the best one.

Ethernet First Mile – Ethernet First Mile (or EFM) is a low cost leased line service because it is delivered from your local telephone exchange via existing copper phone lines. Although FRM is cheaper, your bandwidth options are restricted to 35Mbps because this isn’t a fibre connection.  EFM lines also offer symmetrical uncontented bandwidth.

Wireless leased lines – With a Wireless Leased line, you’ll enjoy all the benefits of a fibre leased line service. Bandwidth is restricted to up to 2Gbps, but this is still lightning fast for a wireless connection!

Final thoughts.

There is no doubt that many Organisations will benefit from the many commercial and financial advantages of investing in a Fibre Leased Line.  As previously stated, if your business relies upon a fast, resilient and stable internet connection to remain productive and profitable, then investing in a leased line will very quickly generate a return on investment.

The installation costs can be high, but it’s worth investigating to find out if your Business is able to take advantage of the governments Gigabit voucher scheme, this will potentially save you thousands of pounds in upfront costs.