There are a few reasons you may have landed on this page. If you want to upgrade your connection or need a data cable installation on your premises, our team at Performance Networks can help. But which line is best for you now and for future needs?
When comparing leased lines and broadband connections, it’s crucial to understand how they differ in performance, reliability, and suitability for different needs. At Performance Networks, we offer both leased line and business fibre broadband services, depending on the needs of your business.
Here’s a breakdown of the significant differences between a leased line and regular broadband services.
Contention
Leased Lines: These connections are uncontended, which means the entire bandwidth is dedicated to you. This guarantees consistent performance, as no other users share the connection from your site to the provider’s network.
Broadband: Broadband connections are typically contended, sharing the bandwidth with other customers. This can lead to slower speeds during peak usage as multiple users compete for the same network capacity.
Symmetric Connection Speeds
Leased Lines: Offer identical upload and download speeds, which is crucial for businesses needing to sync data with cloud services, enable remote access, or support outbound communications like VoIP calls.
Broadband: Broadband connections generally provide much faster download speeds than upload speeds. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) often advertise only the download speeds, making potential customers unaware of the slower upstream capabilities.
Maximum Speeds
Leased Lines: In the UK, leased lines can deliver up to 10 Gbps speeds, making them ideal for businesses with high data demands.
Broadband: Most broadband connections offer significantly lower maximum speeds, often less than one-tenth of what leased lines provide.
Reliability
Leased Lines: Primarily use fibre-optic cables, less prone to interference and degradation over long distances. They come with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) guaranteeing uptime and rapid fault resolution.
Broadband: Many broadband connections rely on copper or aluminium wiring, which is more susceptible to signal issues and environmental interference. They often lack guaranteed fault fix times.
Connection Metering
Leased Lines: These are unmetered, allowing full bandwidth use 24/7 without restrictions or throttling (limiting internet speeds).
Broadband: Often subject to metering or “Fair Usage” policies, which may throttle speeds if usage exceeds predefined limits.
Installation Times
Broadband: Quicker to install, often within a few weeks, as a broadband connection relies on pre-existing infrastructure.
Leased Lines: Typically take several months to install due to the need for new fibre-optic circuits, engineering work, and permissions like wayleaves and local authority approvals.
Cost
Leased Lines: More expensive due to dedicated bandwidth, higher support levels, and faster fault resolution. However, costs are often spread across multi-year contracts to make them more accessible for businesses.
Broadband: Cheaper, as the connection shares resources and has fewer guarantees and features. Contracts are often shorter, ranging from rolling monthly plans to 12 months.
Support Levels
Leased Lines: Offer business-grade support, typically with 24/7 monitoring, dedicated support teams, and proactive issue resolution. SLAs guarantee uptime and fast fix times.
Broadband: Generally lacks SLAs and proactive monitoring. Support may be limited to standard business hours and requires users to identify and report issues themselves.
Choosing the Right Option
Leased lines are ideal for businesses that require high reliability, consistent performance, and symmetrical speeds. Broadband, on the other hand, is suitable for smaller businesses or home users with less demanding requirements.
However, Fibre Broadband or (FTTC) is an excellent mid-way option, providing faster speeds than ADSL services. Our fibre broadband services are back with an SLA of 99.9%, making it a reliable option. Our FTTC service can be installed in as little as 5 days, and comes with bandwidth assurance and prioritisation.
By understanding your different options, you can choose the one that best aligns with your connectivity needs and budget.
Choosing between broadband, fibre broadband and a leased line depends on your business’s bandwidth needs, reliance on connectivity, and budget. Broadband works well for small teams or remote staff handling email and web browsing tasks. If downtime would only cause minor inconvenience and your current connection meets your needs, broadband is a cost-effective choice for smaller offices or low-dependency businesses.
Fibre broadband is an excellent option if you don’t want to commit to a leased line but need reassurance and SLA.
A leased line is ideal for businesses with high bandwidth demands or critical reliance on internet connectivity. It offers symmetric upload and download speeds, perfect for video conferencing, VoIP, large data backups, and remote desktop access. Businesses relying on cloud services or hosted PBX phone systems benefit from the reliability, uptime guarantees, and fast fault fixes provided by leased lines. They are now a scalable and reliable solution for growing businesses that can’t afford internet disruptions.
Contact us today to explore options tailored to your business.
