A leased line is a dedicated fibre connection which runs from a customer’s premises to the Ethernet core network.

As it’s uncontended (i.e. nobody else shares the connection) it’s a highly secure and resilient option that’s great for businesses that need to maintain an ‘always on’ connection.

The technology is capable of providing symmetrical speeds (i.e. the same speeds for both upload and download) of between 10Mbps and 10Gbps so it’s suitable for SMEs and larger corporations. It’s also fully scalable – you can buy a leased line at a higher bandwidth capacity than is needed currently and restrict actual bandwidth usage to manage costs, but then expand your bandwidth usage as and when you need.

Almost every business is now able to access fibre via a leased Line. The nearer you are to a town or city, the lower the cost and the more chance there will be of a viable route to get fibre into your building. The majority of the UK is now covered but there will always be a few problem areas which may require the exploration of other technologies such as 5G.

If you live in the middle of a field surrounded by nothing then you still may be able to get a Leased Line however, Leased Line providers always cover their backs with something known as “excess construction charges”. These charges are essentially passed on to the customer if they exceed a certain level.

If excess construction charges are identified and you do not want to pay these fees, at this point you are able to simply cancel the order and explore other options. We look at every order request individually so normally we are able to add excess charges on to your monthly bill over the term of your contract which gives us a lot more flexibility than the majority of providers in the UK.

Leased Lines are able to provide speeds ranging from 10 Mbps right the way up to 10 Gbps depending on the location and the application required by you, the customer!  Leased Lines can normally provide a speed suitable for every business of every size whether you an small manufacturer or a large corporate business with multiple offices.

The most common speed in the UK at time of writing (May 2019) is 100 Mbps but as data hungry applications, software and telephone systems evolve this will likely rise to the standard becoming 1 Gbps within the next decade.

A bearer is the maximum size of bandwidth on a connection, whereas the committed data rate (CDR) is how much data has been selected on that connection.

For example, a ‘10 over 100’ connection means that a 100Mbps bearer has been selected but with a committed data rate of 10Mbps. By buying a 10/100Mbps line, the business has access to the full 100Mbps of bandwidth when they need it but will only pay for the 10Mbps of bandwidth that they’re currently using.

This makes leased lines inherently flexible and able to grow with a business, rather than requiring technology changes as bandwidth needs expand.

This doesn’t mean that we place a cap on data flow! It means that the bandwidth on the circuit is restricted to the committed data rate (CDR) that you indicated on your original order.

There are a number of factors that can impact the time it takes to implement a leased line so while we indicate that it will take on average 60 working days, in reality this will depend on the outcome of any site surveys we conduct and whether any works are needed that will require the input of outside agencies, such as local councils or landlords.

The good news is that as we manage the provisioning process ourselves. Your dedicated account manager along side our provisioning team will be able to keep you updated on the progress of the order makes its way through the process up until connection.

With all our Fibre Ethernet Leased Line connections we provide a top of the range Cisco router which is delivered to you pre-configured out of the box for you or your IT team to connect to your network.

If a router that we’ve provided fails, we’ll arrange for a pre-configured replacement to be couriered to your business site on the next working day. Replacements will be made on a like-for-like basis.

Yes! We work with every single top tier provider in the UK and offer a price promise guarantee when you order a Leased Line from us.

If you find a cheaper quote elsewhere, simply let us know. If it’s a “like for like” proposal, we will do our best to beat it for you!

Ideally you’d capture the likelihood of a premises move before placing your leased line order as this will have an impact on the recommended carrier.

If a move is required part way through a contract, a charge may be applicable depending on how long there is left on the contract and the location of the new site. It’s best to speak to your account manager to find out how the land lies for your specific case.

Bandwidth can be increased to meet changing needs without limit during a contract term but can only be decreased once.

However, if bandwidth is decreased, you will still be billed for the higher bandwidth rate until the contract expires.

A temporary increase in bandwidth speeds may be possible for special events but changes are subject to a minimum term of 1 month.

No, any router we provide is supplied open and with no port restrictions.

If a router that we supply does fail, we will arrange for a replacement to be shipped to your business address for delivery the next working day. Replacements are always made on a like for like basis.