A Guide to Leased Line Costs
What is a leased line?
A leased line is a practical, cost-effective option when a dedicated data link is required between two sites (point-to-point leased line) or between a single site and the internet (internet leased line).
Essentially, leased lines are a premium connectivity product because unlike typical broadband services, leased lines are dedicated, uncontended data lines with symmetrical bandwidth speeds.
Leased line connections (also known as private circuits), provide dedicated bandwidth on demand and secure data links that can be trusted. Leased lines typically deliver bandwidth over a leased fibre connection, although local copper connections are also utilised in certain scenarios.
Dedicated leased line users are guaranteed to receive a high speed service and high levels of support via an SLA (Service Level Agreement).
Speed and reliability ensure that leased lines are ideal for any business requiring a fast, virtually failsafe internet connection or when the regular exchange of very large files between sites is required.
Leased lines are fully managed and backed by a service level agreement which provides 24/7 support, 365 days a year.
What are the benefits of a leased line?
Fixed costs – the rental charge for a Leased Line is fixed, so budgets can be easily managed.
99.999% uptime – a Leased Line is fully resilient, continuous service which is guaranteed by a strict service level agreement.
Security – Leased Line bandwidth is completely dedicated to the client, so the transmission of data is highly secure
Flexibility – Leased Lines can be used for voice and LAN traffic, VoIP or standard data.
Performance – Leased lines are fast. Low latency, minimum jitter and packet loss make leased lines ideally suited for a comprehensive range of applications.
Choice – Leased line speeds from 2Mbit/s to 1Gbit/s are available. Faster speeds (10 Gigabits per second / Gbit/s) can also be accommodated by some leased line providers.
Coverage – Leased Lines provide access to any point in the UK.
What does a leased line typically cost?
Leased line quotes will vary greatly depending on three key factors; the location of the proposed connections, the total amount of bandwidth required and the terms and length of the leased line contract.
Location plays an important role in determining the cost of a leased line. The more resources required to connect a leased line to legacy telecoms networks, the more costly the leased line will be. Pre-existing fibre-optic cables provide easier connection and will therefore significantly lower the cost of the leased line service. Conversely, connections requested further away from population centres will cost significantly more.
The amount of bandwidth required determines whether a fibre-connection will be needed, or whether uncontended DSL circuits can be utilised. DSL circuits are available at 20% of telephone exchanges and that are often cheaper to install and service.
Your lease line cost is greatly affected by the length of your contract because leased line circuits can be expensive to install. Some leased line providers will absorb much of this cost, then recoup that initial subsidy over the life of the contract. Typically people sign contracts of 3 to 5 years. If you sign a 1 year contract, expect to pay a great deal more to install your leased line.
Leased Line Providers
There are a number of leased line providers but what makes us different is that we are the only company to offer a price promise guarantee, so if you find cheaper pricing elsewhere simply let us know and WE WILL BEAT IT!
We work with many of the top UK leased line providers to get our clients the best leased line prices possible.
