What Is The Difference Between Broadband and Leased Lines?
When it comes to finding the right kind of internet connection for your business, many people are often confused as to what the differences are between broadband and leased lines. Whatever kind of internet solution you’re looking for, it is important to scour the market so you can be sure you are choosing the right package option to suit your needs. Whether you’re searching for fibre broadband, traditional broadband, or a newer, reliable internet solution like a leased line, the market is very saturated. Here, we’re taking a look at the differences so you can be sure you know exactly what to look for and why you should pay the price tag.
The Connection
The way broadband and leased lines connect to your business is very different. While they physically look the same i.e. they both get to your business through a cable, there is a difference in the way that the connection gets to you. With broadband, no matter which package you choose, your internet connection comes from the cabinet at the side of the street. This cabinet, often a little green box, is a copper-write connection, and the series of cables inside the box will allow the internet connection to travel from the hub to your business premise. However, with broadband, your connection may be split across a number of local businesses near you, meaning you are having to share your bandwidth with those around you. The biggest difference between broadband and a leased line, is the fact that the leased line is solely dedicated to your business, meaning you don’t have to share.
Consistent Speeds
With broadband, because you are sharing the connection, you will often find your business in contention with others, particularly at peak times, which can slow down your internet speeds dramatically. Even if your broadband connection is a 76Mbps connection, if everyone in your business and all of the other local businesses around you are sharing the internet at the same time, you will experience slow periods. Even with fibre optic broadband that features things like unlimited downloads, at peak times you will find that you will only be gaining a couple of megabytes – because everyone else will be taking advantage of their unlimited downloads too.
When it comes to leased lines however, because your circuit is dedicated solely to you, you are not competing with any others. Quite simply, you are getting everything that you pay for, as opposed to broadband where you may experience slow connections during peak times. The entire connection and speed is consistent, and yours alone. And that solely nay be one of the biggest advantages of leased lines.
Service Level Agreements
If your business relies on your internet connection, then you’re going to need a reliable fix if your internet happens to go down. With a broadband connection, your provider may not be able to get to you for three days or more! With leased lines however, you can expect reliability and strong Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which will mean your terms of service will ensure your connection is fixed within a few hours depending on the provider! While a leased line is more expensive than broadband, you can benefit from reliable connections, that are not competing with other businesses and customers can also take advantage of exceptional Service Level Agreements.
Get in touch with 2Connect for the best leased line price in UK!