Because “Almost Always Online” Isn’t Good Enough
In today’s business world, one dropped connection can cause missed calls, failed payments, and lost productivity.
That’s why many UK organisations are replacing broadband with leased lines — and one of the biggest reasons is reliability.
A leased line doesn’t just promise performance — it guarantees it through something called an SLA, or Service Level Agreement.
In this guide, we’ll explain exactly what that means, why it matters, and how it protects your business from costly downtime.
What is an SLA on a Leased Line?
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a written performance guarantee between you and your connectivity provider.
It sets measurable commitments around uptime, speed, latency, and fault resolution — so your business knows exactly what level of service to expect.
In most cases, a leased line SLA guarantees 99.999% uptime — the “five nines” level of reliability used by critical industries such as finance and healthcare.
That means your connection could only be offline for around 5 minutes per year — compared with hours or even days for standard broadband.
Broadband vs Leased Line Reliability
Broadband is a shared, contended service with no fixed performance guarantees.
If there’s an outage, your provider will “aim” to fix it — but there’s no contractual obligation or timescale.
A leased line, on the other hand, comes with strict SLAs that define:
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Uptime percentage (typically 99.999%)
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Response time (how quickly engineers act)
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Fix time (how long before service is restored)
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Compensation credits if these standards aren’t met
This means you don’t just hope for uptime — you’re contractually assured of it.
Why 99.999% Uptime Matters
Even a short network interruption can ripple through your entire business:
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Cloud apps disconnect
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Payments or VoIP calls drop
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Staff productivity stalls
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Customer experience suffers
Five nines of uptime equates to less than 26 seconds of downtime per month.
That’s the level of reliability modern businesses need for mission-critical systems — and it’s something only leased lines can deliver consistently.
Guaranteed Fix Times
Leased line providers don’t just promise reliability; they back it with rapid support.
If an issue occurs, your SLA ensures engineers respond and resolve it — often within 4 or 5 business hours depending on your carrier and location.
This is called a “time-to-fix” guarantee — and it’s what separates professional-grade connectivity from consumer-grade broadband.
Proactive Monitoring and Priority Support
Every leased line connection is monitored 24/7 from the provider’s network operations centre.
If a fault appears — even before you notice it — an alert triggers automated diagnostics and dispatches an engineer if needed.
That proactive support is part of the SLA promise, ensuring performance stays constant without you having to raise a ticket.
The Business Cost of Downtime
The average UK business loses thousands of pounds per hour of lost connectivity.
For organisations that rely on cloud platforms or live customer interaction, downtime quickly outweighs the cost of a premium connection.
Leased lines are therefore an investment in uptime — protecting revenue, reputation, and customer trust.
When your connection underpins payments, communication, and operations, reliability isn’t optional — it’s essential.
SLAs, Transparency and Trust
At Connect2, every leased line we supply is backed by full SLA documentation before you sign.
We believe transparency builds trust, which is why our clients always know:
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Their guaranteed uptime percentage
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Their fix-time commitment
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Their compensation credit policy
And because we partner with every major UK carrier, we can help you find the most robust SLA available for your business location and service type.
Why SLAs Give You Peace of Mind
With broadband, performance depends on luck.
With a leased line, it’s guaranteed in writing.
That difference gives IT teams and business owners the confidence to scale cloud operations, support remote staff, and deliver consistent customer experiences without fear of downtime.
Final Thoughts
In an always-on world, a connection that’s “good most of the time” just isn’t enough.
A leased line with a 99.999% uptime SLA gives your business a foundation you can rely on — fast, secure, and dependable connectivity that keeps you online when it matters most.
Explore our complete guide to leased lines.
FAQ
What does a 99.999% uptime SLA mean?
It means your leased line is guaranteed to be available at least 99.999% of the time — translating to only a few minutes of downtime per year.
Do leased lines really fix faster than broadband?
Yes. Broadband repairs can take days.
Leased lines include a fix-time guarantee — often within 4 or 5 business hours, depending on location.
What happens if my provider doesn’t meet the SLA?
You’ll receive compensation credits automatically, and persistent failure allows contract review or escalation.
