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MPLS
The 2025 guide to MPLS networks, their benefits,
and the current shift toward modern SD-WAN solutions.
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Link Guide: 8 minute read
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) provides secure, high-performance site-to-site connectivity, ensuring reliability and low latency for businesses operating across multiple UK locations.
MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) is a private network technology that securely connects multiple business sites. Rather than using the public internet, MPLS directs traffic along dedicated paths for predictable performance and low latency across voice, video, and cloud applications.
It’s long been the preferred choice for organisations needing guaranteed uptime and reliability between sites. By prioritising critical traffic, MPLS avoids the congestion and unpredictability common with standard internet connections.
This page outlines how MPLS works, its core benefits, and why many businesses now transition to SD-WAN for greater flexibility and efficiency.
Before SD-WAN emerged, MPLS was the trusted choice for linking offices securely, ensuring dependable performance for voice, video, and mission-critical data traffic.
MPLS became the foundation of enterprise networking because it delivered something traditional internet connections couldn’t: guaranteed performance between multiple sites.
It provided private, predictable routes for data, ensuring low latency and consistent reliability across all locations. For organisations running time-sensitive applications — from VoIP and video conferencing to ERP systems — MPLS offered unmatched stability and Quality of Service (QoS).
Businesses could prioritise critical traffic, reduce packet loss, and maintain seamless communication between offices, data centres, and cloud environments.
Even today, many large enterprises continue to use MPLS as part of a hybrid setup, combining its reliability with the agility of newer technologies like SD-WAN.
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Many UK businesses now run hybrid networks, keeping MPLS for mission-critical traffic while using SD-WAN for flexibility, cloud performance, and lower overall costs.
A hybrid network allows businesses to benefit from both technologies — the stability of MPLS and the agility of SD-WAN.
Critical applications such as voice, video, and ERP systems can continue running over MPLS, while less sensitive or cloud-based traffic is routed intelligently over SD-WAN.
This approach reduces dependency on expensive private circuits while maintaining the reliability that enterprises demand. It also provides a smoother migration path for companies that want to modernise gradually, rather than overhaul their network in one go.
With centralised management and application-aware routing, hybrid setups help IT teams optimise performance, strengthen security, and control costs — all while ensuring continuity between on-premises and cloud environments.
MPLS pricing varies by provider, bandwidth, and location — but it’s often higher than modern SD-WAN alternatives.
MPLS networks are typically built on private circuits, so pricing depends on the number of sites, required bandwidth, and the underlying connectivity (such as leased lines or SoGEA). Costs can also increase if you need diverse routing, QoS configuration, or international reach.
For many organisations, these higher costs are one of the main reasons to explore SD-WAN. However, if you already have an MPLS contract in place, reviewing your renewal terms can often unlock savings or reveal whether a hybrid setup would be more cost-effective.
At Connect2, we can benchmark your existing MPLS pricing against SD-WAN and leased line options from leading UK carriers including BT, Virgin, Vodafone, and CityFibre — showing you exactly where the best value lies in 2025.
MPLS uses private, pre-defined routes to move data between sites, while SD-WAN uses multiple internet connections and software-defined control to route traffic intelligently. Both can deliver strong performance, but SD-WAN is generally more cost-effective and cloud-ready.
Yes. MPLS operates on a private network, meaning your data doesn’t traverse the public internet. That makes it inherently more secure, though SD-WAN can achieve similar protection through encryption and integrated security policies.
Absolutely. Many organisations are moving to hybrid models, using SD-WAN to complement their existing MPLS networks. This allows gradual migration while maintaining guaranteed performance for critical traffic.
Pricing depends on bandwidth, location, and number of connected sites. In general, MPLS tends to cost more than equivalent SD-WAN or leased line solutions, but Connect2 can benchmark both so you can make a fair comparison.
MPLS will continue to exist as part of hybrid and legacy enterprise networks, but SD-WAN and SASE are defining the next generation of WAN architecture — offering more flexibility, visibility, and control at a lower cost.
Yes, but not as efficiently as SD-WAN. MPLS routes traffic through centralised paths, which can increase latency for cloud-based apps. SD-WAN is designed to connect users directly to the cloud with optimised performance.
You can either renew your existing agreement, migrate fully to SD-WAN, or adopt a hybrid approach. Connect2 can review your renewal terms and compare live market pricing to ensure you’re getting the best deal.
Major carriers offering MPLS services include BT, Virgin Media Business, Vodafone, TalkTalk Business, and Colt. Connect2 works with all leading providers to build tailored MPLS or SD-WAN solutions for multi-site businesses.
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Compare MPLS and SD-WAN Pricing
We hope this article has helped you understand how MPLS works and where it still adds value.
If you’d like to see how it compares to SD-WAN or hybrid options, our team can provide a quick, no-obligation comparison from leading UK providers.
Call 03300 770070 or request your quote below — we’ll help you find the most reliable and cost-effective network for your business.
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