What is the definition of a Leased Line?
A Leased Line is the highest grade of broadband that a business can get. Essentially it is dedicated fibre connection between you and the exchange. If a business has for example 2 busy offices that need to communicate with each other by voice and data then a Leased Line offers the most reliable, fastest and most secure method of telecommunication.
Leased Line Latency.
Very low latency is one advantage, an example of poor latency is when you browse a website that is hosted on the other side of the world. The connection goes through a multitude of different computers to reach its destination and as a result you see a lag in your browser before the web page even begins to open. With a Leased Line connection your requests are on dedicated fibre that is uncontended so any lag or latency is the absolute minimum at less that 20ms guaranteed.
Leased Line Speed.
Leased Lines offer very high speed with the broadest of bandwidth. Your leased line fibre only carries your traffic, you are not sharing your connection with any other business and domestic users. Leased Lines can be as fast as 10Gbps and the connection is symmetrical which means uploads are as fast as downloads.
Is the Leased Line speed quoted real?
With ordinary fibre broadband a quoted 76mbps speed is a theoretical maximum and is dependant on the distance from the cabinet with FTTC. Copper wiring used at the premises can seriously cause adverse performance with FTTP. Leased Line fibre circumvents these issues and your leased line speed should be as quoted. Leased Line speed performance is unaffected by external network issues. Your bandwidth is uncontended and your speed should remain the same regardless of the time of day.
Does my business need a Leased Line?
If you have more than 20 office employees using voice and data then a leased line is most likely the way to go. A leased Line is the only way to guarantee connectivity for voice and data. That means your staff can exchange big files like spreadsheets and pdfs and at the same time your calls and video conferencing applications such as BT Voice Cloud remain crystal clear with no dropouts of service.
What is an SLA?
A Service Level Agreement is part of a leased line package. In the case of BT your SLA will guarantee you 100% service availability and a target fix time of 5 hours. No matter how or why your connection suffers disruption your Leased Line will be investigated and fixed within 5 hours. If BT were to fail to fix within 5 hours, then you will be entitled to a rebate.
Is a Leased Line flexible?
Your leased line can grow with your business, it is simple to increase the cicuit speed when your business is very busy. In the event of a slow down in business your circuit speed can be reduced to assist with cutting costs.
Is there a lot of capital expenditure for a Leased Line?
The simple answer is no, the equipment is installed free. With some Leased Line installations there might be unavoidable Excess Construction Charges for cables and ducting. BT offer Leased Line cover up to £2800 for these charges. In exceptional circumstances the install work can cost more. At the time of ordering you will be given a full estimate of what any install costs are likely to be, so there are no shocks when it comes to the installation.
Can i offer Guest Wifi to visitors?
Yes you can, your supplied leased line router will offer wifi for your staff and also Guest Wifi for your visitors.
How do i manage a leased Line?
A Leased Line comes with a portal which allows you to see in real time the bandwidth, devices and applications you are using. When it comes to the installation you will not have to lift a finger, it is all managed for you by expert engineers.
How long does it take for a Leased Line to be installed?
It can take up to 80 days for a completed Leased Line order, the vast majority are completed within 60 days. There is a shortcut option with BT Quick Connect which offers a long term redundancy benefit. Initially you get a Ethernet First Mile connection to get you started while you wait for the Leased Line to be completed. This EFM can be made a permanent feature and will act as a backup if the leased line fails.
How secure is a leased Line?
All connections can be potentially insecure and by far the best protection is using security ready equipment like a Cisco Meraki router that should come free as part of your Leased Line package. To make the most of the router it is wise to use a Security package as a monthly option. This means your business is protected by a firewall with the aim of stopping malware from infecting your network. You can also filter out particular content that may be deemed as dangerous.
How much does a Leased line cost?
Small and Medium sized businesses can still claim up to £2,500 grant towards the costs of a Leased Line with the Government Gigabit Voucher scheme. There are no other start up costs, so all the cost is a monthly payment to your Leased Line provider.
A BTnet 1Gbps leased line is normally £730 per month, but it is on a special double data offer for £605 at the moment. A BTnet security package is an additional £200 per month. There are a variety of leased line options starting from as low as £319 a month.
If you are considering a business leased line then talk to us about your requirements.
