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Leased Line vs Business Broadband: What’s the Difference?
When choosing an internet connection for your business, many owners are unaware of the other options available.
Both options offer internet access, but differ in delivery, reliability, and cost. This guide clarifies these differences to help you choose the best fit for your business.
Understanding Business Broadband
Business broadband is much like standard home broadband, but with added benefits that make it more suitable for professional use. These can include higher upload speeds, security options, the ability to host servers, and dedicated business support. While it looks the same on the surface, the extra reliability and features make it better suited to SMEs, startups, and home offices that rely on the internet every day.
The connection can be delivered by fibre or copper wires, but it can mean that the connection will experience slower speeds during peak usage times.
If you’d like to explore the differences between fibre and copper cable connections, see our FTTC vs FTTP guide.
Typical Business Broadband Features:
- Speeds up to 1 Gbps (depending on location and provider)
- Often includes a static IP address
- Better customer support than home broadband
- Fast installation times
- Affordable monthly pricing (£20–£100/month)
Best for:
Smaller businesses, startups, home offices, or companies with light internet use, like email, cloud storage, and web browsing.
Limitations:
The line is shared, and your speed isn’t guaranteed. Upload speeds are slower than download speeds. While this may seem minor, it can affect businesses that rely on cloud backups, video calls, or hosting servers.
Understanding Leased Lines for Businesses
A leased line is a dedicated internet connection that is not shared with anyone else - this line is uncontended.
It’s also symmetrical, meaning your upload and download speeds are the same. This makes leased lines ideal for businesses with heavy data demands, remote workers, and those that risk potential revenue loss in the event of an outage, as well as for mission-critical cloud services.
Typical Leased Line Features:
- Guaranteed speeds from 10 Mbps up to 10 Gbps
- Symmetrical upload and download speeds
- Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with 99.9%+ uptime guarantees
- 24/7 customer support
- Very reliable and secure
- Monthly cost from around £200 to £1,000+, depending on speed and location
Best for:
Some small businesses, medium to large businesses, companies that rely on remote working, and organisations where downtime would be costly.
Limitations:
Leased lines are more expensive and take longer to install (weeks to months, depending on infrastructure).
If you’d like detailed information on leased lines and pricing, see our Leased Lines page.
Quick Look Comparison
|
Feature |
||
|
Speed |
Up to 1 Gbps (primarily download-focused) |
Guaranteed symmetrical speeds from 10 Mbps up to 10 Gbps |
|
Reliability |
Shared line; speeds may fluctuate during peak hours |
Dedicated line; consistent performance at all times |
|
Upload Speeds |
Typically slower than download speeds |
Upload and download speeds are the same (symmetrical) |
|
Support/ SLA |
Standard business support; response times vary |
24/7 priority support with formal uptime guarantees |
|
Installation |
Quick setup, often within a few days |
Longer setup, usually several weeks, depending on location |
|
Cost |
£20–£100/month depending on speed and provider |
£200–£1,000+/month depending on speed, location, and provider |
|
Best For |
Small to medium businesses with light to moderate internet use |
Businesses with heavy data needs or critical reliance on uptime |
For detailed information and tailored quotes, visit our Leased Lines page.
Which Is Right for Your Business?
Choosing between business broadband and a leased line depends on your budget and how you use the internet.
Choose business broadband if:
- You’re a small business or startup
- Cost is a major factor
- Internet downtime wouldn’t result in major revenue loss
- Most activity is email, browsing, or light cloud use
Choose a leased line if:
- You rely on video conferencing, VoIP, or cloud services daily
- Upload speed is just as important as download speed
- You can’t afford downtime (e.g. e-commerce, financial services, hospitality)
- You want guaranteed performance backed by SLAs
Cost Considerations
- Business broadband is cheap to install and run, often costing little more than home broadband but with a few business extras.
- Leased lines involve higher setup and monthly fees — but the cost is often justified if internet performance directly impacts your revenue.
Broadband or Leased Line: How to Decide
Every business has different internet needs. A smaller company might benefit from a dedicated leased line if downtime could result in significant revenue loss. On the flip side, business broadband is flexible, cost-effective, and quick to set up.
The right choice depends on how your business uses the connection. You don’t want to be locked into a contract with speeds or features that don’t match your needs.
If internet reliability is critical and downtime would be costly, a leased line is usually the best option. For everyday operations and moderate usage, business broadband provides a dependable and affordable solution.
For detailed information and tailored quotes, visit our Leased Lines page.