Leased Lines Explained: Business Internet

A leased line is a dedicated, uncontended internet connection delivering guaranteed symmetrical speeds from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps. Unlike shared broadband, a leased line provides consistent performance with service level agreements guaranteeing 99.9 percent uptime. Costs range from £200 to over £1,000 per month depending on speed and location, making them suited to businesses with critical connectivity needs.

What Is a Leased Line

A leased line is a dedicated fibre connection between your business premises and the provider's network. Unlike standard broadband, which shares bandwidth among many users, a leased line is exclusively yours — the full bandwidth is available 24 hours a day. Speeds are symmetrical, meaning upload matches download, which is essential for businesses running servers, cloud applications or video conferencing. Leased lines from providers like BT Business, Virgin Media Business and Zen Internet come with enterprise-grade service level agreements guaranteeing 99.9–99.99 percent uptime and four-hour fix times. Speeds range from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps, with 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps being the most popular tiers. The connection is not affected by peak-time congestion or neighbourhood usage because no one else shares your circuit.

Leased Line Costs and Contracts

Leased line pricing depends on speed, location and installation complexity. A 100 Mbps leased line typically costs £200–£400 per month. A 1 Gbps connection ranges from £400 to £800 per month. 10 Gbps circuits start around £1,000 monthly. Installation fees of £1,000–£5,000 cover the cost of running dedicated fibre to your premises. Contracts are typically 36 months, reflecting the provider's infrastructure investment. Providers including Hyperoptic Business, KCOM and Cuckoo Business offer leased lines at varying price points. Urban locations with existing fibre infrastructure are cheaper to connect than rural sites requiring new builds. Some providers offer managed leased lines including router, monitoring and support for a higher monthly fee. Always get quotes from multiple providers — pricing varies significantly based on the distance from the nearest fibre point of presence.

Leased Line vs Standard Business Broadband

Standard business broadband from providers like BT, TalkTalk and EE costs £20–£60 per month but shares bandwidth with other users, meaning speeds fluctuate during peak periods. A leased line costs more but guarantees consistent performance. The decision depends on how critical internet is to your operations. Businesses running cloud-based applications, processing online payments, hosting websites or supporting remote workers benefit from guaranteed bandwidth. A retail shop with a single till and occasional email use does not need a leased line — standard fibre from Plusnet or Vodafone is perfectly adequate. The break-even point is roughly when broadband downtime costs more per hour than the monthly premium for a leased line. For a business losing £500 per hour during an outage, the higher monthly cost of a leased line is easily justified.

How to Order a Leased Line

Ordering a leased line starts with a site survey. The provider assesses your location, identifies the nearest fibre point of presence and calculates installation costs. This survey is usually free and takes one to two weeks. Installation takes 30–90 working days depending on the amount of construction required. Openreach provides the physical infrastructure for many leased lines, though providers like Virgin Media Business and Gigaclear Business use their own networks. Once installed, the provider supplies a router and monitoring equipment. Enterprise-grade SLAs kick in from the service start date, guaranteeing uptime and repair times. Consider dual-circuit resilience for mission-critical operations — two leased lines from different providers on different physical routes ensure connectivity even if one line fails. This costs double but provides true business continuity.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How fast is a leased line?

Leased lines offer symmetrical speeds from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps. The most popular business speeds are 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps. Unlike standard broadband, the quoted speed is guaranteed and available 100 percent of the time because the connection is dedicated to your business.

How much does a leased line cost?

Monthly costs range from £200 for 100 Mbps to over £1,000 for 10 Gbps. Installation fees are £1,000–£5,000. Contracts are typically 36 months. Urban locations are cheaper than rural ones. Get multiple quotes as pricing varies significantly between providers.

Do I need a leased line for my business?

You need a leased line if internet downtime directly costs your business money, you require guaranteed symmetrical speeds, or you run critical cloud applications. Most small businesses with light internet use are well served by standard business broadband at a fraction of the cost.

Related Guides

Business vs Home Broadband · Broadband for Working From Home · Broadband Speeds Explained · Fibre Broadband Explained

Methodology & Sources

Information in this guide is sourced from Ofcom market reports, Openreach coverage data, ISPreview.co.uk, provider websites and independent broadband research from Point Topic and Thinkbroadband. Prices and availability are checked monthly. Speed data reflects advertised average speeds from provider Key Facts documents.