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January 2025 · 8 min read · All Articles
A direct comparison of leased lines and business broadband for UK businesses. When to upgrade, what the cost difference is and how to decide which connection is right for your organisation.
Business broadband — even the best full fibre connections — is a shared resource. Dozens or hundreds of businesses and homes in your area share the same infrastructure. At peak times, everyone competes for bandwidth. Speeds fluctuate.
A leased line is a dedicated circuit from your premises to the internet — yours alone. No sharing. No contention. Speeds are guaranteed identical 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For the majority of UK small businesses (under 20–30 staff), business broadband is entirely sufficient:
Add failover internet to your business broadband and you have a cost-effective, resilient solution that handles the demands of most small businesses with ease.
Certain business requirements are genuinely better served by a dedicated leased line:
Business broadband (1Gbps full fibre): £29.99–£79/month depending on provider and contract length
Leased line 100Mbps: £199–£350/month
Leased line 500Mbps: £280–£500/month
Leased line 1Gbps: £400–£750/month
The price premium for a leased line is significant. For most small businesses, it isn't justified. For medium businesses and organisations with the requirements listed above, it's essential.
Many businesses that would have needed a leased line five years ago can now meet their requirements with high-speed full fibre broadband plus dedicated 4G/5G failover. This combination delivers:
Compare that to a leased line at £250–£400/month and a 60-day installation lead time, and the case for the full fibre + failover combination is compelling for most businesses.
Free quote, no obligation. We beat renewal prices or tell you honestly if we can't.
For most small businesses (under 20-30 staff), a leased line isn't necessary. Business-grade full fibre broadband with a 4G failover backup provides excellent performance at a fraction of the cost. Leased lines make financial sense for larger operations or those with specific guaranteed-performance requirements.
Standard leased line installation in the UK takes 30–65 working days from order to live. This is significantly longer than broadband (5–10 days) and should be factored into planning. Telexico manages the entire Openreach process and keeps you updated throughout.
Yes — Telexico migrates businesses from broadband to leased lines with minimal disruption. We keep your existing broadband active until the leased line is installed and tested. Cutover typically takes under an hour.
Leased lines carry a 99.95% uptime SLA with a 4-hour fix target. Business broadband typically carries a 99.9% SLA with next-business-day response. Both are significantly better than residential broadband, which carries no meaningful SLA.