If you’re looking to upgrade your connectivity with a super fast, dedicated solution leased lines are a great option. They offer symmetric download & upload speeds which are insanely faster than conventional broadband connections.
Leased lines are also uncontended meaning they’re not shared with other businesses or private homes so your bandwidth won’t suffer at peak times. However, are leased lines expensive to install?
Excess Construction Charges (ECCs)
Typically, your ISP will supply you with a quote for the cost of your leased line which will include a connection fee plus any excess construction charges. This will be confirmed after your site survey has been completed.
During the leased line installation process, it’s likely that Openreach will need to do some construction work at your premises to bring in the new fibre. This is known as ‘Excess Construction Charges’ (ECC) & can be quite costly depending on how far you are from the nearest exchange.
Thankfully, there are some providers who waive these costs, which can save you a significant amount of money. You’ll just have to look for this information in the small print of your leased line provider’s quotes.
Line Termination Points (LTPs)
After you’ve accepted a quote & given your provider all of the relevant information about your location & bandwidth requirements, they will arrange for a site survey. This is always done by Open Reach & helps to identify the most efficient route for the cable to travel from the local exchange to your business.
After that, it’s time to install your leased line. This can take a while, especially if your business is in a rural area. Once installation is complete, your circuit will be ready for use.
Leased lines are a great way for businesses to get super fast internet connectivity. They have a range of advantages over broadband connections, including symmetric speeds (upload & download are the same) & no congestion during peak times. Plus, they come with a Service Level Agreement so that any connection issues are dealt with immediately. This makes them perfect for things like hosting servers, sharing large data files & video conferencing.
Line Termination Areas (LTAs)
A leased line is a point-to-point data connection between a business and their internet service provider. Unlike shared connections like ADSL & FTTC which share bandwidth, leased lines are dedicated to the company and can guarantee a certain level of performance.
This means that leased lines are perfect for businesses that rely on high-speed connectivity. However, this also makes them more expensive to install than a standard broadband connection.
Despite the extra costs, there are many advantages of a leased line. In addition to their speed, leased lines are backed by a service level agreement (SLA) which guarantees a fix within hours of an outage – much faster than the days or weeks that can often be seen with broadband connections.
There are also few geographic restrictions with leased lines. They can be installed anywhere in the UK, from the Highlands to Land’s End. This means that even remote locations can benefit from the reliability and speed of a leased line.
Line Termination Options
A leased line is a dedicated data connection that guarantees bandwidth. It’s perfect for a business that experiences congestion or demands a high level of service. However, this premium type of service comes at a price and is often overkill for many businesses.
When a business decides to invest in a leased line, the first step is usually to arrange a site survey with Openreach. This will determine whether or not a leased line bearer can be installed at your premises and will also show the extent of any construction work that may need to take place (i.e ECCs).
If a leased line bearer can be physically installed at your premises then the next stage is identifying where you want the circuit to terminate at. This is crucial, as changing your mind further down the line can result in expensive delays. You will need to supply a high-end network termination equipment (referred to as NTE) and this is normally included in the leased line installation costs.
