The Best 1gb Internet – Broadband or Private Leased Line?

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1Gb Internet options in the UK

In 2020 many businesses feel they need a faster or more reliable internet connection. While most of the country is fibre-enabled and can get reasonably fast speeds on home broadband, for many businesses it is not enough. Internet Service Providers like Virgin Media have released ultrafast broadband to the market in recent years, with a maximum speed of up to 1Gb.

It is only available in certain locations and as with all broadband the speeds are never guaranteed, in fact, the average speed you can expect will often be less than 1Gb. To get 1Gb internet businesses have two options :

Fibre Leased Lines

1gb internetThe most popular option for 1gb internet in the UK are Leased Lines. They are dedicated to you, unlike fibre broadband which is shared with other businesses and home users. It uses fibre optic cables to connect you directly to the providers’ network giving you a totally secure and private connection.

Leased Line Advantages

  • Higher Speeds – A key reason many business users will opt for a leased line is that they are unrivalled when it comes to upload and download speeds. Leased lines range from 10Mb right up to 10Gb with 3 options for the bearer size -100Mb, 1Gb or 10Gb. This means you also have the ability to easily scale up if your bandwidth requirements change.
  • Security – Being a private line means just that. Your connection is on a private network rather than the shared one you get with broadband. This makes it much harder for hackers to get into the network and easily apply extra security measures that are also harder to be intercepted.
  • Symmetrical download and upload speeds – When using a standard broadband service the upload speed is often much slower than the download speed. This can be a real issue for businesses that rely on uploading and sending data.
  • Scalability – Fibre broadband connections like fibre to the premises or fibre to the cabinet can give you great speeds but if you start using more cloud platforms or increase staff they can begin to struggle. To increase you may get a second line in or look at leased lines which will give you scalable bandwidth should you require it.
  • Customer Service – Leased lines are a premium connectivity choice so you can expect a premium service. Most reputable leased line providers will give you 24/7 proactive network monitoring,  They will also have a set fix time target and come with industry-leading SLA.
  • Available everywhere – Leased lines are able to provide 1gb internet anywhere in the UK. If you are extremely rural or there are excess construction charges it may be cost-prohibitive for some but is available everywhere in the UK.

Fibre Broadband

Fibre Broadband can be a cost-effective connectivity option for businesses to get 1gb internet. It’s generally favoured by smaller businesses or offices because it’s not as reliable as a dedicated connection. However, in well-connected locations, you can now get superfast connections up to 1Gb internet connections which can easily cope with an office of 40+ staff.

It’s worth noting that broadband is a shared connection which means you can never guarantee the average download speeds. Just like your home broadband if lots of people are using the same line at the same time you may experience service drops or fluctuations in the speed you get.

Fibre Broadband Advantages

  • Price – Unless you are getting 2+ lines fibre broadband will always be cheaper than a dedicated line. Prices start from around £40 per month for high-speed connections, whereas leased lines start from around £150 per month.
  • Contract length- Most broadband will have a standard contract length of 12 months, although some business-specific products will have 24 month standards.
  • Install time – 1gb internet Broadband can often be installed really quickly – sometimes within a week. There are no site surveys needed by Openreach and often you won’t even need an engineer just plug in the router and you are off.
  • Fibre enabled areas are increasing – It used to be that you could only really get good broadband speeds in central locations of big towns. Luckily the government and UK Service providers have invested heavily in recent years and according to Ofcom 95% of the UK can not receive fibre broadband. This may be at much slower speeds than 1Gb but still a big improvement on traditional wired connections.
  • Off the Shelf packages – If you own a business that has simple internet requirements, a phone line and TV package you can get some competitively priced packages for all three from all of the big-name suppliers like BT, Virgin, Sky etc

How much bandwidth does my business need?

Marketing teams in the telecoms industry have done a great job convincing us we all need superfast internet at home and work. There’s no doubt the internet is vital to most of us but its important to understand how much you need, after all, there’s no point paying extra for something you won’t use.

When talking about internet speed it is usually the download speed that is discussed. This makes sense for home users as streaming, browsing social media, watching youtube and checking e-mails all use the download speed. However, businesses don’t use their internet in the same way.

What they use it for depends on the type of business and its always good to have a solid understanding of what upload speed you need as well as download. Businesses that upload time-sensitive documents to the cloud, data-heavy files like CAD drawings and HD videos will all need a fast upload speed.

You can never really know the exact bandwidth you need but a good way to estimate is first monitor what you currently use. Your IT team will be able to do this and if you don’t have an IT team then you can have a read of an article by DNSstuff that reviews the 9 best bandwidth monitor tools.

How to get the best price on 1gb internet

Once you know you need 1Gb you may find prices vary considerably between providers. Whether you decide on leased lines or fibre broadband we can help you find the right price. Leased line comparison has helped thousands of businesses save on their internet costs & unlike other comparison sites, we are not owned or affiliated with any providers so remain completely impartial.

Don’t miss out on Gigabit Internet

If you have not heard about Gigabit Internet, you have been missing out on some pretty fast, high-speed Internet. You can purchase Gigabit Internet in many different ways. When you are searching for a company to provide you with Gigabit Internet service, there are a few things that you should take into consideration before deciding which provider is best for you. Most companies that offer this kind of high-speed Internet service will do so through Gigabit fibre lines. Before choosing a company that provides you with this kind of Internet, you need to make sure that the company you choose has these types of fibres set up in their network. If the Internet company you select does not have this fibre network set up, you will be out of luck and not obtain Gigabit Internet.

BT, Virgin and Talk Talk all offer high-speed Internet services to millions of businesses and homes in the UK. If you live in the UK and do not have Gigabit Internet, you should look into it to find one that can hook you up with the high-speed connection.
Gigabit Internet can make your life much more comfortable. Why? Because it gives you one point of connection without having multiple connections that take forever to download and upload.

With a Gigabit broadband connection, your computer will be able to process information at a much higher rate. This means you will be able to download things much faster and have them completed a lot quicker as well. This is especially helpful if you like to download music, videos and photos. The high-speed connection will allow you to download or upload the material in no time. All you need is a broadband connection, and you can download and watch high-quality media immediately.
When you are searching for a high-speed Internet provider in the UK, there are many things you need to consider. The first thing you need to find out about them is how fast their connection is. Gigabit broadband allows your computer to process information at a fantastic rate. This means you will have instant access to the web. How many times each day do you log onto your computer? How often are you downloading and uploading large files?

When your business is looking for a connection, you should look at the speed, download limit, and security features. Each of these factors can affect your overall experience. Many people may not be aware of a specific Gigabit connection’s features, but they will be happy to know that it usually offers unlimited access.

One of the main things you should know about a Gigabit connection is how it works. It is similar to a high-speed phone line, but much faster. Instead of picking up a phone call, you are connecting information through a high-speed broadband connection. This makes it ideal for online gaming, streaming video and uploading pictures. You will be able to do almost anything with a Gigabit connection, as long as you have one.

As you search for a high-speed Internet provider in the UK, you should keep in mind the speed, download limit, and security features. Each of these factors can affect your overall experience and it will help you decide if a Gigabit connection is right for you. Remember, you should know the business pros and cons of a gigabit broadband connection if you are serious about being online. When you have instant access to essential files, news and information, you will want to get a reliable connection that offers everything you need at an affordable price.