Are Fibre Leased Lines the best business connection?

As more and more businesses are finding that their business broadband services are no longer meeting their needs, there has been growing demand for fibre leased line alternatives which are capable of offering fibre leased line speeds without the fibre leased line prices. Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) is one such fibre leased line alternative, but is this type of connection still a good choice for UK businesses?

FTTP: Not a Dying Trend

FTTP – a fibre leased line alternative – hasn’t quite been as popular amongst UK businesses as it was hoped. While initially promising, FTTP was quickly overshadowed by Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) which was much easier and cheaper to install, and enabled fast roll out on a large scale. However, despite FTTP no longer being an automatic ‘go to’ option for businesses, demand has actually been steadily increasing.

“It continues to be a viable option for business customers looking for high-speed connectivity but who don’t need the service guarantees provided by Ethernet” says wholesale provider Entanet. FTTP also provides many advantages over FTTC. As the service – which is somewhat similar to a fibre leased line service, particularly in terms of potential upload and download speeds – is delivered all the way to the premises rather than simply to the nearest cabinet, aspects such as speed and reliability are not affected by external factors that are out of your control, such as the physical distance between the premises and the cabinet, or difficulties in accessing the cabinet, for example.

Are Fibre Leased Lines Still Better?

The best type of internet connection really depends upon the needs and requirements of each individual business. For some businesses, a fibre leased line alternative such as FTTP can be a great solution. However, a fibre leased line does still offer a business more advantages, such as a 1:1 contention ratio which means that your connection isn’t shared and will not be affected by changes in usage, such as being slower during peak hours, for example. While a fibre leased line may cost more initially, it also delivers much more than any fibre leased alternative could, bringing more benefits to your business.

Following Ofcom’s rulings, cheaper leased line costs were introduced in April 2016, which means that businesses are now able to install a fibre leased line for a lower cost thanks to these regulations. Businesses with greater connectivity needs are still advised to consider a fibre leased line.