Fibre Broadband Vs Leased Lines – Who wins the battle of the business fibre?

The battle of fibre broadband vs leased lines has been a long one and now broadband speeds are increasing and Leased Line costs are decreasing. So it raises the question of which service is better for businesses?

The availability of Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) services have grown in popularity in recent years, especially since the government voucher scheme. Their download speeds, of up to 330 Mbps, encroach on the traditional territory of Leased Lines. Likewise, General Ethernet Access (GEA), a Leased Line that is delivered over FTTP/FTTC technology, lowers the entry cost of a Leased Line.

There appears to be a real overlap between the two services. How do you work out which services is better for your business, fibre or Leased Line? To understand who wins for you in the fibre broadband vs leased lines battle you need to understand the main differences between the two services.

Cost is usually one of the most important factors, but there is so much more to consider when looking at fibre services. Connectivity is an important part of many businesses now & to give you a competitive advantage it can be catastrophic making the wrong choice, and ultimately can cost you thousands.

Differences between the two fibre connections

There are a few differences between a fibre broadband service & a leased line service. The main ones being:

• Guaranteed Speeds –  A managed leased line with internet access will give you the same upload and download speeds & they will always be the speeds that were advertised to you. Fibre broadband can’t do the same & will often fluctuate at busy times.
• Reliability – Fibre optic cable in general is a reliable internet service. However, things can still go wrong and if they do a leased line will have an urgent fix time (usually 4-6 hours). Fibre broadband is a lower priority to the ISP’s so will get fixed as soon as it can be sometimes hours, sometimes days, sometimes weeks!
• Cost – Although there is some great leased line offers around fibre broadband will always be a much cheaper option.

The battle of Fibre Broadband Vs Leased Lines has a few other areas not always discussed.For Fibre connections The UK Government has launched the Broadband Connection Voucher scheme. This programme offers grants of up to £3,000 for small to medium enterprises. The grant covers installation costs to deliver a higher speed Internet connection. Enquire about this scheme via our enquiry forms on the site here.

Fibre Broadband Vs Leased Lines – What is best for me?

Working out which is best for you, fibre broadband or Leased Line depends on what type of connection you need & that comes down in large amounts to your business operations.

If your business uses large amounts of data at peak times then you probably need the reliability that leased lines offer. The download and upload speeds will remain the same regardless of who else is using the line.

There are several differences between the two services:

• Broadband services tend to be a fixed cost, wherever you are in the UK (as long as you can get the service).
• The cost of a Leased Line depends on the location of your business premises, the rental costs are distance dependent.
• Broadband services are usually shared with other Internet users in the area, whereas a Leased Line is solely for your business.
• Broadband services tend to be asymmetric, with larger download speeds compared to upload. Whereas Leased Lines are usually delivered with symmetrical bandwidth (although can be delivered asymmetrically with more upload speed than download).
• The biggest difference is the cost, Leased Lines can cost five or six times more for the same headline download speeds.

However, if your business has fewer data-heavy requirements & uses the internet for things that are not business-critical, like checking e-mails, fibre broadband would probably be suitable. Virgin Media, amongst other providers, now offer Fibre broadband with speeds of up to 300Mb. This is often more than enough for businesses that are not as reliant on internet applications.

How to get the best deal on Fibre Broadband or Leased Lines

The best way to get a good deal on either your fibre broadband or leased line is to run a comparison with a trusted comparison site . We would love to help save you some money on your internet connectivity. Comparing fibre business broadband or leased lines is as easy as filling in a form and having a 5 min chat. We then do all the hard work securing you the best price.

The other thing that’s often overlooked is negotiation.I understand this is not something we Brits think to do with utilities and telecoms. But I think most would be surprised at how much providers can move if you offer them a benefit in return.

A good example of this is a client who used other services they also wanted to save money on to negotiate a cheaper with their new provider. This meant that the client actually got the leased line for free and saved a small fortune on the other services the included.

So if you need any other IT/telecoms services for your business discuss it with the ISP to see if you can get a deal on all your requirements. The government Voucher Scheme is also in place to help people get super fast internet. They run these grants and schemes from time to time so always worth checking if anything is available.