Jargon Busting Leased Line Terms

Although more and more businesses are now opting for a leased line over broadband, a leased line is still not considered to be a ‘standard’ internet access choice for businesses; for companies to have a dedicated leased line is still very much a relatively new concept. Because of this, it’s often much more difficult to find valuable leased line information than it is to find out about different broadband products, for example, and many businesses may find themselves getting muddled with all the different jargon being used.

A leased line doesn’t have to be complex, complicated, or stressful. Here’s your handy guide to leased line jargon, giving you all the information you need to select the right internet product for you:

Upload Speed

The available speed for uploading data from your PC to the web. Upload speed is becoming increasingly important as more and more businesses use cloud computing and VoIP services on a day-to-day basis. Companies who reply on uploading and sending large amounts of data will need a consistent and high upload speed, luckily this is exactly what a Leased line can provide. Since you’re the only user on the line peak times won’t affect your speed.

Download Speed

The available speed for downloading data from the web to your PC. Fast download speeds have always been essential for business, and yet many aren’t receiving the speeds they need with ADSL connections. Download speed can be just as important as upload speed, especially for a company who receives large amounts of data on a daily basis.

An inconsistent and low download speed could hinder the retrieval of data which could be detrimental for time-sensitive projects. Since you’re the only user on the line peak times won’t affect your speed.

Committed Data Rate

The upload and download speeds that you have agreed to receive from your leased line provider. Depending on your contract, you may be able to raise or lower the data connectivity rate easily as your needs change.

Symmetrical Connection

A leased line should always provide symmetrical upload and download speeds, which means that upload and download speeds are the same. With broadband, download speeds are often much faster than upload speeds, this is known as an Asymmetrical connection. As in most businesses, upload is vastly more important than download, hence why most companies are making the jump to Leased lines in recent years, also because of the consistency.

Mbps

A measurement used for speed. Many Leased line contracts are available with speeds varying between 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps, or 10 Gbps. The right speed for you will depend on your personal needs, the technology you use in-house, number of employees, and various other factors.

Bearer

This is the line that is used to connect your premises. In some cases, the bearer may be capable of transferring more data than you’ve selected, making upgrades easier, cheaper, and more convenient. Having the capability to increase your speed is essential for growing businesses who need a larger scale of internet connectivity.

The usual bearer speeds are 100Mb, 1Gb or 10Gb – so if ,for example, you are using 100Mb leased line on 100Mb bearer you cannot have any increase for the duration of the contract. If however, you have 100Mb leased line on 1Gbp bearer you are able to scale up if your bandwidth needs grow.

Service Availability

Leased line products are known for their reliability, which is why many providers publish their service availability – how often you can expect a reliable connection. It should usually be anywhere between 99% and 100%.

SLA

This stands for Service Level Agreement and is a set of guidelines that a leased line provider must attempt to adhere to with regard to service. SLA often states how quickly leased line faults must be fixed. If these terms are not met then your company could be due compensation. but that will vary provider to provider.

Contention Ratio

A Leased line is a dedicated connection, which means it has a 1:1 contention ratio and is not shared with any other users. For comparison, broadband connections often come with a 50:1 contention ratio. Having a higher contention ratio will make the line run slower, which could hinder day-to-day activities for a business. This is one of the reasons why businesses are switching to a dedicated connection.

Latency

Low latency is a huge advantage. The lower the latency, the smaller the time gap between a command and a reaction, which is why a leased line is recommended for financial traders. On broadband connections, especially copper (phone lines), the latency is a lot higher. Low latency can affect how quickly you can access the internet, so if you company is reliant on quick transactions then a dedicated connection would be your best bet.

Contract Terms

This states how long you’ll be tied in with a provider for. The main contract lengths are 12 months, 36 months, and 60 months. The most popular contract length is 36months (3 years), this is because sometimes a 60 month contract is too long, and with a 12 month contract you have to pay install charges, whereas with the other ones you don’t. One the other hand, broadband has slightly shorted contract lengths ranging from, 12 months, 18 months, and 24 months.

Price

Pricing of a Leased line can differ depending on speed, location, and contract length chosen. The higher the speed you need the more expensive the line will be, and the more rural you are the more expensive the line will be. Contract length can also affect the price because with a 12 month you have to pay install, and sometimes a 5 year is cheaper than a 3 year, depending on the provider.

One thing that can lower the price is a new scheme that the government have implemented called the Gigabit Voucher Scheme. This scheme will allow your company to get up to a £2.5k towards the cost of a Leased line, there is a few requirements you need to meet first though, such as being a UK based business and getting a line 100MB and over. This scheme was put in place to encourage companies to get a full-fibre circuit into the premises.