For businesses where internet connectivity is genuinely business-critical — where a slow connection or unexpected outage directly translates into lost productivity, missed calls, or failed transactions — standard broadband simply isn’t built for the job. A leased line is.

It’s not the right solution for every business, but for those that need it, the difference is significant. Here’s a straightforward guide to what a leased line is, what it costs, and how to work out whether it’s the right choice for your business.

What Is a Leased Line?

 

A leased line is a dedicated, private internet connection that runs exclusively to your business premises. Unlike standard broadband — which is shared infrastructure, meaning your connection competes for bandwidth with every other business and household on the same exchange — a leased line is uncontended. The bandwidth you pay for is the bandwidth you get, consistently, at all times of day.

Leased lines also provide symmetrical speeds, meaning upload and download speeds are equal. Standard broadband connections are typically asymmetrical — fast download speeds but significantly slower uploads. For businesses that regularly send large files, back up data to the cloud, host video conferences, or run VoIP phone systems, symmetrical speeds make a meaningful practical difference.

How a Leased Line Differs From Business Broadband

 

The distinction is worth being clear about because “business broadband” and “leased line” are sometimes used interchangeably when they’re fundamentally different products:

Business broadband is a standard broadband connection with a business-grade service wrapper — typically better support, a stronger SLA, and sometimes a faster repair response than consumer broadband. It’s still shared infrastructure with variable speeds.

A leased line is a physically dedicated circuit from your premises to the network. Nobody else uses it. Speeds are guaranteed. The SLA is typically backed by financial penalties if the provider fails to meet it — something most broadband contracts don’t offer.

For businesses running cloud-based operations, VoIP telephony, Microsoft 365, or regular video conferencing, the reliability difference between the two is material.

What Speeds Does a Leased Line Provide?

 

Modern leased lines are available from 100Mbps up to 10Gbps, with 100Mbps, 500Mbps, and 1Gbps being the most common choices for small and medium-sized businesses. Unlike broadband, where the advertised speed is a theoretical maximum you’re unlikely to consistently achieve, leased line speeds are guaranteed — you’ll get what you pay for at all times.

The right speed for your business depends on the number of users, the nature of your internet usage, and your growth plans. A business with 20 staff running Microsoft 365, Teams video calls, and a cloud-hosted VoIP phone system has very different requirements from a 5-person office using email and basic web browsing. A proper connectivity assessment before committing to a speed tier saves money and avoids under-provisioning.

Why Leased Lines Matter for VoIP

 

If your business runs a VoIP phone system — or is planning to migrate from a legacy PSTN or ISDN line as part of the UK’s ongoing switch-off — the quality of your internet connection directly determines the quality of your calls.

VoIP calls are sensitive to three things: bandwidth, latency, and jitter. Standard broadband can struggle with all three during peak hours when the shared infrastructure is under load. A leased line eliminates this problem — dedicated bandwidth means VoIP traffic isn’t competing with everything else on the network, and the consistent low latency of a leased circuit ensures call quality remains high regardless of what else is happening on your connection.

For businesses with multiple simultaneous calls — a customer service team, a busy reception, or a multi-site operation — a leased line paired with a well-configured VoIP system is the reliable foundation that makes the whole setup work properly.

 

 

 

Leased Line SLAs: What to Look For

 

One of the most important features of a leased line is the Service Level Agreement that comes with it. A leased line SLA typically guarantees:

Uptime — usually 99.9% or higher, with defined financial credits if the provider fails to meet it. This is a meaningful commitment that most broadband products don’t offer.

Mean time to repair (MTTR) — the maximum time the provider will take to restore service in the event of a fault. Typical leased line SLAs commit to restoration within 4–8 hours, with some providers offering faster response for premium circuits.

Engineer response — dedicated engineering resource to diagnose and resolve faults, rather than the consumer-style support queue that standard broadband issues typically go through.

When evaluating leased line providers, the SLA is as important as the speed and price. A cheap leased line with a weak SLA provides far less protection than a well-priced circuit from a provider with strong contractual commitments.

What Does a Leased Line Cost?

 

Leased line pricing varies depending on speed, location, and contract term, but as a general guide for UK businesses in 2026:

• 100Mbps leased line: typically £200–£400 per month
• 500Mbps leased line: typically £300–£600 per month
• 1Gbps leased line: typically £400–£800 per month

Installation costs and lead times vary — a leased line requires physical infrastructure to be installed to your premises, which typically takes 30–90 days depending on your location and the work required. In some locations where existing infrastructure is already nearby, this can be faster and cheaper. In others, a significant civils contribution may be required.

Getting quotes from multiple providers — and having someone who understands the market help you compare them — makes a significant difference to the final price and contract terms.

Is a Leased Line Right for Your Business?

A leased line makes sense if your business meets one or more of the following criteria:

• You have 20 or more staff regularly using cloud applications, video conferencing, or VoIP simultaneously
• Your business depends on consistent, reliable connectivity and downtime has a direct cost
• You run a VoIP phone system and call quality is important to your customer experience
• You regularly upload large volumes of data — backups, media files, or large documents
• You operate from a serviced office or multi-tenancy building where internet is shared with other businesses
• You’re planning a leased line installation as the permanent connectivity solution following a temporary satellite or 4G/5G setup

If your requirements are more modest — a small team with occasional video calls and standard cloud application usage — business broadband with a strong SLA may be sufficient and significantly more cost-effective.

Getting a Leased Line Quote for Your Business

 

At Via Wire, we supply and manage leased line connectivity for businesses of all sizes — handling everything from initial site survey and provider selection through to installation management and ongoing support. We work with multiple carriers to ensure our clients get the best available pricing and SLA terms for their location.

Get in touch today to discuss leased line options for your business and get a no-obligation quote.