Everything you need to know about leased lines
You may have heard talk of leased lines before from IT providers, but been left non-the-wiser when it comes to knowing what they are, or what benefit they can be to your business. Never fear, at Crosstek we’re all about demystifying the world of IT for business owners to make the whole thing less daunting so without further ado, let’s talk leased lines!
What is a leased line?
In a nutshell, a leased line is a dedicated connection directly to the internet which is solely reserved for your business. In a world where poor connectivity is a huge barrier to business growth, it can be a great alternative to broadband.
How fast is a leased line?
How long is a piece of string? This is entirely based around your needs. It can be anything from 10mb, or as high as 1000mb (gigabit internet). It’s important to consider this from the offset as while some providers offer the ability to flex your bandwidth to meet developing need, not all do. With this in mind, if you predict significant growth in the near future it’s important to either take it into consideration when implementing your leased line, or choosing a provider who offers the flexibility you may need.
How much does it cost?
There are a few things which can affect how leased lines will cost to a business.
Firstly, speed. The higher the speed, the higher the cost. It’s important to be clear about what you’re looking to achieve so your provider can best advise you on the speed you need, that way you won’t find yourself screaming if you want to go faster! A small business of 10 people is going to require a lot less oomph than a 250-person business running across multiple sites, with complex cloud systems in place.
It also depends on your location. Implementing a leased line involves running a fibre optic connection from your business to the nearest exchange or carrier data centre. The further you are away from one of these locations, the more it will cost.
The setup of leased lines presents a large cost to providers, so if as a business you’re willing to offer a commitment and sign up for a longer contract, you will often find a reduction in your monthly payments.
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What are the advantages of a leased line?
Speed
Leased lines are capable of running much faster than normal internet.
Call quality
It can accommodate phone calls with no loss of call quality. Perfect if you’ve been thinking about upgrading to a VoIP phone system.
No need to share
It’s a dedicated connection for your business, and your business alone. By not needing to share, you’re eliminating the uncertainty of lower speeds at peak usage times.
It’s reliable
It offers great reliability and support.
What are the disadvantages of a leased line?
- Cost – While prices for leased lines have fallen in recent times, it’s still a lot more expensive than regular broadband.
- A longer wait for installation – It can take up to three months to get a leased line in place.
- Being a more complex process, the installation itself also takes longer than that of regular broadband.
Is a leased line better than broadband?
Yes.
It’s faster when it comes to download speeds, and perhaps more critically in a world where businesses are moving more to cloud-based working – sped up by the pandemic – it also means increased upload speeds. It also has greater reliability and better support for your own peace of mind.
If you’ve been struggling with connection speeds and you think a leased line might be the way forward for you, please get in touch with us. Book a time slot with us, we’ll be happy to take a look.