Virgin Media Leased Line: Pricing, Availability and Alternatives
Virgin Media Business offers dedicated leased line services on its own independent network in areas where the cable infrastructure is present. This review covers Virgin leased line pricing, availability, SLA terms and how it compares to Openreach-based providers for UK businesses.
Nathan Hill-Haimes
Technical Director
Virgin Media Business Leased Lines: The Key Differentiator
Virgin Media Business leased lines are delivered over Virgin's own network infrastructure — entirely separate from BT Openreach. This is the central commercial differentiator. The overwhelming majority of UK leased line providers use Openreach's physical infrastructure, meaning that in terms of actual connectivity, many 'competing' products are based on the same cables and exchange hardware. Virgin's independence means a genuine alternative network path.
For businesses that want infrastructure resilience — perhaps running a primary Openreach-based leased line and a secondary Virgin circuit — having two circuits on completely separate physical networks is a material advantage. A carrier-level Openreach outage will not affect the Virgin circuit.
Virgin Leased Line Availability
The principal limitation of Virgin Media Business leased lines is geographic. Virgin's network serves major UK urban and suburban areas — approximately 16 million premises. Rural areas, many smaller towns and some suburban postcodes fall outside the Virgin footprint entirely.
Within Virgin's coverage area, dedicated leased line products are available at speeds from 100Mbps through to 10Gbps, suitable for the full range of SME and enterprise requirements.
Pricing for Virgin Media Business Leased Lines
Virgin leased line pricing is competitive within its coverage area, partly because the independent network provides genuine cost differentiation from Openreach wholesale pricing. Indicative monthly costs:
- 100Mbps leased line: approximately £200-£350/month
- 500Mbps leased line: approximately £280-£450/month
- 1Gbps leased line: approximately £360-£580/month
- 10Gbps leased line: available on request for larger sites
These figures are for monthly rental. Installation costs (connection charges) vary by premises location within the Virgin coverage area. In well-covered urban locations, installation charges are often waived or minimal. Premises requiring significant new build work will attract a connection fee.
Virgin Leased Line SLA
Virgin Media Business leased lines include formal SLA commitments that are broadly comparable to other major UK carriers:
- Uptime guarantee: 99.95% availability on premium circuits
- Fault repair time: 5-hour repair commitment on premium Ethernet products
- Proactive monitoring: Included on leased line products
- Service credits: Apply when SLA targets are missed
One advantage of Virgin's independent infrastructure is that fault resolution does not involve Openreach — Virgin's own engineers manage the whole circuit, reducing the number of parties involved in fault escalation.
When to Choose Virgin Over Openreach-Based Providers
Virgin Media Business leased lines are worth prioritising in the following scenarios:
- Your premises is in the Virgin coverage area and you want an infrastructure-differentiated alternative to Openreach
- You are designing a dual-circuit resilience setup and need two truly independent network paths
- Virgin's pricing for your specific postcode is lower than Openreach alternatives at the required speed tier
When Openreach Is the Better Choice
- Your premises is outside the Virgin coverage area (Openreach is the only option for many UK locations)
- You are comparing pricing and Openreach-based providers are significantly cheaper at your postcode
- Your priority is the largest possible provider ecosystem for maximum price competition
Get a Virgin vs Openreach Leased Line Comparison
AMVIA queries both Virgin Media Business and all major Openreach-based carriers for your address. Find the best available leased line from one enquiry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Virgin Media Business offers dedicated Ethernet leased line services from 100Mbps to 10Gbps in areas served by the Virgin cable network. The leased lines run on Virgin's own infrastructure, independent of BT Openreach.
Virgin Media Business is a strong option for businesses in its coverage area, particularly where infrastructure independence matters — for example, when building a dual-circuit resilience setup. SLA commitments are comparable to other major providers and pricing is competitive.
No. Virgin's leased line products are only available within the Virgin Media network footprint, which covers major urban and suburban areas but not all UK premises. If your address falls outside Virgin's network, Openreach-based providers are the alternative.
Both Virgin and BT Business offer comparable SLA commitments on premium leased line products — typically 99.95% uptime and 5-hour fault repair. A meaningful difference is that Virgin resolves faults using its own engineers rather than Openreach, which can simplify escalation.
Virgin Media Business leased lines are available from 100Mbps up to 10Gbps. All dedicated leased line speeds are symmetrical — equal upload and download. This is distinct from Virgin's standard broadband products, which are asymmetric. <strong>100 Mbps leased line</strong>: £240–£320/month (36-month term) in urban areas; up to £390/month in semi-rural areas. <em>(AMVIA)</em>
Virgin leased line installations typically take 30 to 60 working days from order, which is broadly comparable to Openreach. Build timescales depend on the proximity of existing Virgin infrastructure to your premises and the civil works required.
Related Reading
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AMVIA's comparison of the leading UK leased line providers on price, SLA, network coverage and support.
Virgin Media Business Broadband Review
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Virgin Fibre Checker
How to confirm whether Virgin Media's network covers your specific business premises.