Your Guide to Leased Line Costs in the UK
Leased line costs in the UK have fallen significantly since 2020 as infrastructure investment and carrier competition have intensified. This guide provides a historical reference for how pricing has changed, current benchmark costs for 2025/2026, and the factors that continue to drive cost variation between premises.
Matt Cannon
Managing Director
How Leased Line Costs Have Changed
In 2020, a 100Mbps leased line in a well-served UK city centre location typically cost £350-£500 per month. By 2025/2026, the same product is widely available at £185-£320 per month — a reduction of 30-40% over five years. This cost reduction reflects sustained infrastructure investment by BT Openreach, Virgin Media Business, CityFibre and a growing number of alternative network operators (altnets), along with significant growth in carrier competition in urban areas.
For businesses that signed leased line contracts in 2019 or 2020 on three-year terms and renewed in 2022/2023, a further cost reduction at the next renewal in 2025/2026 is very likely achievable — the market price for equivalent products has fallen considerably since most existing contracts were first signed.
Current Leased Line Costs: 2025/2026 Benchmarks
The following pricing reflects the current UK market for business Ethernet leased lines. These are monthly rental costs excluding installation charges (see below):
100Mbps Leased Line
- High-competition urban areas (e.g. London, Manchester, Birmingham city centres): from £185-£250/month
- Standard UK town or business park: £240-£320/month
- Lower-competition or more rural locations: £300-£450/month
500Mbps Leased Line
- High-competition urban areas: from £260-£340/month
- Standard location: £320-£440/month
- Lower-competition locations: £400-£580/month
1Gbps Leased Line
- High-competition urban areas: from £350-£440/month
- Standard location: £420-£560/month
- Lower-competition locations: £520-£750/month
Installation Charges: The Variable You Must Check
Monthly rental is only part of the total cost. Excess Construction Charges (ECCs) are one-off installation fees that reflect the cost of civil works required to connect your premises to the nearest carrier fibre. They vary enormously:
- Premises already on or very close to existing fibre: £0-£500 ECC
- Premises requiring a short fibre extension (typically in established business parks): £500-£2,000 ECC
- Premises requiring significant new build (rural locations, new developments): £2,000-£15,000+ ECC
When comparing total cost of ownership over a 36-month contract, a provider with zero ECC and £280/month rental may be more expensive overall than one with a £1,000 ECC and £240/month rental. Always calculate total contract cost (monthly x 36 + ECC) when comparing quotes.
Why Prices Vary Between Quotes
Businesses are sometimes surprised when quotes from different providers vary significantly for what appears to be the same product. The key drivers of variation:
- Infrastructure distance: Each provider calculates a different ECC based on their own fibre's proximity to your premises — one carrier may have fibre passing directly outside your building; another may need to extend from further away
- Network competition: Locations served by multiple carriers (Openreach, Virgin, CityFibre simultaneously) attract lower pricing due to competition
- SLA grade: Higher SLA products — faster fault repair guarantees — cost more
- Speed tier: Price-per-Mbps decreases at higher speeds
How to Ensure You Get the Best Price
The most reliable approach to getting competitive leased line pricing is a multi-carrier comparison through a specialist broker. AMVIA queries all major UK carriers simultaneously for your postcode, returning the lowest available monthly rental and ECC for your required speed and SLA tier. This approach consistently produces better pricing than approaching carriers directly because brokers hold volume-negotiated rates.
For businesses approaching contract renewal, AMVIA also provides renewal benchmarking — confirming whether your current renewal quote reflects current market pricing or whether better terms are available by switching carrier.
Check Current Leased Line Pricing for Your Address
AMVIA runs a live multi-carrier pricing check for your postcode. Find out what the market rate is for your required speed and SLA today.
Frequently Asked Questions
A 100Mbps leased line in a well-served UK location typically costs £185-£320 per month in 2025/2026. Pricing depends on location, carrier competition and SLA grade. Higher-speed circuits offer better value per Mbps — a 1Gbps circuit is typically £350-£560/month. <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>
Sustained infrastructure investment by Openreach, CityFibre, Virgin and altnets has increased carrier competition in many UK locations. More carriers competing for the same premises drives down pricing. The cost per Mbps of leased line connectivity has roughly halved over the past five years. <strong>500 Mbps leased line</strong>: £411–£673/month (36-month term) — only ~58% more expensive than 100 Mbps despite 5× the speed. <em>(AMVIA)</em>
An Excess Construction Charge (ECC) is a one-off installation fee reflecting the cost of civil works to connect your premises to the carrier's fibre network. It ranges from zero (for premises already close to existing fibre) to several thousand pounds for more remote locations.
Yes, always. Calculate total contract cost — monthly rental multiplied by 36 months, plus the ECC. A provider with lower monthly rental but higher installation charge may be more expensive overall than one with higher rental and zero installation.
Yes. Market prices have fallen since most leased lines contracted in 2020-2022 were first signed. At renewal, benchmark your current rate against the current market using a multi-carrier comparison. In most cases, meaningful savings are achievable either with the same carrier or by switching. <strong>1 Gbps leased line</strong>: £437–£994/month depending on provider and location. Alternative providers (CityFibre, Hyperoptic) cluster at £450–£550/month vs. incumbents (BT, Vodafone) at £700–£1,000/month. <em>(AMVIA)</em>
For a small business where internet connectivity is central to daily operations — VoIP calls, cloud applications, client file transfers — the cost of a leased line starts from £185/month. For many businesses this is justified by the guaranteed uptime and upload speeds compared to standard broadband. <strong>10 Gbps leased line</strong>: £2,800–£7,000+ per month in urban areas; £1,200–£1,800/month for point-to-point Ethernet (urban). <em>(AMVIA)</em>
Related Reading
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Switching Business Internet Provider
How to switch leased line provider at renewal to get the best available pricing.