Leased Lines for UK Businesses: Dedicated Symmetric Fibre Internet

Why Businesses Choose Leased Lines Over Broadband

Business broadband — even full-fibre FTTP — uses a shared infrastructure. Your line contends with other users on the same network, and during busy periods this sharing affects performance. Upload speeds on FTTC broadband are significantly lower than download speeds, which is a problem for businesses that upload large files, use cloud backup intensively, or run real-time video conferencing.

A leased line removes these constraints. Your dedicated circuit delivers a committed speed — 100Mbps, 500Mbps, 1Gbps, or higher — symmetrically, at all times, regardless of what neighbouring businesses are doing. The circuit is backed by a Service Level Agreement that defines availability commitments and maximum fix times for faults.

Leased Line Speeds and What You Need

Leased lines are available from 100Mbps to 10Gbps. Selecting the right speed depends on the number of users, the types of applications in use, and future growth expectations. A 100Mbps leased line supports a business of 30 to 50 users running cloud applications comfortably in most cases. Businesses with higher throughput requirements — large file transfers, heavy cloud backup, video production, or hundreds of concurrent users — should consider 500Mbps or above.

AMVIA conducts a connectivity assessment to determine the right capacity for your business, taking into account current usage patterns and planned growth. Leased lines can typically be upgraded in speed without a full re-installation, subject to provider capability.

SLA and Repair Commitments

The contractual SLA is one of the primary reasons businesses choose leased lines over broadband. A typical leased line SLA commits to 99.95% or higher availability, with a defined mean-time-to-repair (MTTR) — often four hours for priority faults during business hours. Broadband products generally do not carry equivalent repair commitments.

Where a fault occurs and the provider does not meet their SLA repair time, credits are typically applied to your account. AMVIA manages fault reporting and SLA credit claims on behalf of managed connectivity clients, so you do not need to navigate carrier processes yourself.

Installation and Lead Times

Leased line installation involves running a dedicated fibre from your premises to the provider's nearest exchange point of presence. Installation lead times typically range from 60 to 90 days for standard builds, though this varies by location and provider availability. Early engagement with a provider is important if your current connectivity contract is expiring or if you are planning an office move.

AMVIA initiates the survey and order process promptly once an agreement is in place. Where lead times are a concern, AMVIA can arrange a temporary broadband connection to bridge the gap between contract commencement and leased line installation.

Multi-Site Leased Lines and SD-WAN

For businesses with multiple offices, leased lines at each site can be combined with SD-WAN technology to create a managed private wide-area network. SD-WAN optimises traffic across your sites, prioritises business-critical applications, and provides centralised management of your network. AMVIA manages SD-WAN alongside leased lines as an integrated managed network service.

Where some sites justify a leased line and others are better served by FTTP or bonded broadband, SD-WAN can aggregate mixed connection types into a coherent network — using the best available path for each type of traffic.

Comparing Providers

Leased line pricing varies significantly by provider and by location — the cost depends heavily on the distance from your premises to the nearest exchange. Major providers active in the UK leased line market include BT Openreach, Virgin Media Business, Zayo, Colt, and CityFibre. AMVIA has relationships with all major carriers and compares availability and pricing across them to find the best solution for your specific location.

In addition to price, AMVIA considers SLA quality, support responsiveness, and contract flexibility when recommending a provider. The cheapest option is not always the best value when factoring in downtime risk and fault resolution experience.