Business leased lines — a dedicated fibre connection, at the speed you choose
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If your connection is where your business lives — phones running over SIP, cloud software, card machines, off-site backups, a building full of people on video calls — there comes a point where renting a slice of the street's capacity stops being good enough. A leased line is what comes next: a circuit built for you, at the speed you specify, with a written commitment to keep it running. UK Wholesale has arranged business connectivity since 2005, on the same Openreach infrastructure the big retailers sell — without the retail margin, and with experts you can actually speak to.
What a leased line actually is
A leased line — you'll also see it called dedicated internet access, fibre Ethernet or an Ethernet leased line, all the same thing — is a private fibre connection installed specifically for your premises. Nothing about it is shared. Four properties set it apart from every flavour of broadband:
- Symmetric speed. Upload matches download exactly. A 1Gbps leased line sends at 1Gbps as well as receiving at it — broadband never does that.
- Uncontended capacity. Broadband is contended — you share the local network with everyone around you, which is why it sags at busy times. A leased line's bandwidth is reserved for your business alone, so it performs identically all day.
- A real SLA. The service-level agreement puts fix times in writing. If the circuit faults, the clock starts — a guaranteed repair window, not a place in a queue.
- Built to your door. Broadband availability depends on what your street happens to have. A leased line is constructed to your premises, so the local coverage map stops being your problem.
One more term worth knowing: the bearer. That's the physical capacity of the fibre installed — your service speed is what you actually pay to use. Order a 1Gbps bearer running at 100Mbps and you can step up to the full 1Gbps later with a simple order change, no new digging. It's the cheapest insurance there is against outgrowing your connection.
What a dedicated line really means for speed
Bars indicative, not to scale — a 10Gbps leased line carries 125× the bandwidth of an 80Mbps FTTC line, with every megabit guaranteed and reserved for your business alone.
Leased line vs business broadband
| Business broadband | Leased line | |
|---|---|---|
| Download speed | "Up to" — whatever your street supports | 100Mbps, 1Gbps or 10Gbps — your choice, guaranteed |
| Upload speed | A fraction of the download | Identical to download — fully symmetric |
| Who shares it | The neighbourhood — contended at peak times | Nobody — uncontended, yours alone |
| If it faults | Best-efforts repair | Guaranteed fix times, in a written SLA |
| Availability | Depends on local coverage | Built to your premises |
| Best for | Everyday use, smaller teams, backup circuits | Businesses where the connection is critical |
Being honest against our own interest: broadband wins on price and delivery time, and for plenty of businesses FTTP full fibre at up to 1Gbps is genuinely all they need. The leased line case starts where "up to", "shared" and "best efforts" stop being acceptable. Not sure which side of that line you're on? We quote both and tell you which fits.
100Mbps, 1Gbps or 10Gbps — which one is you?
The entry point to dedicated fibre. Suits offices and practices that live in the cloud — VoIP, hosted desktops, backups — and want guaranteed, symmetric performance rather than headline speed. Order it on a 1Gbps bearer and the upgrade path is already built.
The sweet spot for most growing businesses — larger teams, heavy video use, big file movement, multiple sites hanging off one connection. Enough headroom that the network stops being something anyone thinks about.
For data-heavy operations — media and production houses, hosting, research, large multi-site estates, anywhere terabytes move daily. A 10Gbps leased line is carrier-grade capacity delivered straight into your building.
Not sure? Don't guess upwards. Tell us what the business actually does and we'll size it honestly — if 100Mbps covers you, we won't sell you 1Gbps.
When broadband stops being enough
- Your premises can't get the speed you need. A leased line is built to your door — the local broadband map stops mattering.
- Upload matters as much as download. Cloud backups, VoIP, video calls and remote workers all push data out. Symmetric speed means no more 20Mbps bottleneck.
- Downtime costs you real money. Leased lines carry service-level agreements with guaranteed fix times — not "we'll look into it".
- Peak-time slowdown isn't acceptable. Broadband is contended — you share capacity with the neighbourhood. A leased line performs the same at 3pm as it does at 3am.
- Your phones run over the internet. If SIP trunks or hosted VoIP carry every customer call, a contended line means crackly calls at the worst moments. Uncontended, symmetric capacity is what call quality is built on.
- Several sites share one connection. Branch offices, warehouses and home workers routing through head office multiply the load. One properly sized leased line beats four struggling broadband circuits.
When you don't need a leased line
We'd rather tell you now than after you've signed. A leased line is the right answer when guaranteed speed and fix times justify the cost — it is not the right answer for everyone:
If FTTP is available at your premises and a shared "up to 1Gbps" service with best-efforts support wouldn't keep you up at night, it will do the job for a fraction of the money. If you're mainly trying to escape line rental on a broadband connection, SoGEA gives you broadband without a phone line underneath. And if it's simply a better everyday deal you're after, start with our business broadband packages or the full broadband range. When you ask us for a leased line quote, we check the alternatives as a matter of course — if FTTP would do the job for less, we'll say so.
From quote to live circuit — what installation actually involves
A leased line is constructed, not just switched on, so the process has more steps than broadband. Here's the whole of it — and note how little of it lands on your desk:
- Tell us your postcode and the speed you're considering. We price the circuit at wholesale rates and sense-check the speed against what your business actually does. No obligation, no hard sell.
- Site survey. Engineers confirm the fibre route into your building and flag anything unusual before you commit — not after.
- The build. Openreach constructs the fibre to your premises. Depending on the route this can involve new duct, poles or permissions from landlords and councils (wayleaves). Where a route needs significant new construction, "excess construction charges" can apply — the survey surfaces these up front, so there are no surprise invoices mid-project.
- Install and test. The circuit is terminated in your comms room or cabinet, tested end to end at the full committed speed, both directions.
- Go live — and stay managed. You plug your network in and we stay the single point of contact for the life of the circuit. Any issue, you call people who know it by name — no ticket ping-pong.
Two practical notes from twenty-one years of doing this. A leased line takes longer to deliver than broadband — the fibre is built specifically for you — so keep your existing connection running until the new circuit is live; we'll manage the overlap. And start the conversation before your contract corners you: the build is the one part of the process nobody can rush.
Resilience: what happens if the fibre gets dug up?
The SLA guarantees a fast fix — but for some businesses even a short outage is expensive. The pragmatic answer is a backup path: a separate FTTP or SoGEA connection alongside the leased line, with your router failing over automatically if the main circuit ever drops. It costs a fraction of a second leased line and turns "the internet is down" into a non-event. We can design, price and install the pair together, or add priority business-grade broadband for your everyday connections.
Worth knowing while you're planning: leased lines are full fibre, so the January 2027 analogue switch-off doesn't touch them. It's traditional phone lines that are affected — and if yours aren't ready to move, we're the provider that can keep copper lines running until 2030, same line, same number, same kit.
Experts who make it easy
One conversation about what your business needs, then we survey, price and project-manage the install. You plug in at the end.
No ticket queues, no being passed from pillar to post. You reach people who actually fix things — and know your circuit when you call.
Carrier-grade circuits at wholesale rates, with the service-level agreement in writing — uptime, fix times, the lot.
The same lines, the same Openreach engineers, the same infrastructure the big retailers sell — minus the retail margin, plus a team in Poole and Hyde that answers its own phone. Questions before you're ready for a quote? Get in touch and we'll talk it through in plain English.
What our customers say about dealing with us
“Very prompt, professional & attentive service. By far the best ISP I have ever had to deal with. From production of the initial quote, to updating of progress and delivery of the service… couldn’t be faulted.”
“This company is consistently excellent. Whenever there’s a problem they answer the phone quickly, deal with it efficiently and keep checking to ensure it’s resolved. I don’t know if it’s a family business but it feels like it in all the good ways.”
Business leased line FAQs
What is the difference between a leased line and business broadband?
Broadband is a shared service: your traffic travels over infrastructure used by the whole neighbourhood, speeds are "up to" rather than guaranteed, and upload is a fraction of download. A leased line is a private fibre circuit dedicated to your premises, with the same speed in both directions, no contention, and a service-level agreement that guarantees fix times if anything goes wrong.
What speeds are available on a business leased line?
UK Wholesale supplies leased lines from 100Mbps up to 10Gbps, always symmetric, so upload matches download. Most businesses choose 100Mbps or 1Gbps; a 10Gbps leased line suits data-heavy operations such as media production, hosting and large multi-site networks.
How long does a leased line take to install?
Longer than broadband, because the fibre is built specifically to your premises and Openreach may need to lay new duct or arrange permissions along the route. The honest answer is that it varies by site, which is why we survey first and give you a realistic date rather than a guess. Keep your existing broadband running until the new circuit is live; we manage the whole install and the overlap for you.
What is a fix-time SLA?
A service-level agreement that commits, in writing, to how quickly a fault on your circuit will be fixed, not just responded to. It is the fundamental service difference between a leased line and broadband, where repairs are best-efforts and you wait your turn.
How much does a leased line cost in the UK?
It depends on your postcode, the speed you choose and how much new fibre has to be built to reach you, which is why leased lines are quoted per site rather than from a price list. UK Wholesale buys at wholesale rates on the same Openreach network the major retailers use, so our quote comes without the retail margin on top. Tell us your postcode and we will price it, with an honest read on whether cheaper FTTP would do the job.
What is a bearer, and why does it matter?
The bearer is the physical capacity of the fibre installed; your service speed is what you pay to use. Order a 1Gbps bearer running at 100Mbps and you can upgrade to the full 1Gbps later with a simple order change and no new construction work. It is the cheapest insurance against outgrowing your connection.
Can I use broadband as a backup to my leased line?
Yes, and we recommend it where downtime is expensive. A separate FTTP or SoGEA connection gives you an independent path that your router fails over to automatically if the main circuit ever drops, for a fraction of the cost of a second leased line. We can design and install the pair together.
Does the 2027 copper switch-off affect leased lines?
No. Leased lines are full fibre, so the January 2027 analogue switch-off does not touch them. It affects traditional copper phone lines, and if yours are not ready to move, UK Wholesale can keep analogue copper lines running until 2030 with the same line, number and equipment.
Will a leased line improve VoIP and video call quality?
Noticeably, in most cases. Calls suffer when upload is squeezed or the line is contended at busy times; a leased line removes both problems with symmetric, uncontended bandwidth reserved for your business. If your phones run over SIP trunks or hosted VoIP, the connection underneath them is exactly what call quality is built on.
Find out what a dedicated line costs for your postcode
Tell us where you are and the speed you're dreaming of — 100Mbps, 1Gbps or 10Gbps — and we'll come back with a wholesale price and an honest read on whether you actually need it. If FTTP would do the job for less, we'll say so.