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We compare the Top 10 leased line providers in the UK
A review of UK leased line providers
As a business it is likely that you will need a faster more reliable connection than a domestic user, which is why so many businesses sign up for a leased line from their broadband provider. These lines provide businesses with a dedicated, symmetric internet connection with excellent download speeds.
This means your business could benefit from a connection which is solely reserved for your business, with no speed reductions at peak times or slow upload speeds. In addition, leased line providers know how important a stable connection is to businesses, so you could also benefit from additional customer support and guaranteed service levels.
There are multiple leased line options available, with fibre ethernet being the best possible broadband option. These lines guarantee connection speeds of up to 1Gbps, with 100% fibre optic cables and data literally transferring at the speed of light. Not all businesses require such a fast connection, so you may also be interest in an Ethernet over FTTC (EoFTTC) connections or Ethernet in the first mile (EFM) lines. EoFTTC lines use a mixture of fibre and copper cables, to provide a cost-effective connection with speeds of up to 20Mbps. Alternatively, EFM use multiple copper paired cables with speeds of up to 35Mbps.
In addition to these line types, there are also a variety of leased line providers across the UK, which means your business can compare the providers to find the most suitable service for your business. Here at BusinessComparison, we have partnered with the top UK leased line providers, so you get the best service at great prices. This quick guide will provide you with an overview of some of the providers which we believe offer a great service to businesses across the UK.
BT
Here in the UK, the largest supplier of leased lines is BT, with their subsidy BT Openreach responsible for providing the infrastructure which many other leased line providers use. BT Openreach offer two leased line products, BTnet Express and BTnet. For businesses with less than 20 users, BTnet Express provides a cost-effective line with speeds of up to 30Mbps. Although, larger businesses with more employees often choose the more expensive BTnet leased line, which offers speed up to 100Mbps.
Virgin Media
Virgin Media is the company which was born following the merger of Virgin Mobile and NTL:Telewest. They are the second largest fibre network operator and current supply services to more than 50,000 businesses across the UK. The company is responsible for providing reliable internet services to the public sector, with schools, councils and the emergency services all using Virgin Media business lines. There are two leased line products available, the light option with speeds up to 30Mbps and the more expensive line which offers multi-gigabit speeds.
TalkTalk Business
TalkTalk is another company which was formed following a merger of several smaller internet service providers, including Carphone Warehouse, Tiscali, Opal and AOL. Although TalkTalk is predominantly a popular provider for domestic customers, the company offers a competitive ISP service for businesses looking for cost-effective EoFTTC or EFM internet access.
Colt
City of London Telecommunications, or Colt as it is more commonly known as, started by offering leased lines to the financial district, however coverage quickly expanded to the Docklands, Manchester and Birmingham. The service is available outside of these areas, although, is not offered on the same scale as many of the competitors. Instead, Colt focuses on improving links between major cities both here in the UK and across Europe, with several large organisations reliant on COLT leased lines.
Vodafone Business
Vodafone was the first company to provide an alternative to the BT leased line service, with the network created following a series of acquisitions, including Thus, Energis and the UK arm of Cable & Wireless. The company offers a range of ethernet solutions, including Ethernet VPN, Wireline and other dedicated ethernet solutions, with speeds of between 10Mbps and 100Gbps.
SSE Telecoms
SSE Telecoms is the telecommunications arm of Scottish and Southern Energy, with the service provided via fibre lines which are strung from the SSE electricity pylons. The leased line service known as Extreme Internet Access offers speeds of between 100Mbps and 10Gbps, with many businesses benefitting from quality connections at great prices. As one of the Big Six energy companies, many businesses across the UK rely on the SSE services.
Start your leased line comparison today!
These are just a few examples of leased line providers, there are actually many more which operate here in the UK. We understand that it can be difficult to quickly compare the options available from across the market, which is why we offer our free online comparison service. Our team will get to know your business's unique requirements so that we can match you to the ideal leased line service. To find out more, please contact our team.
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