Business Broadband vs Leased Lines: Which Is Right for You?

Choosing between business broadband and a leased line is one of the most important connectivity decisions you'll make.

Business Broadband

Business broadband uses the same fibre network as residential services but with business-grade features:

**Speed:** Up to 1Gbps (typical)

**Contention:** Shared with other users

**Price:** £30-100/month

**SLA:** Typically next-day repair

**Install:** 7-14 working days

Best for: Small businesses, shops, restaurants, and professional services.

A leased line is a dedicated connection from your premises to the provider's network:

**Speed:** Up to 10Gbps symmetric

**Contention:** None (1:1 — fully dedicated)

**Price:** £200-2,000+/month

**SLA:** 99.99% uptime, 4-hour repair

**Install:** 30-60 working days

Best for: Medium-large businesses, data-heavy operations, mission-critical services.

**Choose business broadband if:**

You have fewer than 20 staff

You use cloud services moderately

Budget is a primary concern

You can tolerate occasional slowdowns

**Choose a leased line if:**

You have 20+ staff

You rely on cloud applications daily

You need guaranteed speeds

Downtime would cost you money

You run VoIP or video conferencing heavily