Business broadband or leased line: what’s the difference?

If you’re looking for a better internet connection for your business, two of the options you’re likely to come across are full fibre business broadband and leased lines.

Both offer fast, reliable connectivity, but there are important differences when it comes to bandwidth, service levels and cost.

Which one is right for you depends on how your business uses its connection, how many people rely on it and, importantly, the impact if it goes down.

Here’s a simple comparison.

Business broadband vs leased line at a glance

What is full fibre business broadband?

Full fibre broadband uses fibre-optic cable all the way to your premises, rather than relying on copper for the final stretch.

For many businesses, it’s more than capable of handling the working day: video calls, cloud-based systems, card payments, sending files and keeping teams and customers connected.

Ogi business broadband also offers symmetrical speeds, so uploads can be as fast as downloads. That’s particularly useful if your team regularly uses video conferencing, cloud applications or sends large files.

Find out more about Ogi full fibre business broadband

What is a leased line?

A leased line is a dedicated internet connection for your business.

Unlike standard broadband, you’re not sharing your bandwidth with other users. You get the speed you’ve agreed, in both directions, backed by a defined Service Level Agreement (SLA).

That makes leased lines particularly useful when connectivity isn’t simply convenient – it’s critical to keeping the business running.

Ogi leased lines are available with speeds from 200Mbps to 10Gbps, with options to increase capacity as your needs change.

Explore Ogi leased lines

What’s the main difference?

It isn’t necessarily speed.

A good full fibre business broadband connection will easily meet the needs of many businesses.

With a leased line, the bandwidth is dedicated to your business and backed by agreed service levels. That can make it a better option for businesses where consistent performance is critical or when downtime could have a significant impact.

For example, if you have a large team using cloud-based systems, regularly transfer large files or rely heavily on your connection to serve customers, a leased line may be worth considering.

When is business broadband the better fit?

Full fibre business broadband could be right for you if:

• you mainly use connectivity for everyday cloud applications, email, video calls and payments
• you want fast upload as well as download speeds
• you want to keep monthly connectivity costs down
• occasional disruption would be inconvenient rather than business-critical

For many businesses, there’s no need to pay for more connectivity than they actually need.

When should you consider a leased line?

It may be time to look at a leased line if:

• your business depends heavily on being online
• you regularly move large amounts of data
• lots of people or systems need to be connected at once
• you use bandwidth-intensive cloud, voice or video services
• you operate across multiple sites
• consistent, guaranteed bandwidth matters
• downtime could stop you trading or significantly affect customers
• you need the reassurance of a defined SLA.

Think about what you actually need the connection to handle, rather than choosing on headline speed alone.

What about resilience?

Whatever connection you choose, think about what would happen if it failed.

For some businesses, waiting for their main connection to come back online is manageable. For others, even a short interruption can affect calls, payments, cloud systems, staff and customers.

If staying connected is critical, it may be worth considering additional resilience or failover alongside your main connection.

Ogi can look at the wider set-up rather than treating connectivity as a standalone product.

Explore business connectivity solutions

How much does business connectivity cost?

Full fibre business broadband is generally the lower-cost option, while leased lines cost more because the connection and bandwidth are dedicated to your business and backed by defined service commitments.

Ogi full fibre business broadband currently starts from £17 + VAT a month, subject to availability.

Ogi leased lines start from £200 a month, with the final price depending on speed, location and configuration.

But price shouldn’t be the only deciding factor. The cheapest connection can become expensive very quickly if it can’t support the way your business needs to work.

Business broadband or leased line: which should I choose?

If you’re not sure, you don’t need to decide before speaking to us.

A few things will help point you in the right direction:

• How many people and sites need to be connected?
• What do you mainly use your connection for?
• Do you regularly upload or transfer large files?
• How important is consistent performance?
• What would downtime mean for your business?

Ogi Business can look at what you need, what’s available at your location and recommend the most suitable option.

Find the right connection for your business
Not sure whether business broadband or a leased line is right for you? Tell us a little about your business and we’ll help you work through the options.