If you’re wondering about the differences between a leased line and a broadband connection, you’re probably weighing up the pros and cons of the two solutions, trying to find out which is right for your business.
Let’s take a closer look at both.
What’s The Difference Between A Leased Line And Broadband?
The two connectivity solutions have major differences in speed, reliability, cost and installation times.
A leased-line is a dedicated connection between your location and the local exchange, so, your connection is private and will not be interrupted. Whereas a broadband connection is shared with other users meaning that you might experience issues such as slow Wi-Fi at peak times.
Each solution also offers different pros and cons that you need to understand and weigh up in relation to your individual business needs.
Keep scrolling to check out the differences in detail.
Speed
One of the major differences between leased lines and broadband is the speed they offer.
Fast connectivity is incredibly desirable in the modern work environment, which is what makes leased lines an attractive offering as their bandwidth transmission speeds range between 10 Mbps and 10 Gbps upstream and downstream.
This means that you can transfer large amounts of data without any loss of speed all day.
This is achieved through a symmetrical connection, unlike broadband which has an asymmetrical connection.
The asymmetrical connection results in a much slower upload speed even though download speeds are still quite fast. Overall, the speed offered by a leased line connection is much more stable since it is not affected by peak hours like a broadband connection.
Contention
Broadband is contended connection, whereas leased lines are uncontended.
This means that your leased line connection is only for you, the leaseholder, whereas a broadband connection is shared.
A shared broadband connection often means slower speeds at peak times which results in buffering, slow upload and download speed and poor connection in video conferencing. In this case, the uncontended connection of leased lines is perfect for companies that use cloud heavy applications daily and are always dependent on connectivity.
Latency
Broadband has high latency compared to leased lines that have low latency.
Latency is the time it takes for data to be transferred from its source to its destination. Actions will respond faster with a leased line connection than a broadband connection.
Can you see how leased lines have a lot of super-fast benefits?
Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Connections
Leased lines offer a symmetrical connection meaning that the upload and download speeds match each other.
Broadband connections are asymmetrical meaning that they have a fast download speed but a poor upload speed. Fast upload and download speeds are especially crucial for video conferencing, so leased lines definitely favour companies that use video conferencing often.
It also maintains performance levels 24/7 so you can be confident in your connection all day long.
Service Level Agreement
All leased lines come with a Service Level Agreement (SLA) which ensures that if you experience any issues with your leased line, your provider is contracted to resolve the issue quickly.
This differs from broadband connections where SLA agreements are looser, usually meaning that you are left waiting longer for repairs in the event that an issue arises.
Cost
Leased lines are considerably more expensive than broadband connections, primarily because the leased line is reserved solely for the leaseholder.
Also, the complexity of installation compared to other options like Asymmetric Digital Subscriber (ADSL) or FTTC connections, raises the price higher.
However, when comparing prices between a leased line and a broadband connection, it is key to weigh up the benefits of speed, guaranteed performance and security against the disadvantage of steep pricing.
Price can also be affected by your location, requirements, how much bandwidth you require and whether you would need voice capability as well as data transmission to be included.
For a no-obligation quote, you can head over to our live chat and provide your postcode to get an accurate price from a member of our team.
Installation Time
Due to the complexity of the project, leased lines take much longer to install compared to broadband connections.
The process can take months rather than weeks since leased lines are installed point to point between your location and the local exchange.
The installation process takes a lot of planning to ensure there’s no disruption to daily business operations which is something you need to consider when planning your project. Depending on your requirements Boxx can typically install within 30 to 90 days.
Which Is Best for You?
After comparing and understanding the differences between leased lines and broadband connections, you should have a better idea of which one you prefer over the other.
If there’s going to be a lot of business-critical traffic using your internet connection, then a leased line is likely to be a better option.
However, if you’re looking for a more cost-effective solution, and have fewer people in your office, a broadband connection could be the right way to go.
If you’d prefer to chat with a member of the Boxx team to get more information or an accurate, no-obligation quote then you can open a live chat with a team member and get answers right away, or give us a ring on 01908 350750. We’re happy to help.
