Are you considering upgrading your internet connection to support your business needs? Reliable internet is a vital component of your company’s success. With so many options available, deciding on the right type can be daunting.
Through a telecommunication service, you’ll access time-saving software and cost-efficient communication with clients. Yet when everyone uses the internet, it slows down, impacting your operations.
Nevertheless, you’ll resolve this problem with a leased line. With this private internet connection, you’re guaranteed a faster internet speed regardless of whether it’s an internet ‘rush hour’. However, this type of connection is particularly expensive.
In this blog, we’ll explore this type of connectivity and establish whether your business needs it.
What Is a Leased Line?
This type of line is a private circuit that connects at least two ethernet networks. This telecommunication circuit or data line also provides internet, phone, and multimedia exchange services. Since this data flow is symmetrical, your uploading and downloading speeds are the same.
Usually, a telephony service provider will offer a commercial contract that will create this type of connection to link distant offices. Specifically, you’ll have a long-lasting, high-quality, and continuous data flow between your offices. Therefore, your staff can access servers in other offices. Plus, since this circuit is private, it has reliably high speeds.
The Types of Business Leased Lines
Before you can decide whether to use this type of connection in your business, you should consider its various iterations. Each type of leased connection has a different price point and speed, which depend on the materials used for the connection.
Here’s a table broadly comparing these lines:
| Features | Type of Private Circuit | ||
| Ethernet Broadband | Ethernet over FTTC | Fibre Ethernet | |
| Connection Speed | Slow | Medium | Fast |
| Material | Copper | Copper and Fibre | Fibre |
| Symmetry | Symmetrical | Symmetrical/Asymmetrical | Symmetrical |
| Cost | Low | Medium | High |
Now, let’s dive deeper into these private data lines.
Ethernet Broadband
A leased line broadband is a symmetrical connection between commercial offices that uses traditional copper cables. Half of the wires will send data. Meanwhile, the rest of the wires will receive the data. Since it’s using a cheaper and possibly already installed connection, its installation is cheaper. Even its subscription cost is the cheapest among leased connection options. However, its copper cables reduce the speed of your internet. Additionally, the more distance between your offices, the slower your speed due to the copper cables.
Ethernet over Fibre to the Cabinet (EoFTTC)
This type of ethernet uses a mixture of copper and fibre cables, making its installation slightly more expensive than a private broadband connection. Furthermore, though this circuit is symmetrical, you can also use it in an asymmetric way, allowing you to download more than you upload.
Fibre Ethernet
Finally, the fibre circuit is the fastest due to its fibre optic cables. When you send data through this circuit, your end point transmits data in binary code through light. At the other office, they’ll decode the message using technology such as a private branch exchange.
Since you’ll send your data in the form of light, it’s an incredibly fast connection. For comparison, a traditional connection can offer 100 Mbps. Meanwhile, this private circuit can easily offer 1 Gbps ―10 Gbps.
The Benefits of Leased Lines
When you use a private circuit in your company, you’ll receive the following benefits:
Reliable Connection
As a business, you’ll have the advantage of a reliable connection during peak internet traffic time. More specifically, the service provider will dedicate cables to your connection, ensuring constant high speed. Meanwhile, traditional connections share circuits between customers, leading to slower internet during peak traffic.
High Upload Speed
A leased circuit has symmetrical lines that allow for high upload speed and data volume ― especially with fibre cables. For comparison, traditional connections have more copper wires dedicated to downloading, which means uploading takes more time.
Quick Repairs
Another benefit of these private lines is that they come with a service-level agreement that will guarantee a higher performance. Usually, this agreement will outline how the service provider will monitor and quickly resolve any issues to guarantee a reliable connection.
Enhanced Security
Lastly, your business will receive a more secure internet connection. Since the circuit is private, there are less entry points that a cyber criminal may exploit.
When Should You Consider an Ethernet Broadband Connection?
Selecting the leased line for your business is an important decision. It affects the speed of your connectivity, which in turn affects the quality of your communication and speed of your operations. It’s also a considerable expense ― especially if you don’t already have the material to facilitate this connection.
So, consider the following before you select a private broadband circuit:
Multiple Offices
When your business operates from multiple buildings, you should consider using private broadband. This option will allow you to connect the most offices at the cheapest price. However, if your offices are far apart, you should consider a fibre connection instead to ensure a high internet speed.
Low Data Volume Demand
Since broadband uses copper cables, it’s not as fast as a fibre connection. More specifically, you should select this option if your data requirements are 100 Mbps or lower.
However, if your business is reliant on quick data transfers such as financial institutions, you should opt for a fibre connection. Plus, fibre is capable of providing quality connections for a high number of staff who use data intensive software such as video conferencing.
Constant Reliability Requirement
If your business requires a steady internet connection, a private broadband circuit will provide it. Since this circuit is private, you’ll receive a predetermined connection which you can rely on for moderate data uploads and downloads.
Low Cost
In the end, the most important factor in your decision to connect may be cost. It’s the cheapest of the ethernet options since telephony service providers have a variety of low-cost private broadband packages from which you can select. Therefore, it’s the most accessible leased connection for a smaller business.
Conclusion
Now you know that leased lines can offer your business a high-speed connection no matter the level of internet traffic. These private lines come in a variety of ethernet connections with different speeds and materials.
In particular, the broadband ethernet connection allows for a faster and more constant data flow than traditional circuits. Yet it’s cheaper than the rest of the private lines because of its low-cost installation. However, since it uses copper cables, it has a lower data capacity and connection speed than its fibre alternatives. So, keep all these differences in mind as you consider which private circuit suits your business.