Connectivity · 6 min read
Leased line vs business broadband
Both connect your business to the internet, but they work very differently. Here is how to tell which one your business actually needs.
The core difference: dedicated vs shared
A leased line is a dedicated connection between your premises and the network. The bandwidth is yours alone, so the speed you buy is the speed you get, at any time of day.
Business broadband is a shared, or contended, connection. It is more affordable because the capacity is shared across many users, which means real-world speeds can dip at busy times.
Symmetric speeds
Leased lines are usually symmetric: upload is as fast as download. That matters if you run cloud backups, video calls, VoIP or move large files, where slow upload is often the real bottleneck.
Most business broadband is faster on download than upload, which is fine for general browsing but can hold back upload-heavy work.
Resilience and support
Because a leased line is dedicated, it typically comes with stronger service level agreements and faster fix times, which is why businesses that cannot afford downtime choose one.
Business broadband is well suited to smaller sites, or as a cost-effective connection where a short outage is not business-critical. Adding 4G or 5G backup can improve resilience either way.
So which should you choose?
If connectivity is business-critical, you rely on the cloud, or you need guaranteed, symmetric speed, a leased line is usually worth it. If you need a reliable connection at a lower cost and can tolerate shared capacity, business broadband may be the better fit.
With Floxus you do not have to work it out alone. Check availability at your postcode and we will show you what is serviceable, then help you choose the right option and manage it end to end.