Leased line quotes from different providers for the same address can vary by over 200%. Here's what drives the differences and how to evaluate them properly.
🔗 The UK Leased Line Market — Who's Actually Providing What
When you get a leased line quote, you're usually dealing with a reseller or aggregator — not the company that physically runs the cable. The underlying infrastructure comes from one of three main carriers:
- BT Openreach: Largest UK network. Reaches virtually every business address but has longer lead times and less competitive pricing in areas without competition.
- Virgin Media Business: Strong in urban areas where their cable network exists. Can offer highly competitive pricing in coverage areas but limited to those areas.
- CityFibre: Growing rapidly across 285 UK towns. Modern infrastructure, strong SLAs, good pricing where available.
| Provider / Reseller | Underlying Network | 100Mbps Price Range | SLA Uptime | Avg Install Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT Business (direct) | Openreach | £350–£550/mo | 99.95% | 45–65 days |
| Virgin Media Business | Virgin | £280–£450/mo | 99.9% | 30–50 days |
| Telexico | Openreach + CityFibre | £220–£400/mo | 99.95% | 45–65 days |
| Vodafone Business | Openreach + Virgin | £300–£500/mo | 99.9% | 45–60 days |
| Gamma | Openreach | £250–£420/mo | 99.95% | 45–65 days |
| Zen Internet | Openreach | £280–£450/mo | 99.95% | 45–65 days |
🤝 Going Direct vs Using a Reseller
There's a common misconception that going direct to BT or Virgin gives you a better price or service. In practice:
- Price: Resellers like Telexico buy at wholesale rates and are often cheaper than direct pricing, especially for SMEs below the threshold for enterprise discounts.
- Service: A good reseller manages the carrier relationship on your behalf — you call one number for all faults, regardless of which underlying carrier is involved.
- Multi-carrier access: A reseller can quote from multiple carriers and give you the best price for your specific address. BT only quotes BT.
📊 What Actually Determines Your Quote
| Factor | Impact on Price | Your Control |
|---|---|---|
| Distance from carrier PoP | High — can double price | No — location-dependent |
| Wayleave requirements | High — can add £1,000–3,000 | Partially — check site access |
| Speed tier | Moderate — higher speed = higher price | Yes — choose what you need |
| Contract length | Moderate — 36mo vs 12mo = 15–25% saving | Yes |
| Resilience (diverse routing) | High — dual circuit ≈ 2x price | Yes |
| SLA tier | Low–moderate | Yes |
❓ Questions to Ask Every Provider Before Signing
- Which underlying carrier will provide the circuit? (Openreach, Virgin, CityFibre?)
- Is a wayleave survey required — and what happens if wayleave is refused?
- What is the exact SLA for fault restoration, and what credits are paid if it's breached?
- Can you show me the full contract including price-rise clauses before I sign?
- What is the engineer response time for a P1 total outage — same day? 4 hours?
- Can you provide a reference customer with a similar address/industry?
⚠️ Get quotes from at least 3 providers
Leased line pricing varies more than almost any other telecoms product. The difference between the cheapest and most expensive quote for the same circuit can be 50–80%. Always compare at least 3 quotes for the same specification.
Telexico checks multiple carriers simultaneously for your address — one enquiry, best market price.
Get Leased Line Quotes →