| Feature | Leased Line | FTTP (Full Fibre) |
|---|---|---|
| Connection | Dedicated fibre, yours alone. | Shared full fibre to your premises. |
| Speed | Symmetrical — same up and down (e.g. 1Gb/1Gb). | Fast download, lower upload (e.g. 900Mb/115Mb). |
| Contention | Uncontended (1:1) — no sharing, no slowdown. | Contended — shared with others in busy periods. |
| SLA & uptime | Guaranteed uptime with financially-backed SLA. | Best-effort, standard business care. |
| Fix times | Guaranteed rapid repair (often hours). | Next business day-ish. |
| Install | 2–12 weeks (it's built for you). | Days to a few weeks. |
| Cost | Higher — you're paying for dedication + guarantees. | Much lower monthly cost. |
Choose Leased Line if…
- Downtime costs you real money
- You upload a lot (backups, cloud, CCTV, VoIP at scale)
- You need a guaranteed SLA and rapid fixes
Choose FTTP (Full Fibre) if…
- You want fast fibre at a low monthly cost
- Occasional brief slowdowns are acceptable
- Download speed matters more than upload
Our verdict
If your business genuinely can't afford to go offline — or you rely on heavy uploads and lots of concurrent calls — a leased line's dedication and SLA are worth the premium. For most offices, FTTP delivers excellent speed at a fraction of the cost, ideally paired with 4G/5G failover for resilience. We'll quote both so you can see the real numbers side by side.
Frequently asked questions
Is a leased line worth the extra money?
If downtime or slow uploads cost you money, yes — you're paying for a dedicated, guaranteed connection. If not, FTTP with failover is usually the smarter spend.
How much faster is a leased line than FTTP?
Raw download speeds can be similar, but a leased line is symmetrical and uncontended, so uploads and busy-period performance are far more consistent.
Can I get a leased line anywhere?
Almost anywhere, but install time and cost depend on how far you are from the nearest fibre. We'll check your exact postcode.
What's the install time difference?
FTTP is typically days to a few weeks; a leased line is built for you and can take 2–12 weeks depending on the site.
Not sure which is right for you?
Tell us how your business works and we'll recommend the best fit — no hard sell, honest UK advice.