What is a dedicated Internet connection?

How have these dedicated internet connections improved since 2016 and how do businesses benefit more in 2021?

Most small businesses today use a broadband service, such as FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) or FTTP (Fibre to the Premises). A major difference between broadband and a dedicated connection, such as a leased line is that a broadband service is typically shared (or contended) amongst other businesses connected to the same local communications exchange, whilst leased lines offer a private network that’s reserved only for you.

The benefits of this mean that bandwidth speeds are consistent in both directions, and the network is available 24 hours a day with no slow-down during peak times.

How is connecitivity used by business?

ADSL and EFM are no longer an option for business internet, owing to the relatively slow download speeds compared to FTTP and FTTC connections.

High speed connections are now mostly used to link offices to the Internet, with dedicated Internet connections that can be used to carry phone calls and also provide enough bandwidth to allow staff to connect to their work computers (technique known as remote desktop) from home, simultaneously.

What are the business benefits?

Reliability

A major advantage of having a dedicated business internet connection is the increased reliability and faster connectivity speeds. For many businesses, being left without an Internet connection for days would be disastrous. Dedicated Internet connections come with a service level agreement (SLA), which guarantees which provide fix times in as little as 5 hours. All Telappliant leased lines come with an SLA with guaranteed fix times and 24/7 phone support.

High Performance

Because the line is reserved for your business alone, you have sole access to the bandwidth, with no contention from outside. This means that during any point of the day, you will get 100% performance both upstream and down for making and receiving phone calls, sending and downloading large files and video conferencing.

Scalable and Flexible

Bandwidth speed is fully customisable and can be scaled from as little as 10Mbps through to 10Gbps, depending on your individual business internet requirements, meaning that you only pay for what you need. The symmetrical connectivity means that you get a consistent speed both ways, making for a more productive workforce that is also able to utilise cost-effective cloud services.

Cyber Security

Having a secure connection is a priority for any business, and with a dedicated connection your network is safer because it is solely used by you. With point to point connectivity, it is easier to deploy security applications and authentication protocols, used solely by your personnel.

Who can benefit from a dedicated connection?

In recent years there have been many conversations about who would best benefit from a dedicated internet connection, and for many, the decision whether to go for a dedicated line comes down to how critical Internet connectivity is compared to the additional cost of a dedicated connection.

Typically a leased line can take up to 90 days to install, and granted, these times are longer than traditional  FTTC/FTTP connections, but it’s a small price to pay when you factor in that you’re installing a future-proof connection set to transform your business operations.

For further advice about how a dedicated connection could benefit your business contact us.