Your Guide to Leased Line Costs in the UK

How have leased line costs changed since 2020?

In 2020 a 100Mbps leased line in a well-served UK city location typically cost £350-£500/month. By 2026 the same product is widely available from £69/month, with most quotes landing in the £69-£320/month band — roughly a 30-40% reduction over six years. That fall reflects sustained build-out by BT Openreach, Virgin Media Business, CityFibre and a growing field of alternative network operators (altnets).

The driver is simple: more carriers passing the same premises means more competition for your contract. The UK's wider full-fibre rollout, tracked under the government's Project Gigabit programme, has extended that competition well beyond the major cities. Ofcom's view of the UK business connectivity market confirms the same direction of travel: falling wholesale prices and wider availability.

If you signed a three-year leased line in 2019 or 2020 and renewed in 2022 or 2023, a further reduction at your 2025/2026 renewal is very likely. The market rate for an equivalent circuit has dropped considerably since most live contracts were first priced.

What are the current 2026 leased line benchmark prices?

Below are current UK market benchmarks for business Ethernet leased lines. These are monthly rental costs and exclude installation charges, which we cover next. Pricing moves with location, carrier competition and SLA grade, so treat these as ranges rather than fixed quotes. All benchmark ranges are market estimates; the £69/month entry-level rate is the settled AMVIA "from" price.

Price-per-Mbps drops sharply as you move up the tiers, which is why a 1Gbps circuit rarely costs ten times a 100Mbps one. If you are weighing a dedicated circuit against shared connectivity, our dedicated internet access explainer sets out what the guaranteed bandwidth actually buys you.

What are installation charges and why do they matter?

Monthly rental is only half the cost. Excess Construction Charges (ECCs) are one-off installation fees that cover the civil works needed to connect your premises to the nearest carrier fibre. They vary enormously by location and can dwarf the rental difference between two providers. As a guide, typical UK 2026 ranges are:

• Premises on or very close to existing fibre: £0-£500 ECC
• Premises needing a short fibre extension (typical of established business parks): £500-£2,000 ECC
• Premises needing significant new build (rural sites, new developments): £2,000-£15,000+ ECC

Always compare total contract cost, not headline rental. A provider quoting zero ECC and £280/month can cost more over 36 months than one quoting a £1,000 ECC and £240/month. The arithmetic is straightforward: monthly rental × 36, plus the ECC. If you want the underlying technology explained first, read what is a leased line.

Why do leased line quotes vary so much?

Businesses are often surprised when quotes for the same speed differ by hundreds of pounds. The variation is real and it comes down to four factors, not provider markup alone. Understanding them lets you read a quote properly and push back where it is justified.

• Infrastructure distance: each carrier calculates ECC from its own fibre's proximity to your building — one may pass your door, another may need to dig from streets away
• Network competition: postcodes served by Openreach, Virgin and CityFibre at once attract lower pricing
• SLA grade: faster fault-repair guarantees cost more — a premium circuit carries a premium price
• Speed tier: price-per-Mbps falls as the speed rises, so higher tiers look better value per megabit

How do you secure the best leased line price?

The most reliable route to competitive pricing is a multi-carrier comparison through a specialist broker. AMVIA queries every major UK carrier simultaneously for your postcode and returns the lowest available rental and ECC for your required speed and SLA. Brokers hold volume-negotiated rates, which is why this consistently beats approaching carriers one by one.

For businesses near contract end, AMVIA also runs renewal benchmarking — confirming whether your renewal offer reflects the current market or whether switching carrier secures a better deal. A dedicated circuit is also a security boundary, so when you re-tender it is worth reviewing leased line security at the same time. One provider, security-first, handling both connectivity and protection keeps accountability in a single place.

If your needs are smaller and a full leased line is hard to justify, compare the trade-offs against business broadband before you commit.