ADSL Leased Lines – Are They Even Possible? We Investigate…

The A in ADSL stands for Asymmetric. Leased lines are symmetric. So are ‘ADSL Leased lines’ possible? The answer is yes.

There’s a variant of ADSL called ADSL2+Annex M which offershigher upload speeds than standard ADSL and standard ADSL2+.

It’s theoretically possible to create a leased line by using this asymmetric connection, using rate-shaping to artificially lower the download speed to match the connection’s upload speed.

ADSL Leased lines are rare. For one thing, you’re unlikely to get more than a 2.5Mbps connection. For another, DSL is less-reliable than cable, as electrical interference causes errors.

While many ADSL2+ providers trumpet their fast upload speed, many fail to mention that their service is contended, so will likely slow down at peak times. And many ADSL2+ connections are metered, meaning you may have to pay more if you transfer more than a certain amount of data per month.

It is possible to get non-contended unmetered ADSL2+ circuits, but these are usually not much cheaper than a fibre leased line. Furthermore ADSL2+ isn’t available in much of the UK.

Some people who ask for ADSL Leased Lines don’t actually want a symmetric connection. They just want a dedicated one. That means that the upstream and downstream bandwidth from you to your network provider’s core network is reserved solely for your use. This is available almost everywhere that ADSL is.

There's a symmetric alternative to ADSL called SDSL. However, it is rapidly being displaced by copper Ethernet First Mile services, as these offer faster speeds, and are available in more places.

Sometimes EFM copper circuits are cheaper than Fibre leased lines. Sometimes they're more expensive.

To find out how much an EFM circuit is likely to cost, visit our lease line price checker. It checks out both copper EFM and Fibre leased line prices, and compares them to find you the best deal.