Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) for UK Businesses

Dedicated internet access is the internet-facing form of a business leased line: a fibre circuit built to your premises and used by nobody else. If you are still weighing the basics, start with what a leased line is. If you are comparing quotes, the vocabulary is the first thing to clear up: DIA, leased line, business ethernet and ethernet leased line all describe the same specification, and the name on the quote depends on the carrier's heritage, not the product.

What is dedicated internet access?

Dedicated internet access is a private fibre circuit that belongs to your business alone, with a 1:1 contention ratio and matching upload and download speeds. No other organisation shares the line, so performance does not sag at peak times. Every DIA circuit ships with a service level agreement that pays out if uptime or fix-time targets are missed.

That uncontended design is the whole point. A standard broadband connection is sold many times over on the same exchange; a DIA circuit is sold once, to you. The result is predictable latency, predictable throughput, and a contract that holds the carrier financially accountable.

• Uncontended (1:1): the full bandwidth is yours at all hours
• Symmetric: identical upload and download speeds
• SLA-backed: four to seven hour fix targets and service credits when the carrier misses them
• Scalable: service speeds from 100Mbps to 100Gbps, upgraded by configuration on a larger bearer

How much does dedicated internet access cost in 2026?

On 36-month terms in well-served UK postcodes, DIA starts from £69 a month for 100Mbps, £129 for 1Gbps, £349 for 10Gbps and £1,999 for 100Gbps, with installation typically £500 to £2,000 depending on the civil works your address needs. Those are floors: the price at your building depends on how many carriers already have fibre in the street. Our cost guides publish what UK businesses were actually quoted, by region and speed band, with sample sizes and dates.

Not sure whether 1Gbps is enough? The 1Gbps vs 10Gbps comparison works through it. Where new fibre has to be built, excess construction charges can apply; the survey confirms them before you sign, and our excess construction charge data shows what UK businesses have paid.

How long does DIA take to install?

A typical UK DIA order goes live in 30 to 90 working days. Premises with carrier fibre already in the building or the street sit at the short end; sites needing a new duct, a wayleave from a landlord or a road crossing sit at the long end or beyond. The route check tells you which before you commit, and a full fibre broadband line can be installed in a week or two to bridge the gap. Our leased line installation time guide covers what moves the date.

DIA vs business broadband: what's the real difference?

Dedicated internet access guarantees the speed you pay for; broadband does not. Broadband contends bandwidth across many users and offers upload speeds far below download. DIA gives you symmetric, uncontended throughput with an SLA, the standard a business running cloud platforms and VoIP actually needs.

For context, full fibre reached 78% of UK premises in Q3 2025 (Ofcom Connected Nations 2025), so for most small offices the choice is no longer broadband or nothing: it is shared full fibre at £22 to £46 a month, or a dedicated circuit at £69 and up with a contract behind it. The leased line vs FTTP comparison sets out when the extra is worth paying.

Who needs dedicated internet access?

UK businesses now run on cloud platforms: Microsoft 365, hosted servers, VoIP, video, and every one of those depends on reliable upload as much as download. When a shared broadband line slows at 3pm, calls drop and backups stall. DIA removes that risk with guaranteed, symmetric bandwidth. The practical threshold is around 20 to 30 staff on cloud applications, or any size of business where an afternoon offline stops trading.

The wider network is shifting too: copper-based phone services are being switched off as the UK moves to all-IP connectivity (Ofcom PSTN switch-off guidance). A dedicated fibre circuit is the dependable foundation for that move, and it pairs naturally with SD-WAN connectivity when you scale across sites.

• Cloud backups and large file transfers finish on time, both directions
• VoIP and video conferencing stay clear under load
• Latency-sensitive apps behave predictably for every user
• A financial SLA gives you recourse when something breaks

How does AMVIA deliver and support your circuit?

AMVIA manages the whole DIA lifecycle: route check, carrier procurement, survey, install and 24/7 monitoring. We hold the carrier relationship so you deal with one accountable provider, not three. Faults are raised with the carrier and worked to the SLA clock by Sheffield-based engineers, with a named account team that already knows your environment.

For sites that cannot afford a single fibre fault, pair DIA with backup connectivity, a full fibre broadband line or 4G/5G failover on a separate network. Running several locations? Our multi-site connectivity options bring every office onto one managed network, and leased line security hardens the circuit at the edge.