It's the connectivity question we're getting asked more than any other right now. You're paying a meaningful amount each month for your leased line, Starlink keeps coming up in conversation, and on the surface the maths looks appealing. So let's cut through it.
Here's what you actually need to know, from a business perspective, not a technical one.
A leased line is a dedicated fibre connection that's yours and yours alone. Nobody else shares it. Whatever speed you're paying for, whether that's 100Mbps, 500Mbps or 1Gbps, that's what you get, all day, every day, both ways.
Think of it as your own private lane on a motorway. Standard broadband puts everyone on the same road and hopes for the best at rush hour. A leased line doesn't work like that.
For businesses with ten or more staff running cloud applications, video calls, and VoIP phone systems, that consistency isn't a luxury. It's what keeps the day running.
Starlink uses thousands of satellites orbiting low in space rather than a cable in the ground. A dish goes on your roof, it connects to those satellites, and you're online, often within days of ordering.
The speeds are genuinely impressive. Download speeds of 200 to 300Mbps are realistic on a business plan. And the installation simplicity compared to a leased line is night and day.
But there are some important caveats that don't make it onto the marketing page.
Leased lines in the UK currently run between £150 and £450 per month for most business-grade connections, depending on speed and location. Installation is typically included on 24 to 36 month contracts, but the lead time is the sting. You're usually looking at 45 to 90 working days to go live.
Starlink Business plans start from around £75 per month at entry level, rising to £150 to £300 or more for plans with a data allowance suited to a real team. Hardware is an additional upfront cost.
The monthly saving looks attractive. But the monthly cost is not the whole story.
This is the part that matters most, and where the two products are genuinely worlds apart.
A leased line comes with a contractually binding Service Level Agreement. Most UK providers guarantee 99.9% uptime or better, with a target fix time of four to six hours if something fails. Your provider is monitoring the line around the clock. There's a clear process, a clear escalation path, and real financial consequences for them if they don't deliver.
Starlink Business is sold as a "best-effort" service. There is no guaranteed fix time. There are no financial penalties if your service is down for a day. They do offer a limited SLA on priority plans, around 99% uptime, but the exclusions include weather, satellite issues, and local obstructions. Which, if you think about it, covers most of the situations that would actually cause a problem.
If your leased line goes down, an engineer is dispatched. If Starlink goes down, you raise a support ticket and wait.
For a business losing thousands of pounds an hour because staff can't access their systems, that difference is enormous.
Starlink Business plans include a "Priority Data" allowance, which is a monthly cap on how much data gets the fast speeds. Once you hit that limit, speeds can drop to near-unusable levels. For a team using cloud apps, video calls, and shared file systems every day, that allowance can disappear quickly.
A leased line has no such cap. The speed you pay for is the speed you get, all month, regardless of usage.
To give you the full picture, there are scenarios where Starlink is genuinely the right call.
Rural or remote locations where leased line costs are eye-watering or infrastructure simply isn't available. Starlink can be transformative here.
Temporary sites such as construction projects, short-term offices, and events. Anywhere you need solid connectivity for a few months without a multi-year contract.
Backup and failover. This is arguably the smartest use case for most businesses that already have a leased line. Starlink runs on completely separate infrastructure, so if your primary line goes down, Starlink kicks in automatically and your team keeps working. You get the reliability of a leased line day-to-day, with a satellite safety net that doesn't share any of the same points of failure.
Connectivity decisions have a habit of looking simpler than they are. The right answer depends on where you're based, what your team actually does day-to-day, and what downtime would genuinely cost your business.
What we'd strongly caution against is switching based on monthly price alone. The absence of a proper SLA and a real support pathway can cost far more than the saving when something goes wrong.
If you're wondering whether your current setup is still the right fit, that's worth a conversation. Drop us a message and we'll give you an honest assessment, no jargon, no pressure.
We're a UK-based MSP helping businesses get the most from their technology. If you'd like to talk through your connectivity options, get in touch with our team today.
In this article, Chris shares some common signs that your IT provider might not be keeping up with your business — and why it’s important to expect more than just quick fixes.
