Durham is a small city with a big mix of employers. Alongside the cathedral, the castle and the shops of the historic centre, it has a major university, a growing office district, public sector headquarters and, a short drive south, a science park devoted to advanced technology. Many of these organisations depend on moving data quickly and reliably, and that is where a leased line comes in.
A leased line in plain terms
Think of a leased line as a private road for your data. Broadband shares the road with everyone else in the area, so traffic can build up at busy times. A leased line is reserved for your organisation, carries the same speed in both directions, and comes with a service level agreement for fixing faults.
Most leased lines in the UK use Openreach Ethernet Access Direct. It is offered at 10Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps and 10Gbps, and the Openreach contract sets a 5 hour restore time. Broadband, by contrast, is shared and best effort.
Durham organisations that tend to need one
Aykley Heads business district
Aykley Heads, on the northern side of the city near the railway station, is being developed as a business district for offices. Organisations moving into new space here have a useful advantage: they can plan the connection before the move rather than after it. A leased line is the natural choice for larger teams, regional headquarters and anyone running their phones and software in the cloud.
Around the university and Mount Oswald
Durham University shapes much of the city. Around it are research groups, spin out companies, conference and accommodation providers, and suppliers who work closely with academic teams. Research and data heavy work places real demands on upload speed, which is why a symmetrical line is often the starting point. Mount Oswald, on the south side of the city, combines university buildings with new homes and is an example of how quickly parts of Durham are changing.
NETPark at Sedgefield
NETPark, the North East Technology Park at Sedgefield, is home to science and engineering businesses working in fields such as advanced materials and electronics. Test data, simulation work and collaboration with partners around the world can involve very large files. For these firms the higher EAD bandwidths, and a guaranteed restore time, are often essential rather than a luxury.
Belmont and the edge of the city
Belmont, beside the A1(M) to the east of the city, has offices and business units that suit companies serving the wider region. Being close to the motorway is good for travel, but a site on the edge of a city can need more construction work to reach, which is something the survey will show.
The city centre
Solicitors, estate agents, accountants and tourism businesses in the historic centre often work from older buildings. These can be more complicated to connect, because permissions may be needed and the streets are narrow. It is still possible in many cases, but allowing extra time is wise.
Timescales and costs to plan for
A standard EAD leased line usually takes around 33 working days from order. It can take longer when a survey finds that new ducts are needed, when a road has to be dug, or when a landlord or other party has to give permission.
Where extra building work is required, there may be an excess construction charge. We tell you the exact cost after the survey, before you are committed, and you can accept it or cancel with nothing to pay.
If you had hoped to use a gigabit voucher, note that the national voucher scheme closed to new projects on 31 August 2026. Projects already approved continue, and some local authorities may run their own support, so it is worth asking Durham County Council.
Choosing between a leased line and broadband
A leased line costs more and takes longer to install, so it is not the right answer for every Durham business. If your team is small and your work is mostly email, browsing and cloud apps, business full fibre may serve you well. Our article on leased line vs business broadband sets out the differences so you can weigh them up.
Start with a check or a call
We are based in Sunderland, a short trip up the A690 from Durham. Use the online check on our leased lines page, request a quote for your site, or call us on 0191 543 3432.