Leased Lines

For clients wanting increased bandwidth dedicated internet access and site-to-site WAN links we can provide a wide range of high availability leased line services. Even at speeds of 100Mpbs these can be surprisingly cost effective.

What is Ethernet First Mile?

Ethernet First Mile, also known as EFM or Ethernet over Copper (EoC) is the latest Ethernet technology delivering high quality, syncronous internet leased line services delivered over copper wires and is a direct and more cost effective delivery mechanism than Fibre-Optic. The official and technical name for this standard is known as IEEE Std 802.3ah-2004. It is also more commonly known as an ethernet leased line, DIA line, data circuit or private circuit. EFM takes a number of copper pairs (usually delivered as analogue lines) bonds them together to run data services, speed will be a function of distance from the exchange like ADSL, but in this chase is guaranteed and not UPTO.

What type of EFM is available?

EFM is a single technology type, so there is only one version of EFM available if we follow the standard explained above with various speed variations. EFM can be used as a point to point service or as a direct internet service.

Does EFM give the same SLA as Fibre-Optic?

Yes, INS Ltd offers the same up-time SLA and guarantees as our Fibre-Optic based leased lines. We do not differentiate between any of our Ethernet services. The delivery of QoS and other advanced features you would normally expect from a fibre-optic based leased line is also the same. For point to point and internet services the likelihood is that the total circuit provision will be a mixture of EFM ( delivered at the customer premises) changing to fibre at the exchange or Point of Presence and then on to the internet , or reverting back to EFM at another exchange or POP for a point to point service to the 2nd location.

What speed of EFM is available?

EFM varies in available speeds. In the UK EFM is available up to a maximum of 20mb, but as technology improves, expected speeds will go beyond 40mb. A key advantage with an INS Ltd EFM service is we have the ability to offer fixed speed guarantees instead of "up to" speeds which is quite common in the marketplace. Just like a fibre-optic internet leased line, EFM is uncontended.

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