Fibre leased lines are a great connectivity option for businesses. They offer ultrafast, private and secure connectivity to support businesses to do everything they need to do, quickly, over a dedicated internet connection. But leased lines take time to install, and there can be further delays if you don’t plan ahead and give your supplier all the information they need.
We know how important it is for you to get your business up and running with a fast, reliable internet connection, so here are our top tips on how you can make your fibre leased lines installation go as smoothly – and quickly – as possible…
1. Get your landlord’s approval before placing an order
One of the biggest hold-ups to a fibre leased lines installation can be seeking and/or gaining landlord approval, so it’s a good idea to get this all ticked off before you place an order with your chosen supplier.
The first thing you’ll need to do is let your landlord know of your intention to install a fibre leased line, and ask them if they have any requirements. They may want to review and approve any plans for the installation of fibre cables, and they might even request a Wayleave Agreement for the proposed work.
A Wayleave Agreement is a contractual agreement between the landlord and your chosen leased lines supplier, whereby the landlord grants the telecoms provider with a licence to access the land and/or property to install, maintain, adjust and repair the necessary equipment within the property. Because this is a legal document, a Wayleave can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to agree, so it’s worth bearing that in mind.
Landlord requests:
Your landlord may also make other requests that need accounting for, for example:
- A Site Specific Risk Assessment and Method Statement (SSRAMS) or a generic method statement, which will slow down the installation process.
- Depending on what else is housed in the building, they might even make requirements for on-site engineers to be DBS checked or have a certain level of security clearance.
Ensuring you meet the requirements of your landlord can be a timely, admin-heavy part of the process, so it’s important to get this underway as soon as possible.
You’ll also need to ask your landlord about any specifics around site access are there any dates and/or times when engineers won’t be able to access the property? If you can let your ISP know about this when you place your order, they will be able to plan around these restrictions from the outset, helping to avert any potential delays further down the line.
Did you know Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) is the most cost-effective type of connectivity? Click the button and find out more.
2. Place the order with as much information as possible
The more information you can give your chosen provider when placing the initial order for your fibre broadband connection, the better it will be for everybody.
For your supplier, it will mean they are going into the process with the clearest possible picture of your business’s needs, the property’s access limitations, and your landlord’s requirements. If they feel they are missing any critical information or documentation, they’ll be able to ask for this early in the process, thwarting any delays brought on by requests further down the line.
For you and your business, giving your supplier as much information as possible at the point of placing the order will help you plan better for any hardware upgrades, necessary training, etc. as well as speeding up the overall process of installation.
3. Ensure all details are correct, as early as possible in the process
Mistakes and oversights can happen on any project, but when a fibre leased lines installation can take 45-90 days if everything runs smoothly, the last thing you want is a two-week delay because the wrong contact number was inputted on the paperwork.
Some small but important details to check (and check again) include:
- Site contacts – names, contact numbers and email addresses
- Installation address details – where the leased line is being installed
- Termination location details – where will the leased line circuit terminate? Do you have a dedicated communications area where it makes sense for the circuit to terminate? Be aware that changing your mind on this once the installation has begun can result in further delays and additional costs.
Once an order has been committed, even the smallest change can mean the entire order has to be cancelled and placed again. This can result in delays to the project, both in terms of losing your place in the queue with your provider, but also the reordering of equipment, redrawing up of paperwork and agreements, etc. Making sure all information is present, correct and up to date in the first place is vital for ensuring there are no unnecessary delays.
4. Respond quickly to requests for information
At certain points during the installation process, your leased lines provider might need to get in touch with requests for further information, or because they need you to make a decision about something.
It goes without saying that the longer you take to respond with the information they need, the longer they will be waiting to carry out the next phase of the project. Essentially, if your responses are delayed, your installation might well be too.
It’s important, therefore, to respond to all communications in a timely manner. So if, for example, you know your chief project contact is going to be away on holiday for a couple of weeks, don’t just put an out-of-office on – you’ll need to nominate somebody who can pick up and deal with any requests for information in their absence.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that as well as communications with your chosen leased lines provider, there will be necessary communications with the last-mile supplier (e.g. Openreach). The quicker you can respond to anyone and everyone involved in the project, the fewer delays there will be.
At M247, we aim to have your fibre leased line installed and online as fast as possible
5. Be flexible during the installation process
There are a lot of moving parts during a fibre leased line installation, and the more flexible you can be, the more likely you are to be up and running with your new internet connection in a shorter timescale. For example, if your leased line provider has been waiting for a part to arrive from their supplier and it doesn’t arrive until late on a Friday, if you can have somebody available to let them in to carry out work in the evenings or over the weekend, this can make a huge difference to when your project is finished.
Similarly, being on-site early for any appointments can help speed things up too – if your engineer arrives earlier than anticipated, they’ll be able to get on with the job straight away rather than waiting around. All of this will help to move the project along more quickly.
Once live, test your new fibre leased line… sooner rather than later
Once your order is complete and your ISP has confirmed your connection, make sure you test everything immediately to check everything is working as it should be. The sooner you can spot any issues, the sooner you can get them resolved and your business can start getting the most from its new connection.
Most ISPs will have a testing period identified as part of the installation process – M247, for example, gives seven days – during which it remains responsive to the project, and fixes can be made more quickly. That’s not to say fixes will take a long time outside of this period, but immediate testing will make the process more streamlined as engineers will be fresh off the project and still familiar with the individual components.
Remember – be realistic on your time frames
Most fibre leased lines will take between 45 and 90 days to install, and while anything quicker than that will be an exception, it certainly doesn’t need to take any longer.
Always agree timescales with your ISP, which usually isn’t possible until after the site survey, before you make any commitments to your wider business stakeholders.
Then, by following the above tips, you can ensure your business is up and running with a new ultrafast, reliable, dedicated internet connection in the shortest time possible.
Ultrafast connections, without the wires
If you’re looking for super-fast speeds and an installation time to match, a wireless leased line might be the solution you need. M247’s wireless leased lines get you superfast, reliable and scalable wireless connections to our next-generation private network in as little as 25 working days.
