ShareBurstable Bandwidth in Leased Lines: The Key to Agile Business Connectivity
-
April 7, 2025 -
6 min read
Leased lines have emerged as a reliable solution for businesses with high-bandwidth requirements. However, each leased line differs in what features it offers. One of the features that sets some apart is burstable bandwidth.
Burstable bandwidth in leased lines allows businesses to dynamically scale their bandwidth to meet fluctuating network demands without the need for a fixed, high-bandwidth allocation.
Thank you !
We’ve received your request. We will
contact you within 1 business
day.
We’re Sorry
There is already an existing Lead with provided details.
Please try after 24
hours.
Oops!
Something went wrong.
But what exactly is burstable bandwidth, and how does it work in the context of leased lines? This article will explore the mechanics behind burstable bandwidth, its advantages, and how it is implemented in leased line services.
Understanding Burstable Bandwidth
Burstable bandwidth is a flexible and cost-effective way to manage internet usage, especially for businesses with variable network demands. Here’s how it works:
Baseline and Burstable Capacity
- The service is based on a baseline bandwidth capacity that meets the average needs of the business. This baseline is the minimum guaranteed bandwidth that the business pays for.
- In addition to the baseline, there is a burstable capacity that allows the business to temporarily use more bandwidth when needed. This burstable capacity is typically charged on a pay-as-you-go basis, ensuring that the business only pays for the additional bandwidth used beyond the baseline allocation.
The 95th Percentile Rule
- The billing for burstable bandwidth in leased lines is often calculated using the 95th percentile rule. This method involves measuring the total amount of data transferred over the network every five minutes. The highest data rates (the top 5%) are discarded, and the highest remaining data rate is used to determine the billing for the entire month.
- This approach ensures fair billing by excluding occasional spikes in bandwidth usage that are not representative of typical usage.
Flexibility and Scalability
- Burstable bandwidth in leased lines offer significant flexibility, allowing businesses to handle fluctuating internet usage without facing additional charges as long as the excess usage remains within the threshold. This flexibility is crucial for businesses that experience periodic spikes in network demand.
Reduced Latency
- By quickly allocating additional resources to handle sudden bursts of data, burstable bandwidth helps reduce latency, which is the time it takes for data to travel from its source to the destination. Lower latency improves network performance and enhances the overall user experience.
The Benefits of Burstable Bandwidth
Now that we understand how burstable bandwidth works, let’s explore why it matters for businesses:
- Cost-Effectiveness: Burstable bandwidth in leased lines is cost-effective because businesses pay for a baseline bandwidth capacity rather than a high fixed bandwidth allocation. This approach saves money by avoiding the need to pay for bandwidth that may not be fully utilised every month.
- Fair Billing: The 95th percentile rule ensures that businesses are billed fairly, protecting them from being charged for occasional spikes in bandwidth usage. This method provides a balance between allowing extra bandwidth when needed and keeping monthly bills manageable.
- Burst Allowance: Burstable bandwidth allows businesses to take advantage of unused bandwidth capacity. If the average bandwidth usage is below the baseline, the unused portion is available for occasional bursts, making it easier to handle temporary traffic surges without compromising the user experience.
Choosing the Right Connectivity Solution
When considering burstable bandwidth in leased lines, it’s essential to assess your business’s specific needs and compare the available options. Factors to consider include:
- Bandwidth Requirements: Evaluate your current and future bandwidth needs based on your business operations, applications, and growth projections.
- Cost: Compare the cost of different leased line plans, taking into account the baseline bandwidth cost and the burstable capacity cost.
- Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Look for providers that offer strong SLAs, guaranteeing uptime, performance, and support.
- Scalability: Choose a solution that can easily scale to accommodate your business’s growth and changing needs.
- Security: Ensure that the leased line service includes robust security features to protect your business data and network.
Airtel’s ILL: Leased Lines with Burstable Bandwidth
Airtel’s Internet Leased Line (ILL) services integrate burstable bandwidth to offer flexible and scalable connectivity solutions for businesses of all sizes. Let’s take a closer look at the features and benefits of Airtel ILL:
Dedicated Bandwidth and High Reliability
Airtel ILL provides dedicated, symmetric upload and download bandwidth, which is essential for data-intensive tasks and digital communications. This dedicated bandwidth ensures that the connection is not shared with other users like in office broadband, providing a reliable and high-quality internet experience. Additionally, Airtel ILL guarantees maximum uptime and near-zero latency, ensuring uninterrupted transmission and high network performance.
Burstable Bandwidth Up to 5X
With Airtel ILL, businesses can access burstable bandwidth in leased lines up to five times the base bandwidth at minimal added cost. This feature allows companies to handle sudden spikes in data traffic without significant additional charges, making it ideal for applications that require high-bandwidth, such as video conferencing and cloud computing.
Scalability and Security
Airtel ILL offers the ability to scale speeds from Mbps to Gbps, making it highly adaptable to the growing needs of businesses. This scalability, combined with burstable bandwidth, allows organisations to efficiently handle increased data traffic. Moreover, Airtel ILL includes world-class Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) protection and built-in firewall security, which is essential for protecting sensitive business data and ensuring the security of the network.
Real-World Applications and Benefits
Burstable bandwidth in leased lines are particularly beneficial for businesses that rely heavily on video conferencing, cloud computing, and remote work. For instance, companies conducting frequent virtual meetings or using cloud-based applications require consistent high speeds and low latency. Airtel’s ILL with burstable bandwidth ensures symmetrical upload and download speeds and handles sudden spikes in data traffic efficiently, making it an ideal solution for these use cases.
With the rise of remote work, businesses need reliable and high-quality internet connections to support their workforce. Airtel’s ILL with burstable bandwidth provides the necessary flexibility and scalability to handle the varying internet usage patterns of remote workers, ensuring that the network can handle increased traffic during peak hours without compromising performance.
Burstable bandwidth in leased lines is a game-changer for businesses that require flexible, reliable, and scalable internet connectivity. By providing the ability to scale bandwidth on-demand, burstable bandwidth helps organisations efficiently handle fluctuating data traffic while maintaining cost-effectiveness. Airtel’s ILL services, with their integrated burstable bandwidth feature, offer a comprehensive solution that addresses the needs of data-intensive applications, ensures high security and reliability, and provides the scalability necessary for growing businesses. Airtel’s ILL plans offer burstable bandwidth up to 5 times the base bandwidth, making it an excellent choice for businesses looking to optimise their connectivity solutions.
Undoubtedly, having the right connectivity solution is crucial for business success. By understanding the mechanics and benefits of burstable bandwidth in leased lines along with other business enhancing solutions, like corporate postpaid plans, and evaluating your organisation’s specific needs, you can make an informed decision and choose a leased line service that will support your business’s growth and success in the long run.
