In short
This leased line glossary explains the terms you meet when buying BTnet: the bearer and port speed, the NTE and service management boundary, wires only and managed equipment, the Customer Committed Date, excess construction charges, wayleaves, service credits, Cleanfeed, static IPs and Provider Independent Resources, latency and resilience options.
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Leased line terms A to C
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Acceptance tests | Checks you run once BT says the service is ready. Under BT's terms you have five Business Days; if you do not report a problem, the service is treated as accepted. See installation process. |
| Access line | The dedicated circuit that connects your site to BT's network. Also called the access circuit or bearer. See how does a leased line work? |
| Back-up line | One of BT's resilience options: a second access line at a lower speed than the main one. See backup leased line. |
| Bandwidth | The amount of data a connection can carry each second, measured in Mbps or Gbps. See how much bandwidth you need. |
| Bandwidth Flex | Changing your BTnet port speed up or down within the capacity of the bearer. See Bandwidth Flex. |
| Bearer | The physical access circuit to your site, such as a 100Mbps, 1Gbps or 10Gbps Ethernet fibre bearer. It sets the maximum speed. See leased line bearers explained. |
| BTnet | BT's leased line internet service for business. See what is a BT leased line. |
| BTnet Express | A BTnet variant delivered with easier-to-install cabling, with a typical lead time of 35-40 working days according to BT. See BTnet Express. |
| BTnet Security | BT's security service for BTnet with the Cisco Meraki option: a Layer 7 firewall, malware protection, URL filtering, intrusion detection and prevention, and regular security updates. See BTnet Security. |
| BTnet Wi-Fi | Meraki wireless access points (up to five) that extend Wi-Fi across your site, alongside BT's Meraki equipment. See BTnet Wi-Fi. |
| Business Premium Care | The support level included as standard with BTnet under BT's support terms. See BTnet support. |
| Cancellation charges | Charges BT's terms apply if you cancel an order after a Customer Committed Date is confirmed. They depend on the bearer type, not the port speed. See contract terms. |
| CCD (Customer Committed Date) | The delivery date BT commits to after the site survey. BT's on-time delivery service level is measured against it. See lead times. |
| Cleanfeed | Filtering BT applies to BTnet internet traffic as standard, using the Internet Watch Foundation's list. You can opt out in writing. See what is BTnet. |
| Contention | Sharing of capacity between users. Broadband is contended; BTnet is uncontended. See contended vs uncontended. |
| CPE | Customer premises equipment: the router or other equipment at your site. With BTnet, BT can supply and manage it. See BTnet plans. |
| Customer Contact | The person (or people) you name to act for you on the service, including reporting faults to BT's Service Desk. See BTnet support. |
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Leased line terms D to L
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Data centre access | A BTnet bearer delivered into a data centre, where BT's responsibility ends at the patch panel in the co-location room and you order the cross-connect. See multi-site organisations. |
| DIA (dedicated internet access) | Internet access over a connection reserved for one customer. BT lists BTnet under this heading. See dedicated internet access. |
| Direct Private Peering | Direct connections between BT's network and major cloud providers, which BT says keep traffic to Microsoft, Apple, Google and Amazon off the public internet. See a leased line for cloud apps. |
| DNS | The Domain Name System, which turns names like a website address into IP addresses. BT's terms say BT may provide DNS with BTnet. |
| ECC (excess construction charges) | Charges above the standard connection charge when extra engineering is needed to reach your site. See excess construction charges. |
| EFM (Ethernet in the First Mile) | An older way of delivering Ethernet over copper pairs, listed as an access type in one of BT's BTnet schedules. BT's current BTnet schedule lists fibre bearers and GEA over FTTP instead. See leased line bearers. |
| Failover | A resilience option where a second access line stands by and takes over if the main line fails. See leased line failover. |
| FTTP (fibre to the premises) | Full fibre all the way to your building, used for broadband and, in some cases, as a BTnet bearer. See leased line vs FTTP. |
| GEA | Generic Ethernet Access, a way of delivering Ethernet over fibre broadband lines. BT's terms list GEA over FTTP access as a BTnet bearer type. See leased line bearers. |
| Jitter | Variation in latency from one packet to the next. Low jitter matters for voice and video. See leased line latency. |
| Latency | The time data takes to travel across the network and back. BT's terms set an average round-trip commitment of 20ms or less on its UK core. See leased line latency. |
| Lead time | How long from order to go-live. BT's help pages say BTnet can take up to 70 working days, depending on survey. See lead times. |
| Leased line | A dedicated, uncontended and symmetrical connection rented for one customer's sole use. See what is a leased line? |
| Load balancing | A resilience option where two access lines run together, so traffic can use the other if one fails, subject to capacity. See leased line load balancing. |
Leased line terms M to R
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Managed equipment | Equipment BT supplies, configures and manages, such as a Cisco router or Cisco Meraki equipment. It remains BT's property. See BTnet with a managed Cisco router. |
| Minimum Period of Service | The minimum number of months you commit to, set in your order. Ending the service early means termination charges. See contract terms. |
| NTE / NTU | Network terminating equipment (or unit): the box where BT's access line ends at your site. On wires only, BT's responsibility stops here. See BTnet wires only. |
| Openreach | The network business that builds and maintains much of the UK's access network, and may carry out the fibre work for a BTnet line. See wayleaves. |
| PIR (Provider Independent Resources) | IP address space registered to you rather than to BT, which BT's terms allow with BTnet subject to registry duties. See static IP addresses. |
| PoP (point of presence) | The equipment in BT's network that your access line connects to. BT's latency commitment is measured from its selected PoP. See how does a leased line work? |
| Port speed | The bandwidth you buy on your bearer, from 2Mbps to 10Gbps on BTnet. See BTnet speeds. |
| Qualifying incident | An incident that counts towards BT's availability service level, as defined in BT's terms, with listed exclusions. See BTnet SLA. |
| Resilience | Ways of keeping a site online if one line fails, using a second access line. See resilient BTnet. |
| Routed IP addresses | Blocks of IP addresses routed to your service for your own servers and devices, static or dynamic. See static IP addresses. |
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Leased line terms S to Z
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Service credits | Reductions to your charges when BT misses a service level in its terms, claimed within set deadlines. See BTnet SLA. |
| Service Desk | BT's helpdesk for service requests and incident reports. See BTnet support. |
| Service management boundary | The point where BT's responsibility ends: the LAN port of managed equipment, the NTU on wires only, or the data centre patch panel. See what is BTnet. |
| Service Start Date | The date the service is accepted, or deemed accepted after the acceptance test period. BT's terms allow it to invoice from this date. See installation process. |
| Site survey | The visit (and desktop checks) that confirm how the line will reach your site and where equipment goes. See site survey. |
| SLA (service level agreement) | The service levels and credits set out in BT's terms for availability, delivery and latency. See BTnet SLA. |
| Static IP address | An IP address that does not change, useful for VPNs, remote access and allow-listing. BTnet includes static IPv4 addresses. See static IP addresses. |
| Symmetrical | The same speed for upload and download. See symmetrical speeds. |
| Ticket | The reference number BT gives an incident. You need it for any SLA claim. See BTnet support. |
| Uncontended | Capacity reserved for you alone rather than shared. BT describes BTnet as 100% uncontended. See contended vs uncontended. |
| Wayleave | A written agreement from a land or property owner allowing network equipment to be installed and maintained on their property. See wayleave agreement. |
| Wires only | BTnet delivered to BT's NTE with no managed router; you supply your own. See BTnet wires only. |
Still unsure about a term?
If a quote, survey report or contract uses a term that is not here, ask us. We would rather explain it before you sign than after. Our BTnet FAQs answer the most common questions, and questions to ask before you order turns these terms into a practical checklist.
Contact us with your question, or with your postcode if you are ready for a quote.
Why buy BTnet from Forever Communications
Forever Communications is part of Forever Group and an Authorised Supplier for BT. We supply BTnet, BT's dedicated leased line internet service, to businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations, and we help with each step from first enquiry to go-live.
- The right BTnet option for you: we help you choose a speed, bearer, router and resilience option that fits how your sites actually work, from BTnet plans to BTnet speeds
- A clear quote: BTnet is priced per site, so we check availability at your address and set out what is included; see leased line cost
- Installation managed with you: we explain the survey, any wayleave or construction steps and the installation process, and keep you updated on progress
- Connected services in one conversation: phones with BT Cloud Voice, Wi-Fi, firewalls and backup lines, so the whole set-up is planned together
- Help after go-live: we can help with faults, changes and upgrades, with the support arrangements confirmed in your quote
BTnet is a business service. Service levels, lead times and features are BT's and are confirmed at order.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a bearer and port speed?
The bearer is the physical access circuit to your site and sets the maximum capacity. The port speed is the bandwidth you buy on it, which can be lower and flexed within the bearer. See leased line bearers explained.
What does NTE mean on a leased line?
Network terminating equipment: the box where the provider's access line ends at your premises. On BTnet wires only, BT's responsibility ends there and you connect your own router.
What does CCD mean for a leased line?
Customer Committed Date: the delivery date BT confirms after the site survey. BT's on-time delivery service level is measured against it.
What is ECC on a leased line?
Excess construction charges: costs above the standard connection charge when extra engineering is needed to reach your site. See excess construction charges.
What is a wayleave for a leased line?
A written agreement with the land or property owner allowing network equipment to be installed and maintained on their property, often needed when you rent your premises. See wayleave agreement.
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More about BTnet leased lines
FAQsShort answers to the questions people ask most about BTnet.What is BTnet?BTnet in plain words: what comes as standard and where BT's responsibility ends.BearersThe bearer is the access circuit; the port speed is what you order on it.InstallationEvery step from enquiry to Service Start Date, including survey, ECC, wayleaves and acceptance tests.SLABT's availability, on-time delivery and latency service levels, credits and claims.Questions to askA checklist of BTnet questions to settle before you order.