Leased lines for charities

What charities use a leased line for

Charities of every size now run fundraising, supporter care, finance and service delivery from cloud systems. A head office or regional hub might carry:

• Supporter and fundraising databases in the cloud
• Hosted phone systems for supporter care teams and helplines
• Video meetings with trustees, volunteers, funders and remote staff
• Online donations, campaign sites and digital content uploads
• Warehouse, stock and logistics systems for donated goods
• Shared files, cloud backup and Microsoft 365
• Volunteer and visitor Wi-Fi

When all of that shares one connection, a busy campaign day or a big appeal can slow everything at once. A BTnet leased line gives the site dedicated bandwidth that BT describes as fully uncontended, with the same speed in both directions and no fair usage policy, so heavy use is not capped. See what is a leased line used for.

Is a leased line right for your charity?

A leased line is not the answer for every charity. A small office with a handful of staff may be well served by good business broadband. A leased line starts to make sense when:

• Many staff and volunteers rely on cloud systems and calls at the same time
• A helpline or supporter care team cannot afford a slow or failed connection
• The site uploads a lot, such as video content, backups or camera footage
• Remote staff connect back to the office through a VPN on a fixed address
• You want BT's defined service levels and service credits behind the connection

The honest drawbacks are that a leased line needs a survey, can take weeks to install, may need construction work or a landlord's consent, and comes with a minimum term. Our advantages and disadvantages of a leased line and leased line vs broadband guides set out both sides so you can make the case to trustees.

Matching bandwidth to appeals and seasonal peaks

Many charities have predictable peaks: a winter appeal, a national awareness week, a big fundraising event, or a seasonal surge in demand for services. Bandwidth Flex lets you change the BTnet port speed within the limits of your bearer, rather than paying for peak capacity all year. Here is how it works under BT's help pages and terms:

Because each change is chargeable, flex suits planned peaks better than day-to-day changes. Choose a bearer with enough headroom for your busiest period, so flexing up does not need a new line.

Budgeting: what drives the cost

We do not advertise charity discounts, and BTnet pricing depends on your site, so ask us for a quote. What we can do is show you what drives the price, so you can plan a budget and weigh up your options:

• Bearer size and port speed: the access line and the bandwidth on it
• Contract term: the Minimum Term set in the order
• Plan: BTnet wires only, with a managed Cisco router, or Meraki with BTnet Security
• Options: BTnet Wi-Fi, resilience and any Bandwidth Flex changes
• Site work: survey findings and any excess construction charges
• Location: how the site is reached and what already exists nearby

Trustees often ask about exit costs. Under BT's current terms, either side can end the service on 30 days' notice once it is live, but termination charges apply, set by the type and size of bearer; cancelling an order before the service goes live also brings charges by bearer. Ask us to set out what would apply to your order before you sign. See BTnet contract terms and what affects the price of BTnet.

Helplines, supporter care and calls

For many charities the phone line is the service. A helpline, a supporter care team or a fundraising call team needs clear calls, and calls suffer first when a connection is busy.

BT says BTnet is optimised for voice traffic, including its Cloud Voice and SIP services, and prioritises voice on a low-latency network. BT also sets a latency commitment on its UK core network. Forever Communications supplies BT Cloud Voice as well, so the line and the phone system can be planned together. See a leased line for VoIP and cloud calling.

Volunteer Wi-Fi, security and charity shops

Volunteers and visitors often need Wi-Fi, but they should not share the network your staff and supporter data use. BTnet Wi-Fi on Meraki equipment supports a separate guest network. Under BT's terms you are responsible for how your Wi-Fi and guest Wi-Fi are used, including setting and securing passwords.

Charities hold personal data about supporters, beneficiaries and volunteers, so the line sits inside your wider security controls. BTnet Security, available with the Cisco Meraki managed equipment option, adds malware protection, content filtering and intrusion prevention as extra layers; BT's terms say BT does not guarantee security against unauthorised access.

If you run charity shops, a leased line usually belongs at the head office or warehouse rather than every shop. Wherever card payments or card donations are taken, remember that the line does not make payments secure by itself: card payment security, including PCI DSS, is handled through your payments provider and your own network controls.

Head offices, warehouses and regional hubs

Larger charities often run several kinds of site: a head office, a warehouse or distribution centre for donated goods, regional offices and service locations. Each one can take its own BTnet service, so the head office can have a higher speed and resilient BTnet while a regional office takes a lower speed on a bearer with room to grow.

Sites usually connect to each other through encrypted VPNs between firewalls, using each site's static IPv4 addresses, and reach cloud systems directly. BT says it uses Direct Private Peering to reach Microsoft, Apple, Google and Amazon cloud services, so traffic to them does not cross the public internet, which helps when your supporter database, finance system and Microsoft 365 all live in the cloud. See multi-site leased lines and a leased line for Microsoft 365 and cloud apps.

Warehouses and outlying sites are more likely to need a survey, excess construction charges or a wayleave agreement if the charity leases the building, so start those sites early. BT's help pages say installation can take up to 70 working days, depending on the survey, and dates are BT's, confirmed after survey.

How Forever Communications helps charities

Forever Communications is an Authorised Supplier for BT, and we supply BTnet to charities as well as businesses. We can:

• Help you decide whether a leased line is worth it for each site
• Size the speed and bearer for your peaks, with headroom for Bandwidth Flex
• Explain BT's terms in plain words for your trustees and budget
• Prepare a written quote for your head office, warehouse or hub
• Help with survey, wayleave and site preparation questions as your order moves through installation

Pricing depends on your site, speed and options, so ask us for a quote. Contact us with your postcode and a short description of what the connection needs to carry.