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Harry Yelland’s research · 2026-10-06 · Live research database · 2026-10-06.1
Original research wording and source decisions. Partial evidence is not confirmed capability; rejected sources do not support a claim. Research notes and workbook instructions are source material, not buyer instructions.
| Slot | What it must do | Limit | Your text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definition sentence | One sentence that says what MPLS is used for by UK businesses today and how it sits under SD-WAN as the connectivity component of SASE. | 35 words | MPLS lets UK businesses carry traffic between offices, data centres and cloud on private, prioritised paths, and sits beneath SD-WAN as the connectivity layer that SASE brings together with cloud security services. |
| Market structure sentence | One sentence that splits the roster into its types (global carriers, UK carriers, alt-net carriers, managed providers and aggregators, resellers) and says which type most UK buyers contract with. | 40 words | The 38 providers split into 12 global carriers, 4 UK national carriers, 5 regional or alt-net carriers, 13 managed providers and aggregators, 1 reseller and 3 wholesale networks, so managed providers and aggregators are the largest group. |
| Count sentence facts | List the three numbers you want quoted: providers reviewed, facts per provider, providers with published latency and jitter. Numbers only, taken from the workbook. | 3 numbers | 38, 108, 1 |
| Who are the best MPLS providers in the UK? (verdict) | Your verdict, naming providers and giving the reason for each, with at least one figure from the fact sheets. Not a list of everyone. | 80 words | At Netify, we'd say the best MPLS provider depends on what your business needs. If you need published UK performance, BT Business's 20 ms latency and 3.5 ms jitter are the only pair we found. For strong service levels, Vodafone Business offers 99.99% core availability, and for UK reach Neos Networks has 640 PoPs. For NHS and public sector sites, Exponential-e and Node4 may suit better, as both are on RM6116 and HSCN. Reviewed October 2026. |
| Route sentence | One sentence that tells a reader what they get by using the Netify MPLS shortlist tool that they cannot get from a list: filtering every provider on the facts in this workbook and requesting comparable proposals through Netify. | 35 words | The Netify MPLS shortlist tool lets you filter every provider on the facts we've recorded, then request comparable proposals through Netify instead of approaching each provider separately. |
| FAQ: Which MPLS providers have the most UK PoPs? | Answer with the providers and their published counts, in order, with the review month. | 60 words | As of October 2026, Neos Networks comes out on top with 640 UK PoPs, followed by Virgin Media O2 Business with 336 and Exponential-e with over 190. Many providers don't give exact figures though, as BT Business, Tata Communications and GTT only give global counts, so we'd always recommend asking for a current UK PoP list before you compare. |
| FAQ: Which MPLS providers publish latency, jitter and packet loss targets? | Answer with the providers that do and the figures, and name the ones that publish only availability. | 80 words | BT Business is the only provider that gives you both latency and jitter, at 20 ms round trip and 3.5 ms, so if you're after targets across all of those, it's a good place to start. Vodafone Business gets close with 5 ms jitter and 0.04% packet loss, but doesn't give a latency figure. Colt (99.9%), TalkTalk Business (99.995%) and Exponential-e (99.99% access with resilience) give you availability only. |
| FAQ: Which MPLS providers also deliver SD-WAN and SASE? | Answer with the providers, their platforms and whether SASE is native or partner-delivered. SD-WAN as a component of SASE. | 80 words | Most providers will offer you SD-WAN alongside MPLS, but SASE isn't native to every provider. If you want both from the same place, you can look at BT Business, Virgin Media O2 Business, Vodafone Business, Colt, Gamma, Zen Internet, Exponential-e (Cato Networks, partner delivered), NTT DATA, Tata Communications, Claranet, Maintel, Onecom, Globalgig and Zayo. |
| FAQ: Which MPLS providers are on Network Services 3 (RM6116), HSCN or PSN? | Answer from the Operations and Assurance sheet, complete lists. | 60 words | RM6116: BT Business, Virgin Media O2 Business, Vodafone Business, TalkTalk Business, Gamma, KCOM, Exponential-e, NTT DATA, Neos Networks, Node4, Six Degrees, Maintel, Onecom, Spitfire, Jisc, hSo, Commsworld and ITS. HSCN: BT Business, Virgin Media O2 Business, Gamma, Exponential-e, Redcentric, Node4 and hSo. PSN: none evidenced. |
| FAQ: Is MPLS being replaced by SD-WAN? | Your answer, in plain English, with the hybrid underlay position. | 70 words | Not really. SD-WAN, and SASE with it, sit on top of your network and control it, rather than being the network itself. They can take the place of MPLS in some cases, such as when you want cheaper broadband, but they're just as often used on top of it. What works best comes down to your sites and applications. |
| FAQ: How does a UK business get comparable MPLS proposals? | Answer in your words: shortlist on the tool, approve providers, Netify coordinates the requests. No promise of response counts or timescales. | 60 words | The easiest way is the Netify MPLS Shortlist tool. You pick the providers you'd like to hear from and Netify handles the requests for you, so each provider is asked the same questions and you get proposals that are easy to compare. |
| FAQ: What are the alternatives to MPLS? | Your answer, naming the alternatives and when each fits. | 70 words | The most common are SD-WAN or SASE over broadband or dedicated internet access, and Layer 2 VPLS or E-LAN if you need your sites to behave like one local network. They don't have to be an either/or choice though, as they can often be used alongside MPLS, which is why we'd typically recommend a hybrid setup that keeps MPLS for your most critical sites. |
| Byline | Reviewer name and role as it should appear. | 10 words | Harry Yelland, Cybersecurity Writer and Technical Analyst, Netify |