Connecting Multiple Offices: NLD vs Local Loop Explained

When a business grows beyond one location, its offices, warehouses and data centres need to exchange data reliably and securely. Sending everything over the public internet with VPNs works for small setups, but as traffic and dependence grow, private connectivity becomes the better choice. In India, that usually means local loop and National Long Distance (NLD) links.

Local loop

A local loop is a point-to-point fiber connection between two sites in the same city — for example, a head office in Gurugram and a warehouse in Manesar, or two buildings on the same industrial estate. It offers high bandwidth, very low latency and predictable performance.

National Long Distance (NLD)

NLD links carry traffic between cities across India, from a branch in Lucknow to a head office in Delhi or a data centre in Mumbai. They travel over long-haul fiber networks and are delivered as private circuits.

Combining both

Most multi-site networks use both. Branches in the same city connect to a local hub via local loop; city hubs connect to each other or to the data centre via NLD.

Why not just use the internet?

Internet VPNs depend on the quality of each site's internet connection and the public routes between them. Private links offer:

• Consistent latency for ERP, voice and video
• Traffic that never crosses the public internet
• SLAs covering the link end to end

Bandwidth planning

Size links for the applications that run between sites: ERP transactions, file servers, backups, voice and video. Leave headroom for growth.

Internet breakout

Branches can use their own local internet connection or route internet traffic centrally through head office firewalls.

The bottom line

Use local loop for sites within a city, NLD between cities, and design a private network that grows with your business. UbiFi Business Connect delivers and manages both.

Learn more about Business Connect (NLD & Local Loop) from UbiFi, or talk to our team.