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I have a VM connection, but I also have a router which allows all kinds of load-balancing, including VDSL/ADSL, 4G, etc. along with the Ethernet I use for the VM connection.

I've seriously considered, several times, reactivating a phone line that sits next to the router, which hasn't been activated in all the time I've lived in this particular house but is "live" (a little recorded voice talks to you if you plug a phone in).

But the line rental for what would be a failover/load balance line just isn't worth it still. Let alone the broadband costs. Even with TalkTalk, and a special offer, I can't justify that amount of money on what will be a line with 1/5th the capacity of the VM cable, or half what I get on 4G (which the router also have a slot for). It will make no visible difference to my overall speed or reliability, and likely will actually cause more problems than it's worth if it gets misconfigured by BT as I've seen other lines do - where it says traffic is passing but nothing actually does, so the load balancer doesn't know that it's gone bad and keeps using it.

Thank god for VM, because I'm actually spoiled with their connection now and in the rare instances it does go off (usually little herberts pulling open the cabinet down the road), it's back on quickly and 4G would more than suffice.

It's a sad state of affairs when I can't even be bothered to activate ADSL/VDSL as even a backup line, it's so slow.

I've done the same in workplaces, twice. I just convinced them to install a leased line rather than even try to run a business on ADSL/VDSL. In one of those instances, we dug a 500m trench for the fibre ourselves...