Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Colocation and Data Centers : Current Prices for a 100Mbps commintment?

[KyleLC23]

Hello guys,

It has been a while since I have posted on the forums. I was wondering if anyone would care to mention what current prices are going for for a 100Mbps commitment directly from the nations big bandwidth providers? I am talking direct commitments with the actual network providers, not through resellers or the alike.

If you could mention prices for gig-es that would be great to.

I am just trying to get an idea of price range for the providers righrt now. I have heard that over the past year bandwidth prices have dropped even more?

Thank you,
Kyle

[mams482]

Level 3 direct is coming in around $38/Mbps for 100Mbps over GIG e plus a port fee.

Savvis around $35 for 100Mbps direct.

[sshepherd]

That's about same pricing range as Mzima too.

[amps]

You can save some good money on <=100Mbps by going through a reseller who has a much higher commit.

[BlueWave]

Originally posted by amps
You can save some good money on <=100Mbps by going through a reseller who has a much higher commit.

Make sure the reseller doesnt oversell!

Stuart

[mams482]

A true wholesale bandwidth reseller sells direct dedicated ports from the carrier, so this is never an issue. Its always one port for one company. However, after someone buys that port it is their business on how they want to use or resell the bandwidth on that port. So, you only have to be aware of overselling if your buying from a reseller of a reseller.

For instance, we sell a dedicated L(3) port to (Acme Datacenter) they they in turn sell bandwidth to all their colo, hosting, and dedicated server customers along with additional services. The only person who can oversell in this example is Acme Datacenter.

Originally posted by BlueWave
Make sure the reseller doesnt oversell!

Stuart

[sshepherd]

Originally posted by amps
You can save some good money on <=100Mbps by going through a reseller who has a much higher commit.

That might not always be the case unless a reseller is giving a low margin deal to win your business, most providers offer a very good rate or discount at the 100mbit commit when you go direct.

Take Mzima for example, know anyone willing to offer a 100mbit at $10mbit less than direct that's not oversold? Probably not.

[Dennis Nugent]

Most resellers offer direct connections to the Carrier. For example, if you want Level3 bandwidth, the reseller that has a large aggregate deal with Level 3 will sell you a port that is direct connected to Level3s router.


Some are putting their own router between the carrier and you -- that is the only time the bandwidth can be oversold.

Vendors that have large wholesale contracts, or are reselling bandwidth, with carriers purchase several gbps and resell it in chunks. They can often sell at a lower cost then going direct as they have purchased wholesale, have lower overheads, and often are more selective about who they sell to

[amps]

Just make sure there's a guarantee in the contract that you are given the full 100mbps of capacity, all the time.

We have our own router between our transit providers and the client port, but we also guarantee that the capacity is available 27/7/365.

And it's also possible to oversell even without a router in between... all you need is a layer 2 switch.

[jsw6]

Originally posted by amps
Just make sure there's a guarantee in the contract that you are given the full 100mbps of capacity, all the time.

We have our own router between our transit providers and the client port, but we also guarantee that the capacity is available 27/7/365.

And it's also possible to oversell even without a router in between... all you need is a layer 2 switch.

Neither of these cases provides the same level of support and comfort as having a direct carrier port, regardless of whether or not the contract is with the carrier itself or a reseller.

In the case of an intermediate router, you don't have a BGP session to the carrier. This impacts traffic patterns (as-path length) and possibly what BGP community features are available to you.

In the case of a switch, the reseller needs signifigant cooperation from the carrier to provision their customers (BGP sessions, IP addressing.)

Neither of these necessarily guarantee bandwidth availability. amps, do you have a QoS configuration in place to ensure that your customers' committed traffic is prioritized above burst traffic, an allotment for nominal bursting, etc. or are you just betting against the possibility of congestion? My guess is the latter. While that's a good bet most of the time, it absolutely does not provide a guarantee.

[amps]

Originally posted by jsw6
Neither of these necessarily guarantee bandwidth availability. amps, do you have a QoS configuration in place to ensure that your customers' committed traffic is prioritized above burst traffic, an allotment for nominal bursting, etc. or are you just betting against the possibility of congestion? My guess is the latter. While that's a good bet most of the time, it absolutely does not provide a guarantee.

Regardless of network topology and uneducated guessing, which is besides my original point and this thread...

When we sell a 100Mbit port, our TOS will guarantee against congestion. Although a TOS does not prevent it (much like a 100% SLA can never be met), it's better to have it in writing... the only point I was trying to get across.

If you buy a 100mbps port and intend to really use it all, put it on the TOS / SLA.

[BlueWave]

Cogent still offer 100Mbits for $1000 /month I believe. Also as I said above some resellers do oversell there bandwidth so make sure the one you choose doesn't! The thread starter did however say they were not after a reseller.

Stuart

[sshepherd]

Not more than a couple months ago a sales rep for cogent offered 100Mbit on FastE to me for $1500/mo plus $1500 setup for downtown LA (either One Wilshire or Equinix). Needless to say I declined even w/t a waived setup, rather stick with a premium provider and work on increasing that commit for a lower rate than bother with cogent at $15Mbit.

Plus their quoted pricing at lower commits was so high there's no reason to use them vs. staying with Mzima, L(3), etc.

Maybe the rep wanted a nice commission for the month.

[HenryJ]

I would recomand keeping a tight eye on advertisement forum, many companies & resellers have their mixed/multihomed bandwdith (non-cogent) on discount sometimes for around $2500/month - 100mbps/20Amp/Full-Cabinet. In last 6 months, I have seens offers like this from CRNC, Peer1NYC and i think one or two others. You may not be able to secure same deal, but definately something very good.

[blueface]

Is there any other non-Cogent provider that can offer lower than $20/Mbps for 200 Mbps month-to-month commit on Gig-E line? I'm particularly looking for one that has presence in Equinix Ashburn, VA.