The Ethernet Services Pricing Conundrum

By Rosemary Cochran

industryvoices-logoHow much does Carrier Ethernet service cost? That’s like asking how much a car costs. The answer is similar – it depends on what you need and what you can afford to spend. Ethernet pricing has been – and will continue to be – a conundrum for both service providers and business customers. Pricing for Ethernet services is highly volatile, with significant discrepancies from provider to provider, and from city to city.

Like shopping for a car, there are many different Ethernet models from which to choose and bottom line pricing is not often straightforward. Enterprise network managers are doing a lot of comparison shopping to obtain information on Ethernet service availability and costs, plus installation time frames.

Location is a major factor in Ethernet pricing. Metro area services are generally less costly than Ethernet services that interconnect multiple metros, regions or countries. Contract length is another factor as longer term multi-year agreements yield higher discounts. Based on what enterprises are paying net of discounts and deals, we’ve seen monthly bills for 10 Mbps Ethernet Metro LAN service for less than $240 per site in one U.S. city, and more than $1,900 in another.  Deployment time frames are also location-specific, with service installations ranging from weeks to several months.

  • Read the full article, The Ethernet Services Pricing Conundrum, at Fierce Telecom.

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Pricing research data by Ethernet service segment and speed is available with subscription to ENS @Ethernet Market Analysis Research Program. Click here for information.