Colocation Services

Colocation centers are usually located at locations where the main bandwidth pipes of major carriers intersect. This allows most colocation facilities to offer the backup redundancy of more than one carrier. As indicated earlier, when compared to on-premise bandwidth, the cost of colocation service is extremely reasonable. For example, the average cost of a t1 circuit which terminates to a business location, is about $250 per megabit per second (mbps). At a colocation facility, however, bandwidth costs an average about $70 per mbps, or less. For high bandwidths at colos, bandwidth can be as low as $20 per mbps. Cost is commonly based on minimum commitment level. The lower the commitment, the higher the cost per mbps. For example, if the customer obligates to a minimum bandwidth commitment is 20 mbps, then the price per mbps could be approximately $60 monthly recurring charge (mrc). If the customer commits to a higher minimum commitment of 90 mbps, then the price per mbps could be much lower, like $25 mrc, per mbps.

Another great advantage of colocation services is that the bandwidth is burstable. A customer who commits to 20 mbps, but might have periodic spikes of business that require more than 20 mbps, will automatically be provided all needed bandwidth to meet their needs. This additional bandwidth usage, above the minimum commitment, will be billed at the minimum commitment rate. In the above example the $70 per mbps will be prorated for only the time period that the minimum was exceeded. Colocation facilities often provide special environmental controls which are designed to protect stored data and prevent circuit outages. Temperatures are strictly controlled to prevent servers from over heating, and backup power supplies are common, to prevent outages. Security is also often offered to prevent unauthorized access. To summarize, included in the many advantages of colocation services is lower cost per mbps, provider redundancy, burstable bandwidth, climate control, backup power supply and added security. If on-premise (at your business location) bandwidth is required, then T1, bonded T1, ethernet, or T3 (DS3) might be more viable alternatives. To obtain a free consultation without obligation to assess if colocation will best meet your needs, please give us a call at the number listed at the top of this page. (Click here to return to top of page)