New data from TeleGeography’sEthernet Pricing Service reveals that there are widespread geographic disparities in Ethernet over MPLS (EoMPLS) price levels and structures, as alternative to legacy SDH/SONET technologies.
Not that anyone's in a hurry to rush back to the hoary days of SDH/SONET dominance. (Ed. note -- It's a Carrier Ethernet world now; we just live in it.) "Paying two to five times the price for ten times the Ethernet capacity equates to significantly less than paying the long-standing SDH/SONET multiple of 2.5 times the price for just four times the capacity," notes TeleGeography analyst Brianna Boudreau.
Related: MEF initiates CloudEthernet Forum
According to TeleGeography's data, the lowest prices for point-to-point EoMPLS circuits are found on routes between major cities in Europe and the US, and on trans-Atlantic links. In Q1 2013, the median monthly price of a 10 Mbps circuit was USD446 between London and Paris, USD896 from Los Angeles to New York, and USD652 from London to New York.
Trans-Pacific and intra-Asian prices are significantly higher. In Q1 2013, the median price of a 10 Mbps circuit was USD1,706 per month between Los Angeles and Tokyo and USD1,863 per month between Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Regional differences are also apparent when examining the cost associated with increasing capacity. On major terrestrial routes in Europe and North America, the median price of a 100 Mbps EoMPLS circuit was approximately twice the price of a 10 Mbps circuit, at USD948 per month between London and Paris and USD1,869 per month between Los Angeles and New York.
See: Costliest countries for data centers
Upgrading to 100 Mbps circuits in Asia can be far more costly, notes the data. The median price of a trans-Pacific 100 Mbps EoMPLS circuit was USD6,613 in Q1 2013, about four times the price of a 10 Mbps link, while the median Hong Kong-Tokyo 100 Mbps price was USD8,258, or 4.4 times more than a 10 Mbps circuit.
"Ethernet prices and the multiples associated with upgrading capacity can vary dramatically by market," concludes TeleGeography's Boudreau. "Nevertheless, Ethernet provides a cost-effective solution for enterprises looking to purchase higher capacity services."
Learn more about TeleGeography’s Ethernet Pricing Service.
