What additional guidelines are recommended for negotiating a service level agreement?
• Expect wholesale prices to fall at least 50 percent per year on competitive routes. • Avoid long-term “IRU” or capital-type leases unless the lease payback is less than three years. • Include regular benchmark price reviews in contracts longer than one year. • Look for contracts that allow you to buy network capacity and that offer discounts for larger volumes, but which also allow you to alter the routing later at little or no cost. • Monitor prices and availability of dark optical fiber (unused fiber-optic cable), especially on terrestrial routes. Quality and Reliability: • Avoid multiple, service provider supply chains unless no alternative exists or the financial benefits are substantial. • Find out to what extent the network fiber is actually owned by the provider. If it’s not, request information on its type and performance. • Inquire about and continue to monitor emerging bandwidth-on-demand products that might help you meet unexpected peaks in demand. Q: Is the cost of bandwi
