How do I Buy Bandwidth Competitively?

Finding well-priced bandwidth is becoming easier. With the advent of new web-based virtual marketplaces, advanced developers who build their own infrastructures can dramatically reduce the time spent shopping for high-capacity bandwidth. With the establishment of B2B intermediaries such as 'bandwidth.com' and Arbinet, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and developers can quickly obtain quotes for quality broadband capacity.

These web-service brokers, who bring together bandwidth buyers and suppliers, are excellent options for high-traffic sites that are maintained in-house. Webmasters can leverage these services to compare and contrast connectivity that is offered by major telecommunication and broadband players.

In essence, these services allow developers to instantaneously request quotes based on specific requirements. These requests are distributed to a multitude of providers that dedicated account executives to respond (generally within 24 to 48 hours) with a detailed quotation. With this information, content developers can determine what prices and deployment options are best suited to their needs. The intermediaries do not charge for inquiries, but profit by taking a two to five percent commission if a content provider decides to purchase bandwidth based on their quote.

These intermediaries have been widely accepted and are quite popular with content developers and ISPs because the quotes they produce are quite competitive. The competing broadband and telecommunication providers know the lowest price to win customers. For this reason, buying bandwidth from these services can save you between 20 to 30 percent. The pricing and quick availability of T1, /DS3, burstable T1 and T3 and OC3 to OC12 connections also makes Web-based virtual marketplaces the best option if your company or organization requires fast speed-to-market connectivity. These services provide individually tailored pricing, provisioning estimates and firm contracts that usually can be filled within a week or two.