What is the difference between Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 bandwidth providers for your business?

“Third parties” in the telecommunications world tends to have multiple definitions, depending on who you ask. At best, the level of a bandwidth operator is loosely defined and everyone has their own opinion about what level an operator could be. Here is my opinion:

Tier 1: [may be considered an RBOC or LEC – Regional Bell Operating Company or Local Exchange Carrier]

Tier 1 is a network where only peers and customers are served without settlement. The network operator pays nothing for your transit.

Tier-1 is the optimal network backbone for medium and large enterprises with critical requirements for reliability, stability, and scalability.

Tier 1 can be an advantage when it comes to handling DDoS attacks: if you ask or configure your Tier 1 provider to null route an IP, it will implement the null route at its borders, so there is no saturation point .

Examples of US Tier 1 carriers:

qwest

AT&T (formerly SBC, Bell South, Southwestern Bell, Ameritech)

Savvis

Verizon (formerly MCI and UUNET)

global crossing

Level 3 (recently merged with Broadwing)

NTT Communications

Level 2: [may be considered a CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier); has their own network, but also resells tier 1]

Tier 2 is where the network operator buys all or part of your transit from a Tier 1 and resells it.

Tier 2 can be an advantage if you need someone to provide quality bandwidth, and especially if you need a single install location. If you shop at Tier-1 #1 in New York, and #1 has a problem with your Tier-1 peering router #2 in New York, then all your traffic from you to #2 may be affected. Your ability to yell at #1 and get it fixed will be limited, especially if the problem is related to #2’s edge router. A good Tier-2 will monitor its upstreams and peering points for of problems, and will take steps to ensure that it does not affect your customers. Even if you need facilities in multiple locations, buying at a good Tier 2 can help.

A level 2 that only responds to severe issues (eg, total uplink outage) is no more useful than a level 1 for someone who has multiple locations.

Tier 2 ISP prices are often cheaper at the lower end (eg T1). Tier 2s will often outperform Tier 1s in “access services” pricing. But if you buy hundreds of megabits, a Tier-2 is likely to trade much higher than a Tier-1.

Tier 2s tend to be smaller companies and are better able to “make deals” or recognize contract bundling, write custom SLAs (service level agreements), install fiber to your location in exchange for that signed contract, etc. Unless you buy several gigabits of your upstreams, if you want to bundle contracts with Tier-1, you’ll probably end up doing it through a wholesaler or other buying mechanism.

Examples of US Tier 2 carriers:

XO-Communications

Covad

Paetec/US LEC

Time Warner Telecom (recently merged with Xpedius)

Eschelon Telecom Inc.

Convincing Communications

speakeasy

Embark

McLeodUnited States

AOL Transit Data Network

covista

RTD Corporation

Level 3: [wholesalers /resellers of tier 1 and 2 networks]

Tier-3 are intermediate clients of Tier-2. Tier 3 may give you what appears to be a good price… but long-term reliability, performance, and scalability will likely suffer. For your business peace of mind, a Tier 1 or Tier 2 are better options in almost all cases. However, PowerNet Global is a big exception to this rule due to its strong infrastructure and relationships with major players.

Examples of US Tier 3 carriers:

intrinsic

Standing out

Primus Telecom

PowerNet Global

AccessOne Inc.

splice communications

acceris

No matter what business application you need, be sure to consider what level of available bandwidth your providers have in your purchasing decision. Ignoring this factor in your deliberations can result in less than optimal implementation and satisfaction in the end. Make a smart business decision…leave nothing to chance.