/
Adding up frame relay costs
Fantastic frame
Chart: What it might cost you
Subscribe to the Frame Relay e-mail newsletter
Think of a carrier's frame relay backbone as a cloud. You connect various sites into the cloud via ports, which can have speeds of 56K bit/sec to 45M bit/sec, depending on need. The carrier then links your ports via permanent virtual circuits (PVC). PVCs can have speeds of 4K bit/sec to 2M bit/sec, letting you control the amount of bandwidth you need between each office. There are two ways to connect your office to a carrier's local frame relay port: user-to-network interface (UNI) and network-to-network interface (NNI). With UNI, your site is connected to the closest carrier point of presence (POP) via a 56K bit/sec modem or T-1 line. If you order a fractional port speed such as 384K bit/sec, the carrier will usually make you buy a full T-1 line even though you don't need the whole circuit. With NNI, your facilities are connected to a long-distance carrier via a port and PVC from the local exchange carrier. The two architectures have different quality-of-service implications. When you subscribe to NNI, you're subject to the service levels of the local exchange carrier and the long-distance carrier. For example, you might have an excellent long-distance frame network, yet perceive inadequate performance levels due to an improperly managed local network. When you buy a direct point-to-point connection to the long-distance carrier for UNI access, you eliminate the local exchange carrier from the equation.
Related links
FANTASTIC FRAME
Telecom Tracker: Demystifying T-1 pricing
Frame Relay resources
A collection of links, articles and good things to know about frame relay.
Newsletter: Business-class DSL vs. frame relay
Network World , 06/05/00. Frame Relay Tutorial
Justification of the technology and tutorial. US West. Subscribe to the Frame Relay e-mail newsletter
Figuring Frame costs
Learn what factors go into frame relay pricing and how to finagle the best rates.
 
|
|||
 | |||
|
Adding up frame relay costs
Fantastic frame
Chart: What it might cost you
Subscribe to the Frame Relay e-mail newsletter
Think of a carrier's frame relay backbone as a cloud. You connect various sites into the cloud via ports, which can have speeds of 56K bit/sec to 45M bit/sec, depending on need. The carrier then links your ports via permanent virtual circuits (PVC). PVCs can have speeds of 4K bit/sec to 2M bit/sec, letting you control the amount of bandwidth you need between each office. There are two ways to connect your office to a carrier's local frame relay port: user-to-network interface (UNI) and network-to-network interface (NNI). With UNI, your site is connected to the closest carrier point of presence (POP) via a 56K bit/sec modem or T-1 line. If you order a fractional port speed such as 384K bit/sec, the carrier will usually make you buy a full T-1 line even though you don't need the whole circuit. With NNI, your facilities are connected to a long-distance carrier via a port and PVC from the local exchange carrier. The two architectures have different quality-of-service implications. When you subscribe to NNI, you're subject to the service levels of the local exchange carrier and the long-distance carrier. For example, you might have an excellent long-distance frame network, yet perceive inadequate performance levels due to an improperly managed local network. When you buy a direct point-to-point connection to the long-distance carrier for UNI access, you eliminate the local exchange carrier from the equation.
Cost components
Long-distance frame relay network pricing can be broken down to two elements: Port charges and the PVC between each of the ports. The port charges are calculated differently for NNI and UNI. For NNI, the price of each long-distance frame relay port is the sum of the local frame relay port plus the long-distance carrier's port. For UNI, the rate includes the cost of a local loop from your site to the nearest long-distance carrier's POP, plus the long-distance carrier's port charge. NNI pricing isn't distance-sensitive because local exchange carriers charge a flat fee to connect to their frame cloud from anywhere in the calling area. However, UNI pricing tends to be distance-sensitive because you're paying for local-loop connections. Some carriers are trying to fix the price for the local loop; however, the fixed rate usually ends up being an average of various locations in the calling area. This means that some customers pay less than they normally would while other customers end up subsidizing the difference. PVCs are usually simple to calculate. The price is generally based on the committed information rate (CIR), or the minimum amount of bandwidth guaranteed to be available. The faster the CIR, the more expensive the PVC. The graphic on the left breaks down typical pricing elements for a frame relay network. In this example, a Washington, D.C., office is connected to a site in San Francisco for $3,594.30 per month. NNI access in Washington costs $2,254.30 per month, while UNI access in San Francisco amounts to $1,340 per month. To get an idea of current NNI port and PVC charges, check the chart on page 69. These rates include the cost of the local exchange carrier's port and the long-distance carrier's port. Faster port and CIR speeds drive up the price, while signing on for a longer contract gives you a break on the monthly rate. A coast-to-coast frame link from might cost the same as a connection between two cities 100 miles apart.Where to buy
National frame relay networks are available through all the traditional long-distance carriers. Most often, their services provide UNI access. Some newer players such as Qwest are beginning to build frame networks. In many cases these networks don't cover the entire country, so parts are outsourced to other carriers. If you're looking for NNI access, consider talking to Intermedia and WinStar. Both have a very large footprint of coverage, although WinStar is considered to have a stronger West Coast presence, whereas Intermedia is probably the dominant carrier in the East. In terms of price, the traditional big three carriers tend to be the most expensive due to their extensive international backbones and ambitious service-level agreements (SLA). If you want to save money, you'll probably want to look at one of the newer carriers like Intermedia, Qwest and WinStar who are aggressively courting customers.Savings strategies
To get the best price on frame relay networks, follow these guidelines:- Get quotes from multiple carriers. Obviously, this rule applies to any competitive technology. Use your leverage to push the carriers down to their best numbers.
- Analyze your network architecture to determine the best layout. Frame relay networks can get expensive if you set your port speeds too high or add too much redundancy via meshing.
- Save money by hubbing locations in the local calling area before sending the data over the long-distance frame network. For example, if your headquarters is in one local area, and your eight remote sites are in another, it's cheaper to connect the eight sites into one local network and only buy one long-distance frame link between the regions.
Related links
Dunetz is vice president of engineering with Telco Exchange. The company's Web site offers an online marketplace for high-bandwidth communication services from major carriers and ISPs. Dunetz can be reached at kevin@telcoexchange.com.
FANTASTIC FRAME
Telecom Tracker: Demystifying T-1 pricing
Frame Relay resources
A collection of links, articles and good things to know about frame relay.
Newsletter: Business-class DSL vs. frame relay
Network World , 06/05/00. Frame Relay Tutorial
Justification of the technology and tutorial. US West. Subscribe to the Frame Relay e-mail newsletter
