How to Choose the Best MPLS Provider

How To Choose the Best MPLS Provider

Now that you’ve decided on shopping for an MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching), network, how do you find the best provider?

Step 1: Understand your configuration options. MPLS is a fantastic technology for connecting your company’s sites but it is also a very broad technology that has many configuration options available. Quoting it without knowing your options is like getting car quotes without knowing if you want four doors or two, leather seats or cloth, sport utility or minivan… Those quotes would be ugly, right?

To simplify your options, think in terms of: 1) Bandwidth; 2) Quality of Service (QoS) Levels; 3) Equipment; 4) Internet; 5) Dial Tone; 6) Current & Future Cloud Initiatives; and 7) Term Length.

1. Bandwidth. How much bandwidth is going to be required at each site for your network to send information effectively? MPLS can be deployed over DSL, T1, Ethernet (Copper, T1 or Fiber), DS3 and more. This is up to you (i.e. the joyous bits vs. bytes equations), but make sure to beef up the bandwidth at the hub site if you plan on centralizing anything.
2. Quality of Service (QoS). QoS is the trademark feature of MPLS but many providers offer various levels of QoS (i.e. Premium, Enhanced & Basic), with different quality guarantees/Service Level Agreements (SLA’s), for each. Determine your QoS requirement based on the type of information you’ll be sending across the network. Rule of thumb is that Premium is for voice and video, Enhanced is for critical data, such as Email or Database traffic and Basic is for non-critical data, such as file sharing. Providers will let you mix and match per site and sometimes even on the same circuit. Nothing more exciting, right?
3. Equipment. Will you be providing your own routers? This is not recommended unless you have a technical support staff at each of your sites that can quickly troubleshoot and swap a router. Making the equipment the providers’ responsibility also prevents a ton of finger-pointing mazes during trouble shooting, which we all know is a necessary evil with telecom. If the provider will be supplying routers, do you also want them to manage the routers? If so, do you want M-F 8-5 support or 24×7 support? Do you have a preference in the brand of routers the provider leases to you?
4. Internet. With MPLS, your company’s locations can access the Internet one of three ways or do a combination of these three: 1) Each site pulls bandwidth from the provider’s network, through the MPLS network; 2) They can pull their Internet from a main hub site’s Internet connection; or 3) They can each have their own Internet connection, separate from the MPLS network. This decision usually depends on how your company feels about managing firewalls (which you can also have the provider host in the cloud through your MPLS Network), and policing Internet traffic centrally vs. managing it at each site, individually. MPLS bandwidth can also play a factor if their simply isn’t enough room on the network to let Internet hitch a ride.
5. Dial Tone. You can have your access to dial tone (phone lines), anywhere on the MPLS network. Same options as Internet but the deciding factors are often based on available MPLS bandwidth or phone system requirements. You also want to know your preferred delivery method for voice (i.e. Analog Lines, PRI or SIP). Lastly, you also want to clarify whether or not you want the provider to provide a hosted phone system now or in the future.
6. Current and Future Cloud Initiatives: The best way for a mid-size company to deploy a cloud service is through your MPLS network. If you are currently running (or thinking of migrating to), any cloud applications, such as hosted Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 360 (SaaS), Hosted Server (IaaS), Hosted Virtual Desktop (DaaS), Remote Back-Up (IaaS), Hosted Video Conferencing (CaaS), Hosted VoIP/Contact Center (CaaS), or various others, it makes sense to choose an MPLS provider that also has a good cloud portfolio and can stream them down to your sites via your MPLS network.
7. Term Length. Typical options are one, two, three or five year agreements. Pricing and install get lower as you lengthen the term. My recommendation is do your homework, pick a great provider and sign up for a long term length. I’ve never met an IT Director who has the time to switch MPLS providers every year or two so you might as well get the best pricing.

Step 2: Find Available MPLS Providers. Using a telecommunications agency is always your best option in terms of finding providers. Here is a good place to start. You’ll only have to speak to one person (as opposed to several), yet you’ll find all of the MPLS providers that can service you and find the lowest prices with each. You’ll also end up with a better sales rep, long-term that is going to be non-biased and can help you do this all over again when your contracts expire in a short 1-5 years.

Step 3: Ask the Right Questions. Your questions will vary, depending on your company but here are some great questions that at minimum, everyone should ask an MPLS provider.

Can you send me your SLA? What cloud services do you currently offer off your MPLS platform and what are the products on the roadmap for the next year? Tell me about your customer web portal? Do you offer an Applications Management Tool that can dig down to the MAC level? How many customers do you have with MPLS service? Are you reselling another provider or is this your own network with your own engineers, project coordinators and installation team? Do you have your own technicians in all my cities (i.e. not sub-contracted)? Can you service the cities we’re planning on expanding to? Are you reselling my MPLS service at any of my locations (i.e. some providers do this if they can’t service some of your sites)? Can I have your customer service phone number to test call? Is your network pure IP-based or is it running on legacy ATM? Can you provide me with a reference that is running a similar MPLS application? Do you run your network on a single ASN (big for International MPLS sites)?

Finally, my informal but most important advice is that after all of these questions are asked and the quotes are close to equal, listen to your gut feeling after knowing the information below.

How long has your sales rep been in her/his position? How much do you trust this person and the other engineers you’ve spoken to? Do you think they’ll absolutely be quick to answer the phone if you have a crisis (Murphy’s Law)? Do you think they’ll call you back promptly and help you escalate to get things fixed?

Happy hunting and I’ll see you in the field!

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About the Author
Mike Smith is the Founder and President of AeroCom and has been helping companies with telecom and cloud services since 1999. He has been the recipient of numerous business telecommunications industry awards and in 2011, he was honored as one of the top 40 business people in Orange County, CA., under 40 years old. Follow Mike on LinkedIn, Twitter or SpiceWorks.