Dedicated Internet Access for Your Critical Sites
A DIA quote names a speed and a price. What it leaves out decides the bill and the outage. TREU compares what each provider will commit to at every address, negotiates alongside your counsel, and keeps every DIA agreement on its calendar for as long as it runs.
Book a conversationWhere Dedicated Internet Earns Its Price
Dedicated internet access is an Ethernet port from your site to the provider's internet network, at a committed rate the provider carries in both directions. Business broadband is a mass-market service, which the FCC defines apart from offerings customized through individually negotiated agreements. Fiber to the building does not prove the capacity is yours: a passive optical network shares one feeder fiber among many customers, so ask whether a fiber quote is a shared service or a dedicated port. Some providers price the port and the local access circuit separately, so compare totals, not port prices.
When it makes sense
- Sites where the internet is the critical path, such as cloud-first offices, data centers and SD-WAN hubs.
- Customer-facing applications, remote access and partner connections that must stay reachable through a provider failure, announcing a /24 or larger over BGP.
- A site that cannot go down, served by two providers on separate building entries and separate routes.
- Traffic that needs a committed rate both ways, with availability and repair terms negotiated into the contract.
When it does not
In our judgment, dedicated internet may be the wrong buy when:
- A small site can live with best effort. Business broadband costs less, and it also makes a good second path.
- The traffic is private and site to site, such as replication between data centers. That is work for Ethernet, a wavelength or dark fiber.
- Most of the volume goes to one cloud platform and latency or compliance makes the internet a poor fit. A private cloud connection may serve it better.
Where broadband will carry a site, we say so before you buy a dedicated circuit for it.
Dedicated internet, business broadband or fixed wireless
| Dedicated internet access | Business broadband | Fixed wireless | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | A committed rate in both directions | Typical speeds, with no committed rate | Shared within a sector on some systems |
| Service terms | A negotiated SLA with credits | Standard mass-market plan terms | Varies by provider and link type |
| Weak points | The SLA may leave out the local access | Capacity shared with other customers | Line of sight, weather and foliage |
| Best fit | Sites where the internet is the critical path | Small sites, and a diverse second path | Sites far from fiber, or a second path that fails for different reasons |
Technical Considerations
A DIA order reads as an address and a speed. What decides whether it performs, and whether you can leave it later, sits in these details.
Port speed is not throughput
Some providers police traffic to the committed rate and discard what arrives above it, so your router should shape outbound traffic to the same rate. Encapsulation overhead also takes a share of the line, most noticeably when the access and the port run at the same speed and with small packets. Size the order for the traffic, not the headline.
Where the SLA is measured
At least one large carrier measures latency, packet delivery and jitter only between its own backbone routers, and its SLA leaves out access circuits the customer ordered. Some regional providers measure from your demarcation point instead. Performance past the provider's own network is generally not promised.
The access medium
One provider delivers its dedicated service over fiber or over its hybrid fiber-coax network, so ask what reaches each address. Off-net sites ride a third party's access; the network family and Ethernet pages cover what changes.
Flat or burstable billing
A flat tier bills a fixed speed at a fixed charge. A burstable plan commits to less than the port speed and bills bursts above the commitment. Under 95th percentile billing, usage is sampled through the month, the highest samples are set aside and the next one sets the bill. One carrier also pools commitments across sites, and lets you change plans only once a month.
Provider addresses may not move with you
ARIN, the registry for North America, issued its last free IPv4 addresses in 2015, and the carrier terms we have read tie additional addresses to ARIN guidelines and documented use. In one carrier's terms, assigned addresses stay with the service location and are returned when the circuit ends. Changing providers then means moving DNS records, firewall rules, VPN peers and partner allowlists to new addresses.
Multihoming and BGP
To stay reachable through two providers, a site announces a /24 or larger over BGP from its own AS number: its own space, or a block a provider assigns for multihoming. ARIN's smallest end-user IPv4 block is a /24, which is also generally the smallest block the internet accepts, and the initial IPv6 assignment is a /48. Any organization can get one AS number on request. Providers are expected to filter what you announce against registry records, so BGP turn-up needs registry paperwork as well as router work.
Router diversity is not route diversity
In one carrier's terms, router diversity means a second router in the same location, which protects against a router fault but not a fiber cut. Circuits that share a conduit or building entry can fail together; the network family page covers how to check.
Fixed wireless as a path
Fixed wireless needs clear line of sight and can be affected by weather and foliage, and rain fade is a modeled engineering factor, mostly at higher frequencies. A licensed point-to-point link falls under FCC Part 101, and its frequencies must be coordinated with existing licensees before the application is filed, so plan for that time.
Attack protection is a separate decision
A base SLA may include a basic response to a reported attack, such as filtering or blackholing, without a promise to stop it. Blackholing ends the flood by making the target unreachable. TREU sources DDoS protection through Cybersecurity.
Dedicated internet under SD-WAN
Under the SD-WAN standard from MEF (now Mplify), an internet circuit is a public underlay with its own agreement, separate from the SD-WAN service, and you may buy it from any provider. The SD-WAN page covers how the overlay and the circuits fit together.
Paperwork before the build
Providers and their access partners may need letters of agency, identity documents and signed forms before they build, and an order can sit until they arrive. Billing can start before you have tested, as the network family page explains.
What a Better DIA Contract Gives IT and Finance
For IT and network leaders: sites that stay online and reachable
- Two paths at the sites that cannot go down, on separate entries and routes, with the separation written into the contract.
- Addresses and routing decided before signature, so a future change of provider is planned rather than a scramble to renumber.
- SLA scope that reaches the access circuit, wherever the provider will agree to it.
- A new office no longer starts with your network team calling carriers for quotes; TREU qualifies the address and brings back the options.
For finance: one total to compare at every address
- Port, local access and equipment charges added into one figure, so quotes compare on what you will pay.
- Flat or burstable billing matched to how each site uses bandwidth, with pooled commitments where a provider offers them.
- Taxes and surcharges included when quotes are compared, so the lowest port price is not mistaken for the lowest bill.
- Renewals repriced against the market, because bandwidth prices tend to fall over a term.
How TREU Buys Dedicated Internet Access
See how we work-
Supplier identification
We find which providers are on-net or near-net at each address, by fiber or fixed wireless, and which can reach a second building entry, wherever your sites are. Regional, utility and municipal networks are part of the search.
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Buying cycle
We compare port and access charges, flat and burstable plans, SLA scope, and address and BGP needs side by side. We negotiate the commercial terms alongside your counsel.
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Implementation oversight and accountability
We chase the provider's paperwork and install date, press for acceptance testing inside the billing-start window, and check the first invoice against the contract.
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Client and supplier lifecycle management
We keep every circuit's term and notice date in view, join business reviews, reprice each renewal against the market and source each new site. In our experience, the work starts months before the notice date, not weeks.
What to Watch For in an Internet Access Contract
Internet SLAs promise a lot on the first page. These are the DIA terms that decide what you collect when a circuit fails.
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Whether there is an SLA at all.
At least one carrier sells a lower-priced plan with no SLA and no credits. Confirm which plan the quote is for.
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What the SLA pays for.
In one carrier's SLA, latency and packet delivery misses are credited automatically, while availability and repair misses need a claim, and a degraded circuit earns nothing unless you opened a top-priority ticket and released it for testing. The network family page covers capped credits, ticket clocks and install dates.
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The SLA version.
One regional provider reserves the right to revise its SLA at any time and post the change online. Fix the version in force at signature.
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Maintenance.
One SLA excludes maintenance announced in advance and lets you ask to postpone it. Off-net, notice may not be promised at all. Write the windows into the contract.
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Circuits added mid-term.
Each order can carry its own term, separate from the master agreement. When you add a circuit mid-term, ask for it to end with the agreement you already have.
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Change charges.
Some price lists carry one-time charges for changes, cancellation, expedites and moves. Agree them before you sign, not when a site relocates.
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Taxes and surcharges.
Federal law bars state and local taxes on internet access, but invoices can still carry other taxes and fees, and some fee lines are set by the provider rather than a government. How a quote bundles services may affect the tax treatment.
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DDoS add-on terms.
An attack protection add-on carries its own paper. At one carrier, remedies stop at the add-on's SLA and the customer alone is responsible for whether it meets compliance needs.
Read this list as questions for your review. TREU is not a law firm. Your counsel gives the legal advice.
Questions Buyers Ask About Dedicated Internet
Our fiber internet is fiber. Is it dedicated?
Not necessarily. A fiber service can run on a passive optical network, where one feeder fiber is split among many customers who share its capacity. Some providers also deliver dedicated service over non-fiber access. Ask whether the quote is a shared service or a dedicated Ethernet port with a committed rate in both directions.
How does burstable billing work?
You commit to a level below the port speed and pay for bursts above it. Under 95th percentile billing, the provider samples usage through the month, sets the highest samples aside and bills on the next one, so short spikes cost little. We usually recommend burstable for traffic with short, irregular peaks, and a flat tier for steady traffic or a buyer who wants a fixed bill.
Do we need our own IP addresses and AS number?
Only if the site must stay reachable from the internet when one provider fails, as with customer-facing applications, remote access or partners who allowlist your addresses. Then you need a /24 or larger, your own or provider-assigned for multihoming, announced from your own AS number. In our judgment, a branch whose traffic only goes out is usually well served by two circuits with provider addresses under SD-WAN. Provider addresses can stay with the circuit, so plan for renumbering if you change providers.
What does a DIA SLA actually cover?
Read where it measures and what it leaves out. Some SLAs measure only inside the provider's backbone, some exclude the access circuit, and degraded service may earn nothing. We negotiate these terms before you sign. We do not monitor circuits or file credit claims; where you want that done, we source a provider who does.
Is fixed wireless good enough?
As a primary link where fiber is far off, it can be, and it makes a strong second path because it fails for different reasons than fiber. It can often go live sooner than a fiber build. Ask about line of sight, weather and whether sector capacity is shared, and allow time for frequency coordination on a licensed link.
Is internet access taxed?
The Internet Tax Freedom Act bars state and local governments from taxing internet access, and the ban has been permanent since 2016. Invoices can still carry other taxes, surcharges and fees, and internet charges billed together with taxable telecommunications charges, and not separated, may be taxed. Compare quotes with every line included. TREU is not a law firm. Your counsel gives the legal advice.
Does dedicated internet include DDoS protection?
Sometimes a basic response, such as filtering or blackholing a target, with no promise to stop the attack. Scrubbing is a paid add-on at one carrier, with its own terms, and a carrier's add-on protects that carrier's circuit, so a site on two providers needs a plan for each path. We source DDoS protection as part of the cybersecurity purchase.
Do we need dedicated internet under SD-WAN?
In our judgment, hubs, data centers and critical sites justify it, and branches can mix it with broadband or cellular. Under the MEF standard, each internet circuit keeps its own agreement and SLA, separate from the SD-WAN service.