A data-centre DIA specification should define committed bandwidth, interface speed, routing, IP addressing, DDoS protection, handover location, physical route, service levels, support model and growth path. Where internet access is operationally important, procure genuinely diverse services with separate routes, nodes and provider dependencies rather than relying on two product names alone.
What Dedicated Internet Access is
Dedicated Internet Access is a business-grade internet service with defined bandwidth and service commitments. It is different from consumer or shared broadband because the commercial and technical specification normally covers committed capacity, support, fault response and a dedicated handover.
DIA provides internet connectivity. It does not replace private Ethernet, wavelengths or dark fibre used to connect data centres, cloud on-ramps or network nodes.
What the specification should include
- Committed bandwidth: the capacity available in normal operation
- Interface speed: for example 10G, 100G or another suitable handover
- Traffic model: fixed, burstable or usage-based where available
- Routing: static routes or BGP, including ASN requirements
- IP addressing: provider-assigned or portable address space
- DDoS protection: detection, mitigation capacity, activation and reporting
- Handover: meet-me room, rack, port, optics and cross-connect responsibility
- Physical route: entry point, duct, chamber, POP and underlying carrier
- Service levels: availability, fault response, repair target and credits
- Growth: regrade process, port capacity and upgrade lead time
Primary and resilient internet
Resilience can be created in several ways, but the architecture must be clear. Two circuits from the same provider may still share local duct, a metro node, a core platform or a power dependency. Two different providers may also use the same wholesale access network.
For a resilient design, establish:
- Separate building entry points and internal routes
- Different external ducts, chambers and critical crossings
- Different carrier nodes or POPs where appropriate
- Independent power and network equipment
- A routing design that fails over as intended
- A documented test and acceptance plan
Handover, addressing and routing
The procurement team should define where the carrier’s responsibility ends. A quote to the site boundary is not the same as a live service presented in the required rack.
| Area | Decision required |
|---|---|
| Demarcation | Carrier NTE, optical port or cross-connect location |
| Optics | Who supplies and supports the transceivers and fibre type |
| Routing | Static, BGP, default route or full/partial routing requirement |
| IP space | Provider-assigned, PI space, IPv4 and IPv6 requirement |
| Security | DDoS, filtering, monitoring and incident escalation |
Commercial questions to ask
- Is the bandwidth committed and symmetrical?
- Are port, cross-connect and colocation charges included?
- What construction costs remain subject to survey?
- Is DDoS protection included or separately charged?
- How are upgrades priced during the contract?
- Are there usage, burst or 95th-percentile charging elements?
- What indexation and renewal terms apply?
- Can the service be moved or handed over at another POP?
Common procurement mistakes
- Using “internet” as the whole specification
- Comparing a managed DIA service with a bare Ethernet handover
- Ignoring IP addressing and routing until installation
- Assuming two suppliers provide two physical routes
- Leaving DDoS protection out of the commercial comparison
- Buying a port that cannot support the expected upgrade
- Failing to include cross-connect and meet-me room costs
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
Is Dedicated Internet Access the same as IP transit?
Not exactly. DIA is generally a managed internet-access service delivered to an end site. IP transit is commonly procured by networks and data centres that operate their own routing and exchange internet traffic at scale.
Does a data centre need more than one DIA provider?
That depends on the impact of an outage. Where internet access is critical, diverse providers and routes may be justified, but the physical and logical independence must be verified.
What bandwidth should be ordered?
Base the initial capacity on measured or forecast demand, headroom, growth and failure scenarios. The handover and contract should allow an efficient upgrade path.
Can CROSS procure DIA and manage delivery?
Yes. CROSS can define the requirement, compare carriers, verify route assumptions and manage surveys, installation, testing and handover.
Apply this to a live site
You do not need to know the product before speaking to us.
Send us the site, project or carrier quotation and we will identify the most useful next step.