Choosing the Right IP Transit Provider: 7 Criteria

An IP transit provider is more than a price per Mbit/s. The quality of the uplink determines the latency, availability and security of your services. These seven criteria help you compare offers objectively.

The 7 criteria at a glance

1. 1Redundancy: fully redundant routers and multiple upstreams prevent a single failure from taking you offline. Ask about LACP and separate paths.
2. 2Peering & reach: many direct peerings at internet exchanges lower latency and cost. Check the provider's profile on PeeringDB.
3. 3DDoS protection: integrated in-network mitigation is more effective than a downstream solution. Clarify standard vs. premium and whether always-on is possible.
4. 4RPKI & route security: RPKI validation protects against route hijacks and is standard today. Without it you risk mis-routing.
5. 5SLA & availability: a clear availability SLA (e.g. 99.95%) with defined response times creates reliability.
6. 6Billing: the fair 95/5 method bills by usage and ignores short spikes. Look for transparent usage reporting.
7. 7Support: reachable 24/7 support with real network engineers is invaluable in an emergency - not an anonymous ticket system.

Conclusion

Don't compare on price alone but on the whole package of redundancy, reach, security and support. A slightly higher price per Mbit/s pays off quickly if it prevents outages and attacks.