I'm shopping for co-location at a telco-grade facility. I need them to have redundant, multi-homed connections, and have technicians accessible at all times. I'll be starting small (2U and under 256 Kbps), and within 6 months expect to need a full cabinet and 5 Mbps. Many of the tier 1 providers have a 1-rack or 1 Mbps minimum. I'd prefer paying in Kbps increments. The better bandwidth prices I've seen are from 30 to 70 cents per Kbps.

So far, I have contacted:

Exodus
Epoch
UUNet
Qwest
MCI/WorldCom
AT&T
AstraGate
AboveNet
eXchange Colocation
ISP Net
Level 3
UPNetworks
Verio
WebZone

Who else should I contact?

Thanks in advance.

So... Would you be looking at a Tier 1 or 2 co-lo facility? You could have a look at http://www.tera-byte.com/hosting-colocation.html or http://www.webexpose.net/services/colocation.asp just as some further options...

Tier 1 vs tier 2? I thought I was clear about wanting a telco-grade (which I think is also called a Class A) facility. What's the difference between tier 1 and tier 2? I'd like to be connected to the 'net redundantly and multi-homed, so if tier 1 means I'm only connected through 1 backbone (like the case with Level 3), then it doesn't sound safe to me, in case something happens with that one backbone or connection to it. Am I overlooking something?

I think what BC is getting at is, do you need to do business *directly* with the datacenter, or could you do business through a web host that has space in that datacenter?

For example, as you pointed out, many datacenters have a 1/2 rack with 1 mbps minimum commitment. You don't need that, you only need 2U of rack space and 256 kbps. What you may have to do is lease space from a tier-2 provider who is located in that tier 1 facility.

For example, my company, Hosting Solutions, leases space in the Multa Communications datacenter in City of Industry, California. If you wanted to lease space from MultaCom, you'd have to lease at least 1/2 cabinet and at least 512K connection. However, if you came to me and said "I need 2U of rack space and 256K of bandwidth", I could certainly provide that for you. We are what BC is refering to as Tier 2 (I believe), meaning we are located in a telco-grade facility, but we don't actually own that facility.

So I guess the question is, do you have a need to work directly with the NOC, or is it possible for you to work with one of the NOC's clients (where you can likely get the smaller commitment that you can't get from the NOC itself)?

Jason

Jason paints the correct picture. I would add that you could contact your local or regional ISP, many of whom will let you colo with them at a reasonable price. As for techs, you'll basically get a few hours of "eyes and hands" support each month. Anything beyond that is charged by the hour.

Sure, I never said I needed to do business with the tier 1 provider, only my requirements. Many ISPs, and the majority of hosting companies, do not have both telco-grade facilities and redundant and multi-homed connections. One of my frustrations is that the tier 1 providers who meet that requirement would not just give me a list of the hosting companies that rent spece in their facility.

One additional requrement I would have is that they be a U.S. company (for legal reasons).

Given the list in my original post, what other U.S. based hosting companies can I contact who provide co-location in a telco-grade facility, have redundant and multi-homed connections to the Internet, can provide "eyes and hands" 24x7, have a low entry-point (of say 2U and 256 Kbps), charge in Kbps increments (or at least less than Mbps increments), and are competitively priced (compared to those who charge $1 per Kbps).

Well, with MAE East in my back yard you can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting some downstream outfit in a good NOC. A couple other Tier 1's you can try are CAIS Internet http://www.cais.net or Digex http://www.digex.com . I can't say either one will do the trick, but give 'em a whirl.

C++ : sorry if my Q. was unclear. My excuse was I needed sleep at that time (and got some 5 mins later) ;)

Jason : thanks for clarifying my thoughts - that was what I was trying to state.

http://www.semaphore.com/ I think they are redundant enough.

Just remembered,

http://www.eli.net/
http://www.avistacom.com/

I was doing search and I came across your posting with the below list, and I thought it was very interesting how many of the comapanies below are still in business or did not file bankruptcy.

Exodus - bankrupt, and dispursed, and all portions are still in trouble.

Epoch - Seriously in trouble.

UUNet - As we all know, they went bankrupt, since they are Worldcom.

Qwest - They were on the edge of bankruptcy, and I haven't heard much, but I they they are a very good company.

MCI/WorldCom - Screwed everyone over, and went bankrupt, and customer had major network problem and still do.

AT&T - I couldn't believe this one, but they were on the verge of bankruptcy too, and I think they are still billions of dollars in dept. Gone are the days of AT&T being known for highest quality.

AstraGate - Never heard a bad thing about this company, but I know many good things, and they are still around. I know they have a very strong relationship with Level 3.

AboveNet - Gone, dead, bankrupt. Companies that own portions of their network are in financial trouble as well.

eXchange Colocation - Don't know this one.

ISP Net - I haven't anything about this one.

Level 3 - On the edge of bankruptcy, but made it, but still has not pulled through debt.

UPNetworks - Didn't this come get bought, or change names?

Verio - bankrupt completely, and parts of it got bankrupt, and they remaining customer got screwed with fees they had alredy paid. Companies that bought their portions seem to be headed downhill too.

WebZone - Gone, does not exist, bankrupt, and assets sold.

Your info is so wrong it isn't even funny.

Originally posted by Huminie
Your info is so wrong it isn't even funny.

Although his info isn't entirely accurate it isn't that far off either.

Exodus - Acquired by Cable&Wireless out of bankruptcy. Many of their customers left. Looks like C&W is now planning on pulling out of the US market.

Epoch - Never a strong performer. Small company. Small network. Constantly in some type of financial turmoil. Was acquired by Netifice - which I've never heard of.

UUnet/MCI/Worldcom - Currently in bankruptcy, dumped thousands of employees, QoS not what it once was.

Qwest - Is on the verge of bankruptcy. Heavy debt load. European network, KPNQwest, bankrupt and gone.

AT&T - Still has heavy debt load. Sold off wireless and cable/broadband division in a desperate attempt to avoid bankruptcy. Numerous outages/service issues through their network recently.

Abovenet - Acquired by MFN. Now MFNX.net. MFN currently in bankrupcty. Will probably be forced to sell assets including the PAIX facilities. MFN is currently selling bandwidth very cheaply.

Level(3) - Huge debt load. Recent cash infusion has allowed them to go on a buying spree - just acquired Genuity (AS 1). Long term outlook not favorable.

eXchange - carrier neutral colo facility.

Verio - acquired by NTT (Nippon Telephone and Telegraph of Japan). NTT, which was cash rich at the time, bought Verio as a first step into entering the US market. After paying off a ton of Verio's debt they finally made the investment into the company that they promised. Verio was one of the absolute *worst* providers out there. Things have changed after NTT. They are finally offering a good service at a decent price.

CAIS is history and Digex got divided up between Worldcom and Allegiance.

Global Crossing just made a comeback. Now instead of being owned by an unreasonable California Billionaire the entire company was bought for 1 penny on the dollar by a Hong Kong Billionaire.

XO is also just back from a fun filled round of "bankruptcy". I'm curious to see how well they'll do. They never managed to grab much market share or attention in the past.

Broadwing just announced that they are selling off the broadband division (which includes their fiber backbone). Broadwing was always a major yawn. However, several other companies do use their fiber for long haul transit - for example, MFN's long haul OC-48s run on Broadwing (formerly IXC) fiber.

Originally posted by Dragoon

CAIS is history and Digex got divided up between Worldcom and Allegiance.

Nice summary.

I believe the CAIS network is operated by BTN http://www.pccwbtn.com/

Do you have a city or region you are trying to be near?

Greetings webinweb:

"Verio - bankrupt completely, and parts of it got bankrupt, and they remaining customer got screwed with fees they had alredy paid. Companies that bought their portions seem to be headed downhill too."

You must be thinking of another company because Verio never filed for bankruptcy.

As Dragoon ponited out, many of your facts are incomplete or incorrect.

===

Greetings Dragoon:

"Verio - acquired by NTT (Nippon Telephone and Telegraph of Japan). NTT, which was cash rich at the time, bought Verio as a first step into entering the US market. After paying off a ton of Verio's debt they finally made the investment into the company that they promised. Verio was one of the absolute *worst* providers out there. Things have changed after NTT. They are finally offering a good service at a decent price."

From working with Verio since 1996, I would argue they have been comparable to the best providers out there since 1996.

They are gonig through a "I have NO clue what I want to be when I grow up phase" right now (for almost two years, now).

The one caution I have for anyone considering co-location at NTT/Verio is they have a long term history of closing data centers with as little as two weeks notification to customers; futhermore, they have a history of offering no compensation for handling such a move with such short notice.

While we've personally spent at least over a million dollars of our own ("company") money with NTT/Verio, you could not pay me to co-locate in any of their facilities given their history of data center closures with little notice.

Thank you.

You should definitely consider Inernap on you list. For the quality and reliability you get, it worths every cent of your money!