This topic describes the billing method and billable items of connections over Express Connect circuits. You can connect your data center to Alibaba Cloud through a dedicated connection or a hosted connection over an Express Connect circuit. Both dedicated connections and hosted connections are charged by Alibaba Cloud and third-party service providers.
- Dedicated connection: Apply for a dedicated Express Connect circuit to connect to Alibaba Cloud.
- Hosted connection: Use an Express Connect circuit provided by an Express Connect partner to connect to Alibaba Cloud.
Billing of dedicated connections over Express Connect circuits
The following figure and table show the billable items of dedicated connections over Express Connect circuits.
| Charged by | Billable item | Billing rule | Billing method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third-party service provider | Optical fiber installation | The network carrier charges you for the leased Express Connect circuit. You must contact the network carrier for the pricing of leasing an Express Connect circuit to connect to Alibaba Cloud.
Note Most access points of Alibaba Cloud are deployed in data centers owned by network carriers or third-party service providers. When you install an Express Connect circuit in one of these data centers, you may need to purchase cables from the owner of the data center. The data center in the China (Zhangjiakou) region and the data center where the Hangzhou-Yuhang-A access point is deployed are owned and managed by Alibaba Cloud. When you install an Express Connect circuit in your data center, the network carrier of your data center may also charge you for using the indoor cables.
|
One-time charge or subscription. |
| Indoor cable rental | |||
| Optical transceiver module | Alibaba Cloud provides 1 Gbit/s and 10 Gbit/s optical transceiver modules free of charge. These optical transceiver modules support a transmission distance of 10 km. To use the following optical transceiver modules, you must purchase them from a third party:
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| Alibaba Cloud | Initial installation | Alibaba Cloud charges an initial installation fee for the Express Connect circuit. | A one-time charge of USD 1,500 for each Express Connect circuit.
Note Starting July 1, 2021, no initial installation fee is charged for newly leased Express Connect circuits.
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| Resource usage | Alibaba Cloud charges resource usage fees based on the specification of the Express Connect circuit. | Monthly subscription. For more information, see Resource usage. | |
| Outbound data transfer | Alibaba Cloud charges you for data transmitted through Express Connect circuits from Alibaba Cloud to a data center. You are charged for the outbound data transfer of all regions within your account. Outbound data transfer fee for a region = Unit price of outbound data transfer of the region × Total amount of outbound data transmitted through all Express Connect circuits in the region within the current account. Fees are calculated and bills are generated on an hourly basis. If you use the service for less than 1 hour, the usage duration is rounded up to 1 hour. Owners of Express Connect circuits must pay for outbound data transfer. |
Pay-by-data-transfer. For more information, see Outbound data transfer fees. | |
| VBR |
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- By default, in regions within mainland China, you cannot use your Alibaba Cloud account to create VBRs for other Alibaba Cloud accounts. If the owner and user of an Express Connect circuit belong to the same enterprise, the owner can submit a ticket to apply for temporary permissions. Submit a ticket. If the owner has already acquired the required license, the owner can contact Alibaba Cloud and apply for the permissions. The required license must be issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) to allow the owner to provide A26 domestic communications facilities services.
- By default, in regions outside mainland China, you cannot use your Alibaba Cloud account to create VBRs for other Alibaba Cloud accounts. To apply for temporary permissions: Submit a ticket.
Billing of hosted connections over Express Connect circuits
The following figure and table show the billable items of hosted connections over Express Connect circuits.
| Charged by | Billable item | Billing rule | Billing method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third-party service provider | Optical fiber installation | If you want to use a hosted connection over an Express Connect circuit established by an Express Connect partner, you can contact the Express Connect partner for prices. | One-time charge. |
| Indoor cable rental | |||
| Alibaba Cloud | Resource usage | Alibaba Cloud charges resource usage fees based on the specification of the Express Connect circuit. | Monthly subscription. For more information, see Resource usage. |
| Outbound data transfer | Alibaba Cloud charges you for data transmitted through Express Connect circuits from Alibaba Cloud to a data center. You are charged for the outbound data transfer of all regions within your account. Outbound data transfer fee for a region = Unit price of outbound data transfer of the region × Total amount of outbound data transmitted through all Express Connect circuits in the region within the current account. Fees are calculated and bills are generated on an hourly basis. If you use the service for less than 1 hour, the usage duration is rounded up to 1 hour. Owners of Express Connect circuits must pay for outbound data transfer. |
Pay-by-data-transfer. For more information, see Outbound data transfer fees. |
Resource usage
The resource usage fee varies based on the specification of the Express Connect circuit. The following table describes the pricing of different Express Connect circuit specifications.
| Billable item | Express Connect circuit specification | Subscription fee (USD/month) |
|---|---|---|
| Resource usage (mainland China) | 1 Gbit/s and below | 85 |
| 10 Gbps | 720 | |
| 40 Gbps | 2,450 | |
| 100 Gbps | 5,200 | |
| Resource usage (outside mainland China) | 1 Gbit/s and below | 210 |
| 10 Gbps | 1,600 | |
| 40 Gbps | 5,500 | |
| 100 Gbps | 11,700 |
VBRs
Users of Express Connect circuits must pay for VBRs. The VBR fee varies based on the specification of the VBR. The following table describes the pricing of different VBR specifications.
| Billable item | VBR specification | Unit price |
|---|---|---|
| VBR fee (mainland China) | 50 Mbps | CNY 500/month |
| 100 Mbps | CNY 750/month | |
| 200 Mbps | CNY 1,000/month | |
| 300 Mbps | CNY 1,100/month | |
| 400 Mbps | CNY 1,200/month | |
| 500 Mbps | CNY 1,250/month | |
| VBR fee (outside mainland China) | 50 Mbps | USD 20/month |
| 100 Mbps | USD 40/month | |
| 200 Mbps | USD 55/month | |
| 300 Mbps | USD 80/month | |
| 400 Mbps | USD 105/month | |
| 500 Mbps | USD 125/month |
Outbound data transfer fees
The outbound data transfer fee varies based on the region. The following table describes the pricing of outbound data transfer in different regions.
- If you enable outbound data transfer billing between 00:00 (UTC+8) on July 1, 2021 and 24:00 (UTC+8) on July 1, 2022, you can claim a free outbound data transfer plan. The system automatically uses your outbound data transfer plan to offset 50 TB of outbound data transfer each month. The validity period of the outbound data transfer plan is 12 months. For more information about how to enable outbound data transfer billing, see Enable outbound data transfer billing.
- Outbound data transfer plans apply to all regions. An outbound data transfer plan is applied to a region whichever outbound data transfer occurs.
For example, 100 TB of data is transferred in the China (Beijing) region. Then, 80 TB of data is transferred in the US (Virginia) region. In this case, the free data transfer plan is used to offset 50 TB of data transfer in the China (Beijing) region.
| Area | Region | Unit price (USD/GB) |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland China | China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Qingdao), China (Beijing), China (Zhangjiakou), China (Hohhot), China (Ulanqab), China (Shenzhen), China (Heyuan), China (Guangzhou), and China (Chengdu). | 0.0125 |
| Asia Pacific | China (Hong Kong), China (Taiwan), Singapore (Singapore), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Japan (Tokyo), and South Korea (Seoul) | 0.0390 |
| Indonesia (Jakarta) | 0.0780 | |
| Australia (Sydney) | 0.0399 | |
| Europe & Americas | US (Silicon Valley), US (Virginia), Germany (Frankfurt), and UK (London) | 0.0190 |
| Russia (Moscow) | 0.0910 | |
| Middle East & India | UAE (Dubai) | 0.0855 |
| India (Mumbai) | 0.0427 |
Example
You have two data centers. One is located in the China (Beijing) region, the other one is located in the US (Virginia) region. You want to use an Express Connect circuit to connect the data center in the China (Beijing) region to an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance in a virtual private cloud (VPC) deployed in the same region. You also want to connect the data center in the US (Virginia) region to an ECS instance in a VPC deployed in the same region. After you use the same Alibaba Cloud account to establish connections over Express Connect circuits in these regions, data is transmitted through the connections from Alibaba Cloud to the data centers. 100 TB of data is transferred in the China (Beijing) region per month. Then, 80 TB of data is transferred in the US (Virginia) region per month.
- Starting from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, you are charged the following outbound data transfer fees per month:
- China (Beijing) USD 0.0125/GB × (100 - 50) × 1,000 GB = USD 625
- US (Virginia) USD 0.0190/GB × 80 × 1,000 GB = USD 1,520
Total amount = USD 625 + USD 1,520 = USD 2,145
- Starting July 1, 2022, you are charged the following outbound data transfer fees per month:
- China (Beijing) USD 0.0125/GB × 100 × 1,000 GB = USD 1,250
- US (Virginia) USD 0.0190/GB × 80 × 1,000 GB = USD 1,520
Total amount = USD 1,250 + USD 1,520 = USD 2,770