This topic provides answers to frequently asked questions about Express Connect billing.
Category | FAQ |
Billing and refunds | |
Outbound traffic fee issues | |
Partner billing | |
What are the changes to the billable items of Express Connect?
The billable items for Express Connect have been updated as follows:
The initial installation fee of USD 1,500 is no longer charged. This reduces the cost of connecting your business to the cloud.
More free Virtual Border Router (VBR) instances are provided to meet complex networking requirements.
Inbound traffic to Alibaba Cloud is free. You are charged only for outbound traffic from Alibaba Cloud. This reduces data transfer costs for your Express Connect circuit.
Can I request a refund for initial installation fees paid before July 1, 2021?
Refunds are not available.
Are there promotions for outbound traffic fees?
After you enable billing for outbound traffic, each Alibaba Cloud account receives a monthly free quota of 50 TB for outbound traffic. This promotion is valid until December 31, 2026. Starting January 1, 2027, the free quota will be discontinued and outbound traffic will be charged based on standard billing rules.
After outbound traffic fees are charged, how do I request resources for a partner connection type?
Express Connect partners create shared ports for end users to establish hosted connections. These shared ports belong to the end users.
Can I request a refund if the expiration date of my renewed VBR instance is later than July 1, 2021?
Yes, you can. After you enable billing for outbound traffic, you can submit a ticket to request a refund for VBR instance fees charged after this billing change.
For example, if you prepaid VBR instance fees until December 31, 2021, and you enable billing for outbound traffic on August 1, 2021, you can request a refund for the instance fees from August 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
What specifications of shared ports can partners purchase?
Partners can purchase shared Express Connect circuits with the following specifications: 50 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps, 300 Mbps, 400 Mbps, 500 Mbps, and 1 Gbps. Port specifications greater than 1 Gbps are not available by default. To request them, contact your account manager.
How are tenants of existing hosted connections charged?
For hosted connections created before September 1, 2021, providers can use a one-click conversion feature from Alibaba Cloud to convert the resources. This conversion does not affect your services.
After the conversion, a new shared port is created in the end user's Alibaba Cloud account. The VBR is then attached to this new port instead of the provider's original shared port.