This topic provides answers to frequently asked questions about Express Connect billing.
Category | FAQ |
Billing and refunds | |
Outbound data transfer fees | |
Partner billing | |
What are the changes made to the billable items of Express Connect?
The following changes have been made to Express Connect billable items:
The initial installation fee of USD 1,500 has been eliminated. This reduces the costs of connecting data centers to Alibaba Cloud.
You can create additional VBRs free of charge to meet complex networking requirements.
Data transfer from your data center to Alibaba Cloud is no longer billed. You are charged only for data transfer from Alibaba Cloud to your data center. This reduces data transfer costs when using an Express Connect circuit to connect to Alibaba Cloud.
Can I request a refund for the initial installation fees that I have paid before July 1, 2021?
No, you cannot request a refund for initial installation fees paid before July 1, 2021.
Can I get a discount on outbound data transfer fees?
Alibaba Cloud provides 50 TB of outbound data transfer free of charge for each Alibaba Cloud account every month. After you enable billing for outbound data transfer, you can use 50 TB of outbound data transfer free of charge every month until December 31, 2025. Starting from January 1, 2026, you will be charged for outbound data transfer in your service.
After Alibaba Cloud starts charging for outbound data transfer fees, how can I establish a hosted connection over an Express Connect circuit?
Express Connect partners create shared ports instead of VBRs for tenants to establish hosted connections. These shared ports belong to the end users.
Can I request a refund if the expiration date of the VBRs that I have renewed is later than July 1, 2021?
Yes, you can request a refund if the expiration date of your renewed VBRs is later than July 1, 2021. However, you must enable outbound data transfer billing before requesting a refund. Then, you can submit a ticket to Alibaba Cloud and request a refund for the VBR subscription from the date when you enabled outbound data transfer billing.
For example, if you have prepaid subscription fees for using VBRs until December 31, 2021 and enabled outbound data transfer billing on August 1, 2021, you can request a refund for the subscription from August 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
What shared Express Connect circuits can Express Connect partners purchase?
Express Connect partners can purchase shared Express Connect circuits with the following specifications: 50 Mbit/s, 100 Mbit/s, 200 Mbit/s, 300 Mbit/s, 400 Mbit/s, 500 Mbit/s, and 1 Gbit/s. Ports with specifications higher than 1 Gbit/s are not available by default. You need to contact your business manager to request them.
How are tenants of existing hosted connections charged?
If a tenant's hosted connection was created before September 1, 2021, the Express Connect partner will add a shared port to the hosted connection. This process will not interrupt your business.
The VBR is then associated with the shared port that belongs to the tenant account.