IP transit is one of the most commoditized services in networking yet pricing transparency in the market remains poor, particularly in Asia. Providers rarely publish rates, and the spread between what a well-informed buyer pays and what an uninformed buyer pays can be 40–60% on the same route.

This guide gives you the benchmarks, the billing models, and the negotiation leverage you need to ensure you’re paying market rate for IP transit.

What Is IP Transit and How Is It Priced?

IP transit is the service that connects your network to the global internet specifically, to the BGP routing table that enables your traffic to reach any destination on the internet. Your IP transit provider aggregates connections to Tier 1 carriers and major peering exchanges, and advertises your routes globally.

IP transit is priced primarily on bandwidth:

• 95th percentile billing (burstable) — The most common model for enterprise and carrier-grade transit. You commit to a port size, traffic is measured every 5 minutes, and at month-end you pay for the 95th percentile of peak usage. This means you can burst above your committed rate for up to 36 hours per month at no additional charge.
• Committed Information Rate (CIR) — You commit to a fixed bandwidth level and pay for that amount regardless of actual usage. Less common for transit, more common for dedicated private circuits.
• Per-Mbps flat rate — Some providers offer a fixed monthly rate per Mbps of committed bandwidth. Simpler to budget, but may be more expensive for workloads with significant traffic variation.

IP Transit Price Benchmarks in Asia (2026)

Pricing is influenced heavily by geography. In Asia, the infrastructure investment required to build diverse, high-quality peering relationships differs significantly by country.

Market	1G port (CIR)	10G port (95th)	100G port (95th)	Notes
Singapore	$3–7/Mbps/mo	$1.50–4/Mbps/mo	$0.80–2/Mbps/mo	Highly competitive — major IX hub
Hong Kong	$4–9/Mbps/mo	$2–5/Mbps/mo	$1–2.50/Mbps/mo	Competitive, China traffic premium
Jakarta, Indonesia	$5–12/Mbps/mo	$2.50–7/Mbps/mo	$1.20–3.50/Mbps/mo	Growing competition, some routes limited
Kuala Lumpur	$4–10/Mbps/mo	$2–5.50/Mbps/mo	$1–2.80/Mbps/mo	Moderate competition
Bangkok, Thailand	$5–13/Mbps/mo	$2.50–7/Mbps/mo	$1.20–3.50/Mbps/mo	Growing market
Tokyo, Japan	$3–8/Mbps/mo	$1.50–4.50/Mbps/mo	$0.80–2.20/Mbps/mo	Large IX, competitive
Seoul, South Korea	$4–9/Mbps/mo	$2–5/Mbps/mo	$1–2.50/Mbps/mo	Competitive market

Note: Rates are indicative per-Mbps monthly costs for 12-month commitments. 95th percentile rates assume moderate traffic patterns. Rates decrease significantly at higher committed volumes.

What Drives IP Transit Costs Higher

Port Size vs. Committed Rate

The port size (1G, 10G, 100G) determines your maximum burst capability. Your committed rate (the amount you pay for) is typically a fraction of port capacity — often 30–60% of the port for initial deployments. Higher committed rates relative to port size increase the effective per-Mbps cost.

Peering Quality and Reach

IP transit providers with more direct peering relationships deliver better performance at lower cost. Providers who must purchase transit from Tier 1 carriers for onward routing pass those costs through. DCConnect maintains direct peering with Tier 1 carriers and regional IXPs including Equinix Internet Exchange, HKIX, MyIX, SGIX, and JasTel — minimizing hops and transit costs.

DDoS Protection

Including DDoS scrubbing capacity in your transit service adds to the monthly cost — but the alternative (a DDoS attack taking your service offline for hours) is typically far more expensive. Evaluate whether your traffic profile justifies dedicated scrubbing versus upstream black-hole routing.

IPv6 and BGP Complexity

Dual-stack (IPv4 + IPv6) with full BGP routing is now standard with quality providers and shouldn’t cost extra. Be wary of providers who charge premium rates for IPv6 transit or BGP session support — these are table-stakes features.

How to Negotiate Better IP Transit Rates

• Volume commitment — Even committing to 1 Gbps CIR instead of 500 Mbps often yields a lower per-Mbps rate
• Multi-location purchase — If you need transit at multiple PoPs (e.g., Singapore + Hong Kong), buying both from one provider almost always yields better combined pricing
• Longer contract terms — 24 or 36-month contracts vs 12-month typically save 15–25%
• Ask for the fully loaded price — include port fees, setup fees, and any minimum monthly charge in your comparison, not just the per-Mbps rate
• Request competitive quotes simultaneously — telling a provider you’re evaluating multiple vendors and have a decision deadline consistently produces better pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between IP transit and dedicated internet access (DIA)? A: IP transit and DIA describe the same underlying service connectivity to the global internet via BGP. The term ‘DIA’ (Dedicated Internet Access) emphasizes that the bandwidth is uncontended and dedicated to your organization, whereas ‘IP transit’ is the technical term for the routing service itself. In practice, enterprise-grade IP transit IS dedicated internet access.

Q: Is 95th percentile billing always cheaper than committed rate billing? A: For workloads with traffic patterns that peak for short periods but average lower, 95th percentile billing is cheaper — you only pay for peaks that exceed 36 hours per month. For workloads with consistently high traffic, committed rate billing may be similar or lower. Model your actual traffic pattern before choosing.

Q: Can I get IP transit without a BGP ASN? A: Yes — providers can announce your IP addresses under their ASN (single-homed transit). However, for enterprise-grade redundancy with multiple providers, having your own ASN and portable IP space is strongly recommended. DCConnect can advise on ASN and IP addressing requirements.

Q: What bandwidth options does DCConnect offer for IP transit in Asia? A: DCConnect’s IP Transit is available from 50 Mbps up to 100G at key locations including Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, and Bangkok. We also offer aggregated Nx100G for carrier-grade requirements.