Every company that contracts with a carrier to provision circuits for an MPLS VPN network has expectations of how long it will take to have their network operational. Not to disparage salespeople, but they will likely quote you 45 to 60 days… but there are many factors outside of the carriers’ control that can prevent your installation from being completed in the time promised.
The biggest variable to cause delay is the installation of the local loop. In the USA, you can be pretty comfortable that 45 t0 60 days is a good number. But local loops in China, Taiwan, Korea, India and many other countries can take longer. How much longer? It all depends:(
If you have an important international implementation project, plan on 90 to 120 days AFTER your contracts are accepted, no matter what the carrier tells you. I don’t care who the carrier is, they have absolutely no way to promise an installation date overseas. Every country and every region in each country will likely have different local loop providers who all must be coordinated.
Your sales engineer can only give you a reasonable idea. Then add 45 days to avoid getting yourself in a bind. That way, you’ll be a hero once the network is installed and operational. It will be installed on (or ahead of) schedule; because you padded the schedule after having done your homework and learned what to believe and what not to believe. This is the key to smooth sailing and restful nights.
I would love to hear some implementation stories from some of our visitors.
