The monthly rate on a wave is the cheapest part of buying one.
By 2026, 10G and 100G waves are commodity priced between major data centers. The carriers know it. So the margin moved. It went into the install fee, the cross-connects, the protection option, the term, and the auto-renew clause. Two 100G quotes can show the same monthly rate and still differ by $40,000 over 36 months. The difference lives in line items that never show up on page one.
Here is what fair looks like, and where to look.
What you are actually buying
A wave is a dedicated wavelength on the carrier's fiber system. It is not IP service. It is not dark fiber. You get one color of light on their gear, point to point.
Why does that matter for price? No oversubscription. No bandwidth tiers. Nobody else shares your lane. The cost comes from the fiber route and the optics, not from how much data you push. You can run it flat out or leave it idle. The price is the same.
2026 benchmark ranges
These are from recent quotes and real negotiations, not list prices. All figures are unprotected, on-net, 36-month term, data center to data center.
Metro:
- 10G: $600 to $1,500 a month
- 100G: $1,500 to $4,000 a month
Long haul on major routes (NYC to Ashburn, Chicago to Dallas, LA to San Jose):
- 100G: $2,500 to $6,000 a month
- Coast to coast 100G: $5,000 to $10,000 a month
- 10G: $1,200 to $3,500 a month, often within 30 to 40 percent of the 100G price on the same route
400G waves now show up at about 1.5 to 2x the 100G price on the same route.
The five things that move price more than bandwidth
On-net vs off-net. If one end sits off the carrier's own fiber, they buy a tail from someone else. That tail can add $1,000 to $3,000 a month.
Protection. A 1+1 protected wave roughly doubles your monthly rate. Diverse-route protection often does worse.
Term. A 12-month deal usually runs 25 to 40 percent above a 36-month deal. Going to 60 months buys you maybe another 10 percent.
Route popularity. Secondary cities like Omaha, Boise, or Albuquerque carry a premium. One or two carriers own the fiber, so there is no second quote to pull them down.
Latency routes. A low-latency path like Chicago to New Jersey is sold as its own product. Expect 2 to 4x a standard wave.
The line items that aren't in the monthly rate
The monthly rate is not the price. Here is the rest of it.
- Install (NRC): $1,500 to $10,000. Often waivable on 36 months or more.
- Cross-connects at each data center: $250 to $500 a month, each. You pay the colo, not the carrier.
- Optics: who supplies the 100G pluggable? Sometimes it is a line item.
- Colo circuit activation fees.
- Annual escalator of 2 to 3 percent, buried in the master agreement.
- Early termination. On waves it is usually 100 percent of the remaining rate, not a stepped schedule.
Worked example. A $3,000 a month 100G quote becomes about $4,100 a month once you add cross-connects at both ends, the escalator, and the amortized install. Same wave. Different number.
Why 10G is a trap in 2026
Do the per-gigabit math. At $1,200 for 10G and $2,800 for 100G on the same route, 100G is roughly 23x cheaper per gigabit. The carriers are quietly raising 10G prices to push you to migrate.
Never buy 10G when 100G costs less than 3x the price. It usually does.
When does 10G still make sense? Short-term projects. Routes where the carrier's 100G is not lit yet. Sites with gear that only takes 10G optics, where the upgrade costs more than the savings.
Contract clauses to strike before signing
- Auto-renewal with a 60 to 90 day notice window. Push for 30 days and a written reminder, or month to month at term end.
- Early termination at 100 percent. Negotiate to 50 percent or a stepped schedule.
- A refresh clause that lets you move to 400G mid-term with no penalty.
- Relocation rights if you change data centers.
- Pass-through language that lets the carrier reprice when their tail supplier raises rates. Strike it.
- SLA credits. On unprotected waves they often cap at one month's rate and only pay on claim.
How to get the floor price
Get three quotes. Pull from Zayo, Lumen, Cogent, Crown Castle, Windstream, and Arelion. Regionally, Lightpath, FirstLight, Cox, and Comcast.
Cogent's 2023 purchase of Sprint's long-haul network reset the 100G floor. Lumen and Zayo will match it if you ask.
Ask every carrier two questions first. Are both ends on your own fiber? What is your 100G price on this route at 36 months, unprotected? Everything else comes after.
Then forward the lowest quote to the incumbent. That one move usually drops their price 20 to 35 percent in a single round.
When do you stop? On-net metro 100G under $2,000, or a major-route long-haul 100G under $3,500. That is a good 2026 deal.
Stop comparing monthly rates. Build a 36-month all-in number for each quote. Confirm on-net status in writing. Find your auto-renew date and put it on a calendar today.