How Scheduling Bandwidth for a 9-to-5 Business Reduced Internet Costs by 34%
- 23 hours ago
- 4 min read
Many organizations purchase internet capacity based on peak bandwidth demand, even if that level of usage only occurs during part of the day.
For companies that operate primarily during business hours, this often means paying for bandwidth that sits unused overnight and on weekends.
One regional accounting firm discovered a better approach by combining Lumen Internet On-Demand with CarrierControl’s automated bandwidth scheduling.
The Challenge: Paying for Peak Bandwidth Around the Clock
The firm operates a main office with approximately 200 employees. Like many modern businesses, their daily work relies heavily on cloud-based tools and online collaboration.
Their network supports:
Microsoft 365 and cloud tax platforms
Large document uploads and file sharing
Video meetings with clients
Remote access and VPN connections
During the workday, the firm regularly consumed between 1–5 Gbps of bandwidth.
But once the office closed, network usage dropped dramatically.
Overnight traffic typically fell below 500 Mbps, and weekends were even quieter.
Despite this predictable pattern, their internet circuit had to be sized for peak demand. That meant paying for 5 Gbps capacity 24 hours a day, even though most of that bandwidth sat idle outside business hours.
A Different Model: Internet Capacity That Follows the Workday
Instead of maintaining a fixed bandwidth level at all times, the firm deployed Lumen Internet-on-Demand, which allows bandwidth to be adjusted dynamically.
The firm configured a schedule that allows bandwidth to increase during business hours and scale back when the office is closed.
Their network now follows a predictable pattern:
Time | Bandwidth |
Midnight – 7:00 AM | 500 Mbps |
7:00 AM – 7:00 PM | 5 Gbps |
7:00 PM – Midnight | 500 Mbps |
Weekends | 100 Mbps |
The network simply scales up during the workday and scales back when the office is quiet.
Managing Internet-on-Demand with CarrierControl
While Lumen Internet-on-Demand provides the ability to dynamically adjust bandwidth, many organizations prefer a simple way to schedule and automate those changes.
CarrierControl provides a simple layer for scheduling and automating Internet-on-Demand bandwidth.
CarrierControl connects to the Lumen Internet-on-Demand platform and allows organizations to manage bandwidth through a single dashboard.
From within the tool, teams can:
Schedule bandwidth changes throughout the day
Automate recurring weekday and weekend schedules
Temporarily increase capacity for seasonal or event-based demand
Model potential cost savings based on scheduled usage
This allows network capacity to follow the rhythm of the business without requiring manual changes inside carrier systems.
Once configured, CarrierControl automatically sends the scheduled bandwidth adjustments to the Internet-on-Demand platform, allowing the network to scale up during busy hours and scale back when demand drops.
What Does This Mean for Cost?
When bandwidth can scale throughout the day, organizations no longer need to pay for peak capacity around the clock.
In this example, the firm requires 5 Gbps during business hours, but significantly less overnight and on weekends.
Instead of maintaining a fixed 5 Gbps circuit 24/7, Internet-on-Demand allows bandwidth to be scheduled based on actual demand.
The comparison below illustrates how a scheduled configuration can reduce the total monthly cost compared to a traditional 5 Gbps DIA circuit.
Scenario | Estimated Monthly Cost |
5 Gbps DIA (24/7) | $2,155* |
Scheduled Internet On-Demand (5Gbps peak) | $1,422 |
Potential Savings | $733/Month (34% Savings) |
*Average between Lumen $1,820 and Comcast $2,490 on-net 5Gbps 36-month pricing
Estimating Your Internet-on-Demand Savings
Every organization’s traffic pattern is different, so the potential savings from Internet On-Demand depend on how bandwidth is used throughout the day.
To make this easier to evaluate, CarrierControl provides a simple cost estimator that models the cost of a scheduled Internet On-Demand configuration.
By entering a few inputs such as:
Peak bandwidth requirements
Business hours
Overnight and weekend demand
the estimator models how scheduled bandwidth adjustments could impact monthly costs.
This provides a quick way to determine whether Internet-on-Demand could reduce costs based on your organization’s real network usage patterns.
Getting Started with Internet-on-Demand
Organizations interested in this model typically begin by confirming whether Lumen Internet On-Demand is available at their location.
The process is straightforward:
Check service availability - In partnership with Lumen, CarrierFinder can determine whether your location is served by Lumen and whether Internet On-Demand is supported.
Install the access port - Once the circuit is installed, it provides the capacity needed to scale bandwidth up or down.
Connect your Lumen Account - Customers receive access to Lumen’s Internet On-Demand portal.
Configure CarrierControl - The circuit is connected to CarrierControl, where bandwidth schedules and automation can be configured.
From there, bandwidth adjustments can be scheduled to match the organization’s operating hours—automatically increasing during busy periods and scaling back when demand drops.
CarrierControl was built with one goal in mind: giving organizations simple, automated control over their internet capacity.
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