AWS and Oracle Launch Free 500 Mbps Multicloud Interconnect Tier

Amazon Web Services has introduced a free 500 Mbps tier for its Interconnect multicloud service, allowing customers to establish a private link between AWS and another public cloud provider at no cost. The offer is currently available with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, which announced matching pricing on June 2, 2026.

By AWS calculations, the 500 Mbps link can handle up to 160 TB of data per month when used continuously. The company stated this is "enough to support significant multicloud workloads, data replication, or hybrid application architectures." The offer is limited to one connection per customer and requires both endpoints to reside in the same AWS region.

Open specification attracts Google and Microsoft

The interconnect service is built on an open specification that AWS says has already been adopted by Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, the latter currently in public preview. Microsoft Azure is also evaluating the specification, according to AWS. The company promises the free tier includes "the same network path, facility, and device resiliency as our paid offering."

Key details of the free tier include:

• 500 Mbps bandwidth with no time limit or usage cap beyond the physical link speed.
• Up to 160 TB of data transfer per month at full utilization.
• One free interconnect per customer account, with additional connections available at standard pricing.
• Geographic restriction to the same AWS region for both endpoints.

Regulatory scrutiny drives multicloud pricing

The announcement comes as global regulators increasingly examine cloud market concentration. The European Union and the United Kingdom have both opened inquiries into anticompetitive practices, including data egress fees. By offering a free private link, AWS removes one financial barrier to running workloads across multiple clouds, a strategy that regulators have encouraged.

Oracle has matched the pricing for its own part of the connection, at least for now. The move could pressure other cloud providers such as Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure to offer similar free tiers if they adopt the open interconnect specification. AWS has not disclosed a timeline for adding more providers to the free program, but the open specification is designed to allow any cloud to participate.