For years, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) has served as the workhorse of enterprise and telecom Wide Area Networks (WANs). It promised reliable packet delivery, robust Quality of Service (QoS), and efficient traffic engineering through label-switched paths (LSPs).

But in today’s world of cloud-first strategies, SD-WAN adoption, and 5G rollouts, many network architects and CTOs ask: Do we still need MPLS? Or is it time to replace it with something more agile and cloud-friendly?

The answer isn’t black or white. This blog takes a problem-solution approach to uncover when MPLS still makes sense, when it doesn’t, and how hybrid approaches including IP/MPLS routers can offer the best of both worlds.

Quick Recap: What is MPLS?

MPLS, or Multiprotocol Label Switching, is a high-performance, packet-based routing technique used in wide area networks. It directs data packets based on pre-assigned short path labels instead of long network addresses. This process avoids complex routing table lookups at each hop.

It operates at OSI Layer 2.5, acting as a bridge between the data link layer and the network layer. MPLS technology enables the creation of Label Switched Paths (LSPs), which streamline the movement of IP packets across networks.

Thanks to Forwarding Equivalence Classes (FECs), similar types of traffic can be grouped and routed efficiently, enabling scalability and Quality of Service (QoS).

Where MPLS Still Makes Sense in 2025

  • 1. Mission-Critical and Real-Time Applications

    MPLS is still ideal for traffic that demands ultra-low latency and jitter-free performance—such as VoIP, real-time video, or financial trading systems.

    In these use cases, MPLS ensures strict QoS policies and predictable pathing using packet header label switching, which cannot be matched by best-effort internet.

  • 2. Multi-site Connectivity and Hub-and-Spoke Architectures

    Enterprises with dozens or hundreds of branch offices or remote sites often operate in a hub and spoke topology. MPLS provides secure, consistent, and scalable connectivity across such distributed environments.

    Its ability to maintain a virtual private network (VPN) with FECs allows site-to-site traffic without exposing data to the public internet.

  • 3. Guaranteed SLAs

    Service providers can offer strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs) around uptime, latency, and bandwidth on MPLS networks, which are vital for compliance-driven sectors like finance, healthcare, and defense.

  • 4. Data Center Interconnect (DCI) and Telecom Backhaul

    MPLS remains key for interconnecting data centers, metro aggregation nodes, and 5G backhaul, especially in regions where network traffic growth is rapid and QoS cannot be compromised.

    IP/MPLS routers like HFCL's DCR1100 Series are increasingly used by telecom providers to power these mission-critical services, delivering segment-routing-ready performance with timing and synchronization support.

Where MPLS Still Makes Sense in 2025

Where MPLS Falls Short Today

Despite its strengths, MPLS isn’t a perfect fit for every scenario. Here are some of the biggest challenges organizations face when relying on MPLS:

  • 1. High Cost and Operational Complexity

    Provisioning and maintaining MPLS links is expensive. They involve specialized hardware, rigid configurations, and long service activation cycles, making it unsuitable for fast-growing or budget-sensitive organizations.

    Moreover, changes in traffic flow or topology often require manual adjustments by network engineers.

  • 2. Lack of Cloud-Native Support

    MPLS was not designed for dynamic cloud environments. Routing to and from cloud apps hosted on AWS, Azure, or GCP often requires workarounds such as static tunnels or costly cloud exchanges.

    This makes MPLS inflexible for modern, agile workloads.

  • 3. Slow Deployment

    Rolling out a new MPLS connection between branches or international locations can take weeks or even months. In contrast, SD-WAN and internet-based links can be deployed in hours or days.

  • 4. Vendor Lock-in

    MPLS services are tightly tied to telecom providers, limiting customer freedom to switch vendors or reconfigure routing policies.

The Case For Keeping MPLS

  • • You manage real-time applications that cannot tolerate jitter or delay.
  • • You operate in heavily regulated environments requiring airtight SLAs.
  • • You need guaranteed throughput across types of traffic including video, voice, IoT, and telemetry.
  • • Your organization requires full traffic engineering control over specific data flows.

The Case Against MPLS

  • • You're shifting workloads to the cloud and require dynamic routing to multiple data centers.
  • • You're a growing enterprise looking to scale WAN cost-effectively.
  • • You want to leverage broadband or LTE as backup links to improve uptime.
  • • You prefer open, software-defined architectures over rigid legacy hardware stacks.

Alternatives to MPLS

As network demands evolve, organizations are exploring more agile and cost-efficient options beyond MPLS. Here are the most popular alternatives gaining traction in 2025:

  • 1. SD-WAN

    Software-Defined WAN allows intelligent traffic routing over any combination of IP networks, including broadband, 4G/5G, and LTE. It offers central policy control and supports direct-to-cloud access.

  • 2. Segment Routing (SR and SRv6)

    An evolution of MPLS, Segment Routing removes the need for protocols like RSVP-TE and simplifies the network core. SRv6 further enhances this by embedding routing instructions directly into IPv6 headers.

  • 3. Cloud Direct Connect

    Cloud providers now offer private links (e.g., AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute) for secure and high-performance data center-to-cloud access. These often replace or augment MPLS.

Hybrid WAN: Using MPLS Where It Still Matters

Many enterprises are not abandoning MPLS outright. Instead, they are deploying Hybrid WANs that combine:

  • • MPLS for critical workloads
  • • Internet and LTE for less-sensitive traffic
  • • IP/MPLS routers that support both Segment Routing and dynamic path selection

HFCL’s DCR1100 Series, for instance, is designed for such modern hybrid deployments—offering secure, telecom-grade routing with cloud scalability and SDN support.

Final Verdict: Should You Still Use MPLS?

YES, if you need performance guarantees, deterministic routing, and tight SLA controls.

NO, if agility, cost efficiency, and cloud-first designs are your top priorities.

Instead of asking "MPLS or not?", ask "Where does MPLS still add value in our evolving network architecture?"

FAQs

Not at all. While MPLS is no longer the default choice for all WAN designs, it is far from obsolete. Many telecom providers are evolving MPLS using Segment Routing and deploying it alongside newer IP-based solutions.

In fact, next-gen IP/MPLS routers like HFCL’s DCR1100 offer MPLS support with additional features like Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP), timing synchronization, and IPv6 compatibility—making MPLS more adaptable than ever.

For SMBs and startups, SD-WAN is a great alternative. It provides WAN-level capabilities over cheaper broadband connections and enables direct connectivity to cloud services. It's flexible, fast to deploy, and often does not require vendor-specific hardware.

Not natively. MPLS was designed before the rise of the cloud. However, by using MPLS VPNs or combining MPLS with cloud on-ramps and SD-WAN, organizations can extend MPLS into cloud environments—though not without added cost and complexity.

MPLS operates at Layer 2.5 — a conceptual bridge between Layer 2 (Data Link Layer) and Layer 3 (Network Layer). This allows it to encapsulate IP packets regardless of the underlying transport medium.

Yes, MPLS is inherently more secure than standard IP routing because it creates isolated FECs and label-switched paths. However, it does not offer end-to-end encryption by default. For highly secure deployments, MPLS should be combined with VPN overlays or IPsec tunnels.