Copper First, Then Fiber Bandwidth Solution

What do you do when you really need to get your business connected, but fiber optic service installation just isn’t going to happen soon enough? One option is to adopt a two-stage process that gets you going now and then steps up to the bandwidth you really need when it's available. The key is utilizing two different technologies to take advantage of their strengths.

Fiber optic bandwidth, either SONET or Ethernet, will get you the bandwidth you need for any conceivable application. The low end starts around 50 or 100 Mbps and goes up to at least 1 Gbps, with many locations eligible for 10 Gbps Ethernet (10 GigE) or OC-192 SONET (10 Gbps).

Copper bandwidth, either T-Carrier or Ethernet, will get you the bandwidth you need much faster. That bandwidth, though, is going to be a lot slower than what you can get with fiber. T1 lines are reasonably priced, available almost anywhere, and can be installed in a matter of weeks. The base bandwidth is 1.5 Mbps. Not enough to even consider? Then multiply that bandwidth by bonding additional T1 lines. You can get 12 Mbps over T1 by bonding 8 T1 lines together to act as one big bandwidth pipe.

An alternative is Ethernet over Copper. This service uses the same twisted pair copper telco lines as T1, but has a more efficient modulation scheme. You can easily get 10, 20 or 30 Mbps using 8 copper pair. EoC technology trades off bandwidth and distance, unlike T1 which is 1.5 Mbps no matter how far you are from the central office. If you are within a mile from the CO and the office is properly equipped, you may be able to get 50 to 100 Mbps Ethernet over Copper. Those speeds are starting to get competitive with OC-3 (155 Mbps) and Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps).

If fiber is what you really want, you could be looking at months to complete the installation. That’s especially true if the metro fiber is running down one side of the highway and you are on the other side. Or, if the nearest fiber connection is blocks away in the city. It’s much faster if your building is already “lit” for fiber optic service, even if you are not a subscriber. Adding customers to an already existing fiber installation is relatively easy. It’s also reasonably fast and easy if there is a fiber lit building next door.

You’ve got the idea that fiber installations aren’t a given for any particular business location. Not yet, anyway. Some estimates are that less than 25% of all business buildings are lit for fiber optic service. On the other hand, nearly 100% of all business buildings are already being served with copper telco lines. Most often these are multi-pair bundles installed for multiple line telephone service. Unused pairs can be quickly pressed into service for Ethernet over Copper or T1 line service. After all, they are already hooked up at both ends of the cable run.

With that in mind, here’s a two step solution that I’ve seen work when a business needs both high bandwidth and fast installation. What you do is work with a carrier that has both copper and fiber technologies available. That’s fairly common now. Have them install bonded T1 or Ethernet over Copper at the highest bandwidth they can quickly install. At the same time, place an order for fiber optic service at the bandwidth you really need. The trick is to get an agreement that you can drop the copper service without penalty once your fiber service is turned up.

By working out this type of arrangement, you may get as much as half the bandwidth you need on a fairly quick schedule. By the time you get used to doing business on the copper lines, your fiber will be cut-in and it will seem like someone opened the bandwidth floodgates. You’ll only have to pay for one service at a time, although you might think about it and keep the copper connection as a backup for your fiber if the budget permits.

Do you have a situation that needs special consideration for connectivity? There may be more options than you think. Get consultation and bandwidth option prices and provisioning times now.

What is Ethernet Service?

Carrier Ethernet services for business are becoming more and more popular. If you’ve been hearing about Ethernet service and wondering if it makes sense for your company, here’s what it’s all about.

Ethernet is the most popular LAN protocol by far. It’s hard to remember that not that many years ago there were all sorts of competing network protocols. Now switched Ethernet is almost universal. Something similar is underway with telecom services. We’re in the process of changing over from switched circuit technologies popularized by a century of telephone development to packet switched networks more compatible with computing devices. As you might suspect, Ethernet is making its bid to become the universal protocol of metropolitan and long haul networks.

Ethernet originated at Xerox PARC as a short distance communications technology to interconnect computing equipment. It was intended for use within an office or building. Communication farther than this required interface to telecom technologies, such as T-Carrier, SONET and Frame Relay.

Over the years, Ethernet has been extended and improved with the introduction of switching to eliminate the problem of collisions and fiber optics to increase network speeds. What has remained the same until recently is that connection to the outside world required conversion to a different set of protocols and back again at the other end. This is the last frontier of Ethernet networking that is now being addressed by Carrier Ethernet.

What is Carrier Ethernet? It’s the same as Ethernet, only extended to work over long distances on a telecommunications network. Carrier Ethernet standards have been developed by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), an industry standards body. By introducing MEF compliant Ethernet services, carriers can be assured that their services will work with readily available customer and provider interface equipment and that network providers will be able to exchange traffic. They do that through an Ethernet Network to Network Interface (E-NNI).

Two of the most popular Ethernet services are E-Line or Ethernet Line Service and E-LAN or Ethernet LAN service. E-Line is a point to point dedicated line service that replaces traditional private lines such as T1, DS3 and OC-3. One end of the line can be connected to an Internet Service Provider give you Ethernet Internet service. In addition, E-LAN offers a many to many or meshed connection so that numerous business locations can be tied together on one large Ethernet network.

How about bandwidth? There are two physical layer options available. They are Ethernet over Copper (EoC) and Ethernet over Fiber (EoF). Ethernet over Copper is a direct T1 line replacement. It uses the same twisted pair copper telco wiring that T1 is provisioned over. Multiple pairs are employed to increase line speed. Popular EoC speeds are 2 Mbps, 3 Mbps, 5 Mbps, 10 Mbps 15 Mbps and 20 Mbps. Copper based Ethernet is distance sensitive, so the closer you are to the central office, the higher speed you can obtain. It’s not uncommon to get 25 Mbps, 50 Mbps, 100 Mbps or higher bandwidths for connections under a mile.

Ethernet over FIber picks up where Ethernet over Copper leaves off. Bandwidths from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps are readily available, meeting the needs of just about any business.

In addition to easy interfacing and options such as E-LAN, a major draw of Carrier Ethernet services is their reduced cost. It’s not uncommon to get twice the bandwidth for the same money with Ethernet versus other telecom services. Also, that bandwidth is more easily scalable. The carrier equipment design makes it easy and fast to increase and decrease bandwidth as needed, up to the maximum speed of the installed port.

Are you interested in what Carrier Ethernet can do to support your business? If so, get instant online pricing for Ethernet services up to 1 Gbps and prompt quotes for other services to 10 Gbps.



Note: Ethernet patch cords photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

100 Mbps Internet for Business

DS3 Internet bandwidth at 45 Mbps has been the mainstay of many mid-size businesses. It is readily available and a substantial bandwidth increase over T1 or even bonded T1 lines. Now even DS3 bandwidth isn’t enough to keep up with many simultaneous video users or cloud service applications. It’s time to move on up to 100 Mbps Internet access.

The 100 Mbps service level is particularly significant because it precisely matches one of the standard Ethernet LAN speeds called “Fast” Ethernet. Most all NICs (Network Interface Cards) built into nearly everything from PCs to routers, switches and printers support 10/100 Mbps Ethernet. That’s the 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps network speeds. Newer NICs expand that to include Gigabit Ethernet or GigE with 10/100/1000 Mbps ports.

The point is that if your LAN is running at 100 Mbps and you connect to the Internet at some lower speed, you are going to experience a slowdown on anything to or from the Internet. At low network activity levels, you may not notice the difference. It’s when there are lots users doing lots of things simultaneously that the congestion occurs. The big choke point, more often than not, is the WAN or wide area network connection to the Internet.

Fortunately, 100 Mbps Internet service for businesses is more available and less expensive than ever before. Let’s take a look at the different technical approaches and their advantages or disadvantages.

The traditional 100 Mbps telecom service is OC-3, which actually runs at about 155 Mbps. This is a SONET fiber optic service offered by switched circuit telecom companies nationwide. OC-3 is a transport service that can carry anything from thousands of telephone calls to private point to point connections to dedicated Internet access. It’s also often used to deliver lower speed services, such as DS3. You probably don’t think of DS3 as a fiber optic service because your connection is through BNC connectors on small diameter coaxial cables. Still, it’s likely dropped off at your location using an add/drop multiplexer connected to a SONET fiber cable.

OC-3 has the advantage of being a well established and highly popular digital line service. It comes with an SLA or Service Level Agreement, standard in the telecom industry. Your bandwidth is both dedicated and symmetrical. Dedicated means that you don’t share that 155 Mbps with any other company or individual users. Whatever bandwidth you aren’t using at the moment sits there idling so that you always have the full 155 Mbps at your disposal. Symmetrical means that you have 155 Mbps in both the upload and download directions. Sometimes this is expressed as 155 x 155 Mbps Internet access.

Competing directly with OC-3 bandwidth is Carrier Ethernet. Fast Ethernet at 100 Mbps is an easy interface to your LAN. All you need to do is plug in a standard RJ-45 patch cable and your router has Internet access. There’s no need for fiber optic cabling and special interface cards like you have with OC-3 or a managed OC-3 router installed by the service provider. Like OC-3, 100 Mbps FAST Ethernet is both symmetrical and dedicated. It also comes with an SLA from the provider.

Fast Ethernet service is available over both fiber optic and twisted pair connections. In fairness, the Ethernet over Copper service at this speed is fairly distance limited so you’ll likely find it only in major metropolitan business districts. Slower speeds, say 10 or 20 Mbps, have a much greater range and are more readily available.

Ethernet over Fiber is similar to OC-3 with two important advantages. First, the cost per Mbps is often lower, even much lower than OC-3 where available. Another advantage is that Carrier Ethernet services are highly scalable. The next increment up from OC-3 is OC-12 at 622 Mbps. With Carrier Ethernet, you could go from 100 Mbps on up to 200, 500 or even 1,000 Mbps without an equipment change. The trick is to have a Gigabit Ethernet port installed initially. Then order the bandwidth you need today with the understanding that you can easily upgrade in the future when you need to.

A final option that is becoming more available is 100 Mbps Cable business broadband. This is a shared asymmetrical bandwidth service sold without service level agreements. It’s very similar to the Cable broadband you get at home, but with extra features such as static IP addresses and special customer support. Your 100 Mbps is in the download direction only. Upload speeds are on the order of 10 Mbps. This bandwidth is shared by many other users, so it varies all over the place even during business hours. Even so, you can’t beat the pricing which is similar to a T1 line. If all you need is casual Internet access for many employees and have a very limited budget, this could be the answer for you.

Are you ready to establish Business Internet service at a new location or upgrade from bonded T1 or DS3 to 100 Mbps or higher Internet access? If so, check 100 Mbps Internet pricing and availability for your business location. Complementary consulting is also available to help you sort through the options.

Internet Wholesale Bandwidth Options

There are two types of organizations that buy Internet bandwidth. Most are end users. They want the access for their employees. The others are resellers. They take large Internet connections and divvy up the bandwidth to hundreds or thousands of individuals and businesses. These are Internet Service Providers (ISPs) looking to buy at wholesale and sell at retail.

The largest networks in the world, called Tier 1, don’t purchase Internet access. They are part of the core network itself. Those major world wide networks exchange traffic on basis of equals called peering. Each network gets as much traffic as it sends to the others, so all benefit and no money is exchanged.

Everyone else has to get to the Internet by accessing one of these Tier 1 networks. The next level down, the Tier 2 networks, are also very large Internet service providers. Since they don’t have the enormous global traffic to participate in peering, they purchase what is called IP Transit. This is Internet access sold on a per Megabit per second per month basis.

Smaller Tier 3 networks can purchase IP Transit from Tier 2 networks, if they are large enough to have an assigned AS or Autonomous System number (ASN) to identify them as part of the Internet. Large scale ISPs fall into this category as well as some large corporations and other organizations.

Local and regional Internet Service Providers, including WISPs (Wireless Internet Service Providers), buy DIA or Dedicated Internet Access. DIA connections are like point to point private lines, except that one end connects to the Internet. Other private line characteristics still apply. The bandwidth provided is completely dedicated to the ISP and not shared with anyone else. There are generally SLAs or Service Level Agreements that spell out characteristics such as maximum latency, jitter and packet loss as well as time to respond to outages and time to make repairs.

Dedicated also means that there are no extra charges for heavily loading the line. You can use the entire capacity of the circuit in both directions or only some of it. The price is the same.

The smallest DIA service is usually a T1 line running at 1.5 Mbps. This is a symmetrical service, meaning 1.5 Mbps upload and 1.5 Mbps download. Usually the download path is much heavier loaded than the upload path for typical Internet access. If fact most consumer Internet access is sold with 5x to 10x higher speeds on download than upload. For business users, upload speeds can be important when transferring large files to remote backup sites and servers within colocation centers.

Obviously, T1 lines can’t serve a large user base but they work great for WiFi hotspots and rural or subdivision WISP service where signed-up customers number in the dozens, not hundreds. A nice feature of T1 lines is that they can be bonded by adding more lines to double, triple and quadruple bandwidth up to about 10 or 12 Mbps. The other nice feature of T1 lines is that they are available where other line services don’t reach. If you can get business telephone system into a facility, you can probably get T1 DIA service.

The next increment in traditional telecom bandwidth is DS3, also called T3 lines. This service runs at 45 Mbps which is large enough for a good size service provider to offer competitive bandwidth. Beyond that, SONET fiber optic services include OC3 at 155 Mbps, OC12 at 622 Mbps and OC48 at 2.5 Gbps are very popular.

A strong competitor to T-Carrier and SONET bandwidth is Carrier Ethernet. It comes in two flavors, Ethernet over Copper (EoC) typically from 1 to 50 Mbps and Ethernet over Fiber (EoF) from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps. In a some metropolitan areas, you can also get EoFW or Ethernet over Fixed Wireless at DS3 and Fast Ethernet speeds. Where available, Carrier Ethernet tends to have considerably better pricing than other services.

Do you resell Internet access to other ISPs or end users? If so, see if you can get better wholesale pricing on Dedicated Internet Access and IP Transit services.

Ethernet Internet Service Access For Business

Internet access has become key to doing business, both on the Web and for bricks and mortar operations. The Internet has become ubiquitous in connecting to customers, suppliers, remote workers and even between company locations. So, is business Internet the same as what consumers use or are there differences?

There are various characteristics of Internet service access you can choose, including dedicated or shared, symmetrical or asymmetrical, wired or wireless, copper or fiber, bandwidth level and cost. One of the newest and most cost effective services that meets the needs of many business locations is Ethernet Internet service. Can it be what you are looking for? Why not get an instant online price quote and compare with what you have now?



These Ethernet Internet service access quotes are for business locations only, not residences. At the low end of the price spectrum are business Cable broadband connections which are shared bandwidth and asymmetrical. They give you a high maximum download speed, but that speed varies all over the place since the bandwidth is shared among many users. Download speeds are 10x or so upload speeds, specifically intended for Web surfing, email, and watching online video.

Ethernet over Copper and Ethernet over Fiber Internet Service works more like traditional telecom lines. The bandwidth is symmetrical so that upload and download speeds are the same. You also get the bandwidth you order since it is dedicated to your use only and doesn’t depend on what other users are doing.

Ethernet over Copper uses the same twisted pair copper telco wiring that you use now for multi-line telephone and T1 lines. That’s makes construction costs negligible in many cases. Line speeds are available from 1 Mbps on up to 100 Mbps or more, depending on how far you are from the central office where your wiring connects. Up to 8 copper pair may be used to deliver the higher bandwidths.

Ethernet over Fiber requires a fiber optic line, but it delivers much higher bandwidths. With EoF, you can easily get Fast Ethernet at 100 Mbps and Gigabit Ethernet at 1000 Mbps. In some cases 10GigE is also available for large enterprise applications.

Can you get twice the bandwidth for the same money as you pay now by switching to Ethernet Internet Service for business? Check the speeds, prices and availability and compare with your current Internet service.

GigE and FastE Bandwidth Services

Bandwidth upgrades are a matter of course these days. Many companies are moving from T1 line speeds at 1.5 Mbps up to 3x3 Mbps or 10x10 Mbps Ethernet. Often there is little or no additional cost involved in doing so. But what if these bandwidth levels are still to low for your needs? Are there any opportunities at the 100 to 1000 Mbps level?

Carrier Ethernet is now the service to pursue at medium and high bandwidth speeds. These service levels have been dominated by DS3 or T3 lines at 45 Mbps and SONET OCx for higher line speeds over fiber optic cable. Ethernet bandwidth has a cost advantage for this need and also provisioning flexibility.

It’s common knowledge that low and mid-band Ethernet services are readily available over twisted pair copper wiring. In other words, the same telco wires that you currently use for analog business phone lines and T1 lines can also be used to transport Ethernet protocol. The service requires specialized equipment at each end and multiple copper pairs. This is Ethernet over Copper. Bandwidth levels vary from 1 Mbps on up 100 Mbps and beyond. A 200 Mbps service is available in some areas and a new 400 Mbps asymmetrical Internet access is being rolled out.

Most companies opt for Ethernet as a last mile connection to the Internet, metro or wide area MPLS network with bandwidth up to 50 Mbps. This is a direct replacement for their existing copper wire T1, bonded T1 or DS3 connections. By moving up the speed range to 100 Mbps to 400 Mbps, Ethernet can directly replace such fiber optic services as OC-3 at 155 Mbps and perhaps OC-12 at 622 Mbps.

All of this is done over up to 8 bonded copper pair at distances that don’t exceed a few thousand feet to a few miles from the telco central office. This is no problem in densely populated business districts, but as you move out into the burbs, small cities and rural areas, service becomes less available. Ethernet over Copper has a definite distance limitation.

Fast Ethernet at 100 Mbps may be available over copper, but Ethernet over Fiber is a better bet. The beauty of fiber is that once you have it installed and your building is “lit”, just about any bandwidth is possible. That includes FastE, of course, at 100 Mbps, GigE or Gigabit Ethernet at 1,000 Mbps and 10 GigE or 10 Gigabit Ethernet at 10,000 Mbps.

Ethernet over Fiber is available from traditional telephone companies, but it is also available from competitive carriers who have built their own IP-core regional and national networks with Ethernet as a standard service. These companies can bring Ethernet right to your building without having to lease any telephone company facilities. This gives them the ability to offer more bandwidth for less money. You may save half or more for equivalent service levels at the higher bandwidths.

A new wrinkle is Ethernet over Fiber offered by Cable MSOs. This fiber was bought and paid for by the Cable Television industry, but has so much extra bandwidth available that these companies are offering access to their fiber optic networks to businesses and other organizations that need anywhere from 10 to 1000 Gbps. That includes Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet at prices that are up to half the cost of other fiber providers.

The options are many and the prices are very attractive right now. There is lots of bandwidth to go around, which may not be true when the economy takes off again. If you need to speed up your networks, you can lock in some excellent deals. Check prices and availability for GigE and FastE bandwidth services appropriate for your business location.

Disruptive Metro Ethernet over Fiber Pricing Arrives

Ethernet over Fiber (EoF) has been gaining popularity with large organizations as a replacement for more expensive SONET fiber optic services. For smaller and medium size companies, the mere mention of the term “fiber” suggests pricing that is way over budget. Today that’s all changed. The era of affordable fiber optic bandwidth has arrived.

What’s responsible for prices per Mbps or Gbps that can be half of what you’d expect to pay or less? It’s a source you would never expect... Cable TV. Cable? Isn’t that for consumers?

Yes it is. But behind the scenes there’s another Cable network you probably didn’t know even existed. It’s a professional fiber optic core network that’s the equal of any carrier and with a service footprint larger than most.

When we think of Cable TV, we think of the coaxial wire that plugs into a set top box or cable modem. At one time, all cable networks were constructed almost completely of copper coax strung on poles around town and trenched through the back yard. That was the era of Analog Cable. What’s happened over the years is that this network architecture has evolved into a combination of fiber optic and copper called HFC or Hybrid Fiber Coax that supports the newer digital services.

HFC uses fiber optics for the long runs that bring service into a business or residential neighborhood. It also runs between cities for large Cable MSOs (Multi-System Operators) like Comcast. Most of the traffic on that fiber is television video, but there is so much bandwidth available that it also easily transports data from 10 Mbps on up to 10 Gbps.

Comcast has recognized that their nationwide network runs past businesses as well as consumers. Many smaller businesses take advantage of the excellent pricing on Cable broadband brought in on coaxial cable to a cable modem. It’s quite possible to get 50 Mbps or even 100 Mbps asymmetrical shared bandwidth for the same pice as a T1 line.

Asymmetrical means that the download speed is much higher than the upload speed. Typically that’s a 10x bandwidth difference. This is common for Internet access, but different from business telecom services that are generally symmetrical or the same speed for both upload and download.

Comcast’s Ethernet over Fiber bandwidth services are symmetrical and intended for Enterprise applications. There are 4 services you’ll be interested in. They are Ethernet Dedicated Internet (EDI), Ethernet Private Line (EPL), Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) and Ethernet Data Network / Meshed Network (EDN). All of these services are available in bandwidths from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps.

Ethernet Dedicated Internet gives you the Internet access you need to support large employee user bases and connectivity with customers worldwide. Dedicated means that the bandwidth you order is always available for your use. That differs from shared bandwidth that is common for consumer services and wireline cable modems.

Ethernet Private Line (EPL) is a point to point connection service. You may be using T1 lines for linking two business locations now and wishing you had more bandwidth. EPL using Ethernet over Fiber can give you the higher bandwidth you need immediately with nearly unlimited growth potential for the future.

Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) is another Ethernet private line service. It is similar to EPL, but allows multiple Ethernet services on the same physical line and UNI (User Network Interface). These come in on EVCs or Ethernet Virtual Connections. What the virtualization does is let you run Ethernet Private Lines out to each of several business locations without having to pay for multiple fiber or wireline terminations at headquarters.

Ethernet Data Network / Meshed Network (EDN) lets you establish a large Metro or Wide Area Network to interconnect LANs for your branch offices or other business locations. As a meshed network, you have any to any connectivity. This is similar to might set up with a Frame Relay or MPLS network.

Are you ready for fiber optic bandwidths but not fiber optic service prices? Depending on locations, you may be in position to benefit from the enormous cost advantage of HFC based Ethernet over Fiber bandwidth services. Get pricing and availability before you sign up for anything else.

Business Internet Connection Service

As a business, you need to connect to the Internet to communicate with your customers and to run your own operation. A business Internet connection is more demanding than a consumer Internet service. When your business connection goes down, you can be losing money. If you are an Internet based operation, a dead connection is like a closed store. Reliability as well as cost are key.

A fairly new connection technology called Ethernet Internet offers both cost and reliability advantages. In addition, you may be able to get bandwidth that has been unobtainable at your particular business location. How can you know what’s available? Use this quick Ethernet Internet Finder and see...



Why Ethernet? It’s the most direct connection to your own network. Whether you are running a wired or wireless LAN, chances are that you are using the Ethernet protocol. Most computers and peripherals come with Network Interface Cards that support 10/100 or 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet. That’s the standard RJ-45 network connector. Your router, wired or wireless, no doubt has an RJ-45 input connection. With Ethernet Internet service, you simply connect an Ethernet patch cord from the provider’s port to your router or switch.

Two popular types of Business Ethernet Internet connections are Ethernet over Copper and Ethernet over Fiber. Both are highly reliable and have easily scaled bandwidth. Also, the bandwidth is symmetrical. For instance, 10x10 Mbps Ethernet gives you 10 Mbps in both the upload and download directions. You’ll have the full 10 Mbps at your disposal. This is dedicated bandwidth, rather than the shared bandwidth you get with DSL, Cable or 3G wireless services.

The bandwidths of copper and fiber Ethernet services somewhat overlap. For instance Ethernet over Copper (EoC) is available from 2 Mbps on up to 200 Mbps. Ethernet over Fiber typically starts at 50 Mbps and goes up to 1 Gigabit or even 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

The cost of Ethernet Internet connections is lower than what you’ll find with T1 lines, DS3 bandwidth or SONET fiber optic services. You can typically get twice as much bandwidth for the same money as a T1 line and the difference is even more dramatic at higher bandwidth levels.

Does your business need a higher speed or more reliable Internet connection? If so, check out Ethernet Internet connection services for your location. Note that this service is available for business locations only. Sorry, no residential service available.

Ethernet Providers in Hot Competition

Bandwidth demand is up, but budgets aren’t. One new technology that addresses that situation is Ethernet WAN connections. They’ve become a fierce competitor to legacy T1 lines and, in many locations, it’s Ethernet provider vs Ethernet provider fighting “tooth and nail” to make the best offer.

Why all the hoopla about a protocol that’s been running on LANs for decades? It’s the standardization of Ethernet as a carrier technology by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) that’s catapulted Ethernet services from LAN to MAN to WAN. In literally a matter of a few years, Ethernet has gone from a niche product to the transport service of choice.

Why? Ethernet has some big advantages over legacy technologies. First, it provides seamless connectivity between nearly all company networks and the outside world. No special interface circuitry or protocol conversion is required. Just plug into a standard Ethernet connector and you are good to go.

Second, Ethernet services are readily scalable. The same standard speeds found on Local Area Networks are supported. These are 10 Mbps Ethernet, 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet and 1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet. More and more, 10 GigE service is also becoming available. Most Ethernet providers also provide incremental bandwidths from 2 Mbps on up. There’s a huge gap between T1 at 1.5 Mbps and T3 at 45 Mbps. Ethernet services offer many intermediate speeds to choose from.

In fact, scalability is a big selling point for Ethernet. It’s common for companies to order an Ethernet port that can support their anticipated bandwidth needs, but then only buy the bandwidth they need right now. When business picks up, it’s fast and easy to have the service provider increase bandwidth right up to the capacity of the installed port.

Ethernet delivery comes in two primary forms. One is Ethernet over Copper, also called EoC. Multiple copper telephone pair are used to deliver this service within a few miles of the nearest carrier point of presence. Popular bandwidths are 3 Mbps and 10 Mbps, although you might get as much as 50 Mbps if you are near a carrier POP. EoC makes installation fast and easy. Nearly every business has a telco bundle with multiple copper pair available.

EoF or Ethernet over Fiber is used to provide the higher bandwidths of 50 Mbps and above. That includes the popular 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps levels. Larger corporations and organizations may opt for 10 GigE or even 40 Gbps and beyond.

What’s got service providers in hot competition is more than these benefits, however. The most attractive feature of Ethernet service is that it tends to be much less costly than traditional telecom services. Getting twice the bandwidth for the same price is common. At higher speeds and in areas of greater competition, the difference between Ethernet and other options can be jaw dropping.

Everyone’s inquiring about Ethernet for new service or as a replacement for their existing connectivity. Shouldn’t you at least take a look? Get multiple quotes for Ethernet service delivered to your business location or locations now.

Fiber Ethernet WAN Bandwidth Advantages

Large businesses and other larger organizations generally require more bandwidth than is available through T1 lines or other broadband services that can be provisioned over copper twisted pair. Fiber optic connections can provide nearly unlimited bandwidth, but what is the most cost effective service?

If you are a current user of fiber optic bandwidth, you are probably leasing a SONET/SDH service such as OC3, OC12, or OC48 for your wide area networking needs. These are traditional telecom services that were originally developed for the telephone companies to carry large numbers of telephone calls. They are circuit switched channelized networks that have been adapted to transport today’s demand for high data bandwidth connections.

A newer service that is offering serious competition to the legacy telco services is Ethernet over Fiber or EoF. It’s a packet-switched network that transports Ethernet at the layer 2 switching or layer 3 routing level. Within metropolitan areas, this service is known as Metro Ethernet. Over long distances, it is called Carrier Ethernet or Long Haul Ethernet. Just about all bandwidths are available, but generally you’ll find fiber Ethernet being used to carry 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet, 1 Gbps Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gbps 10 GigE. Even high bandwidths, including 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps, are used for carrier backbone networks.

One advantage of fiber Ethernet is that it is scalable. You may start out with 100 Mbps service but quickly find out that you need more bandwidth. With traditional SONET services, there can be long delays in upgrading your service to the next level. There may also be a big jump in bandwidth and cost to get to that next level. OC3 gives you 155 Mbps. But OC12, the next readily available increment, runs at 622 Mbps.

Fiber optic Ethernet can easily scale up to the limit of the installed port. For instance, if you have a port that is capable of 1,000 Mbps, you don’t necessarily have to buy that much bandwidth. It’s common to order a fraction of the port’s capability, say 100 Mbps and then upgrade to 200 Mbps when demand justifies such a move. Often this can be done with only a phone call to your Ethernet service provider. Only when your demand exceed the 1,000 Mbps capacity of the port will new equipment need to be installed.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of fiber Ethernet services is cost savings. In additional to the traditional telephone companies, there are numerous competitive carriers that have their own regional or nationwide fiber optic networks and points of presence. These carriers can build-out a fiber connection to your building. It may not be that expensive if you can guarantee a high enough bandwidth level to justify the construction. You’ll find the monthly lease rate attractive, too. They are often only a fraction of what you’d pay for equivalent OCx services.

How can you determine if fiber Ethernet services are the best option for your business or organizational needs? You can get a quick answer with multiple vendor quotes and recommendations now using the Fiber Ethernet Services Inquiry form that you’ll find at Ether Rabbit. It’s fast service on fast Ethernet services.

Ethernet Over Fiber Needed By Business

We’ve all heard that fiber optic bandwidth is the future, but are you sure it isn’t the right service for the present?

Most business telecom services have traditionally been copper based. It starts with the binder cable that gets installed during building construction. All those twisted copper pair provide the multi-line telephone service that is as standardized in business as the metal file cabinet. Copper pair are also used to bring in ISDN digital trunking for PBX phone systems and T1 lines for broadband Internet and linking business locations point to point.

For many small and medium businesses, this is the telecom infrastructure. It’s been that way for decades. Why should it change?

To get an idea about where network speeds are going, take a look at the broadband services offered to consumers. Both DSL and Cable left the 1-2 Mbps download speed is the dust years ago. Consumers now expect at least 3 to 6 Mbps, and many clamor for 10, 20, 30 or 50 Mbps. Cable is getting to these levels with new DOCSIS 3.0 modems. Verizon is offering double digit broadband as a matter of course over it’s FiOS fiber to the home service.

If consumers are getting used to high bandwidth Internet services, some using fiber optic service, it should be no surprise the pressure on business users to expand their network bandwidth is increasing. It’s not just the businesses generating bandwidth-demanding content for the consumer market. Business applications are getting more sophisticated to improve worker productivity, including audio, video and interactivity. They’re also headed to the cloud. Processes that always put demands on company local networks now put those demands on the outside connections.

Once you get beyond 10 Mbps or so, in becomes increasingly necessary to bring in fiber optic service. Ethernet over Copper can work up to 50 Mbps in special situations, close to carrier points of presence. That’s the limit, and it only works for a minority of business locations. What you want and need is fiber optic service that is almost bandwidth unlimited.

But what about the cost? This is where the newer Ethernet over Fiber services have become the high bandwidth solutions of choice. Ethernet is generally less costly than traditional telecom bandwidth on a per Mbps basis, sometimes dramatically less expensive. Scalable bandwidth options are readily available, once you have the fiber connection. That means you can start off with 10 Mbps Ethernet and easily upgrade to 20, 30, 40 or 50 Mbps as long as terminal equipment will support those port speeds. The fiber itself will take you to Fast Ethernet at 100 Mbps and on up to Gigabit Ethernet or GigE, perhaps even to 10 Gigabit Ethernet or 10 GigE. Don’t roll your eyes. The days of needing those bandwidth levels are not that far off.

Are you frustrated with your WAN network connection speed? if so, it’s time to be looking into fiber optic solutions. It may be much less expensive than you think. The way to find out is to check Ethernet over Fiber prices and availability for your business location.