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.

E-NNI Helps Ethernet Go Global

Metro Ethernet service has been growing by leaps and bounds. That’s not surprising, considering that Metro Ethernet services generally offer higher bandwidths at lower prices than traditional telecom services. They also offer features such as virtual private line and LAN service that weren’t previously available. As business appetite for Ethernet in the WAN grows, it’s only natural that businesses look to connect everywhere through their Metro Ethernet connections.

Metro Ethernet was intended to be just that. The "metro" in Metro Ethernet means metropolitan. It’s a service that is perfect for connecting two or more business locations within the same city or greater metropolitan area. The geographical range of coverage is set by the service footprint of the carrier providing the service.

Many competitive carriers now base their core networks on IP packet switching technology, not the traditional circuit switching architecture. They’ve embraced Carrier Ethernet to offer Ethernet services that span metropolitan areas so that companies can interconnect branches in cities across the country.

What’s been more difficult is getting the same type of universal access that companies have enjoyed with the Public Switched Telephone Network. After all, the days of monopoly in telecommunications are long gone. What’s needed is a standardized way for all those competing carriers to exchange traffic so that their customers can have a much wider geographical presence. Thats what E-NNI is all about.

The Ethernet External Network-to-Network Interface (E-NNI) is an industry standard ratified this year by the Metro Ethernet Forum. It provides a way for carriers to exchange traffic without having to worry about losing service features or having to create ad-hoc interfaces carrier by carrier. A separate UNI or User Network Interface connects each customer to its respective carrier.

The E-NNI specification makes it easy for carriers to exchange voice, data and video traffic at Ethernet layer-2. This make switched networks that span multiple carriers possible. To the user, the Ethernet WAN may look like one large cloud. To the service providers, it is a collection of clouds interconnected by peering through E-NNI connections.

The ratification of the E-NNI standard is giving rise to Ethernet Exchanges, such as Telx, that provide worldwide interconnection services for service providers at a carrier-neutral facility. Rather than having to build-out their service footprints to everywhere customers want connections or going through the laborious process of negotiating Private Ethernet NNI agreements, carriers can simply connect with each other through an Ethernet Exchange so that each participant has access to a much larger geographical footprint.

Can you company benefit from the growth of Carrier Ethernet and the many services it offers? The best way to find out is to get a competitive quote for your connection needs, be they across town or to the other side of the globe.